help with old stone walls

[dandut46]

I been following stone walls looking for cellar holes, what I come across is some real wide ones and some back coners are real wide like people just piled them there I see this a lot so I figured it was live stock there maybe, just want a better understanding of it, also sometimes the are three or four boarded squares in a row , with no cellar holes and in them squares there are piles of stones randomly , I figured they pile them to use I just come across this a lot . basically I go threw woods looking for vigin cellar holes that are not on maps if there is any. I live north east, I haven't found any yet, but I still find things in hunted out ones. Any help thanks

 

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[CASPER-2]

the earliest northeast dwellings usually have no holes - very hard to find - you can find the depressions of them now and then--then you have holes that were filled in with stones so live stock would not fall in
you find a hole with a pyramid of stones and that is the older one - holes with 2 or three walls are barn holes usually = walled in above ground areas would be livestock pens usually or sometimes garden areas to keep animals out
I know guys that detect along stone walls for miles and sometimes get a nice find or two - one guy found a colonial coin spill where a wall builder must have sat down for a break

 

[finderskeepers]

Not sure how literally you mean following the walls looking for cellar holes...my experience shows many cellar holes to be located "some distance" from actual walls. When I find evidence of possible structures (barn,pens,etc.)...I start looking at the site as a settler might have..higher ground with southern exposure, upwind of barn/pens. As Casper points out, many times you start by looking for depressions, or an "odd" little clearing, or maybe some plant growth that is just a little different than most of the surroundings.

Piles of rocks in the corners could be an indication of a structure but, if the walls nearby are still fairly intact and the excess stones are somewhat smaller in size, it's more likely that it was the place chosen to dump rock refuse that popped up as the fields were worked.

Dandut, you list ema? as your location. Is that eastern MA?

 

[dandut46]

Not sure how literally you mean following the walls looking for cellar holes...my experience shows many cellar holes to be located "some distance" from actual walls. When I find evidence of possible structures (barn,pens,etc.)...I start looking at the site as a settler might have..higher ground with southern exposure, upwind of barn/pens. As Casper points out, many times you start by looking for depressions, or an "odd" little clearing, or maybe some plant growth that is just a little different than most of the surroundings.

Piles of rocks in the corners could be an indication of a structure but, if the walls nearby are still fairly intact and the excess stones are somewhat smaller in size, it's more likely that it was the place chosen to dump rock refuse that popped up as the fields were worked.

Dandut, you list ema? as your location. Is that eastern MA?

Sorry haven't been on in a while ,yes I'm from eastern ma the a is a type o. I did find a lot about cellar holes since I posted it and you bring up some good points as I now understand what your saying .l been hunting a lot of them and finding some stuff ,its very hard to find a virgin site.you really have to do a lot of hikeing , but I do see a lot of cool stuff that I would never have seen. I use the etrac which does really good , but it can be quite a anchor at times looking for something a little lighter for larger areas . I mainly did parks , but as I get more into this hobby I'm more in to woods and such .To me it is just as much fun hunting for a place to hunt as it is hunting it , its rewarding . thanks for the reply and insite.It was helpful.