Mounds

Another method of crude/quick survey would be to till/disk the area around a non burial area WITH PAST FARMING. Or if its in the woods carry a yard broom and rake some leaves. Areas of long occupation will have lots of flint chips and potsherds around, much more than in a typical burial site.
CPW
 

In some states it is O.K. to dig on your own property even if its thought to be a BURIAL mound.It is not the bones of the dead that interest people it whats buried with them,bowls,arrowheads,stone axe's,bottles,etc.There is more stuff in the ground than the so called archeologist will ever document.Plus don't forget that the first archeologist were amateurs. If it weren't for the amateurs the ancient people of the past probably wouldn't know didily squat about their past.I mean after all look what we do to the present people who die.We disect them in an horrible fashion just to say that cigarette smoking killed them-no matter that there was testimony that these persons smoked for 50 years.Is there any way that we can say that this is honor to the deceased body.Even after these modern people are buried,we sometimes go back and dig them up to prove how they died.If you do dig to get the articles of art,leave the bones alone.Put up a plaque saying here lies an ancient person of unknown orgin.If you leave the bones in the ground eventually the bones will disappear and there will be not evidence of them ever being or who they were.
I mean the indians might not want you to dig the graves because you might find out that the vikings were here long before the indians were here.Just my thought and Oh yes,I don't dig graves.
 

So Jedro,you gonna let us know about your friends' mounds.Did he ever dig?Are you gonna help?What did ya find?Come on now keep us posted! :) ;)H.H.
 

Hi, Just about 5 Miles a Way from us are neighbor was plowing his field and puled two stones that he thought was grave stones...Yep! They were so he called the police and they contacted the state archeology society and they told him to stop plowing that spot.They fenced it off and now it is a historical grave spot...They believe it is where wagon train may have went through..but not sure as they said the graves where no from any family in the area. and a friend of mine owns a mound that he has ask me to do metal detecting ..though I have not been in contact with him since..Voting was going on and he was one we voted for...He can dig on his property but any graves are off the list as in this state it is illegal as heck and you can go to jail for a long time....But if you did find something else where on his property and mound would be up to him and the state for what to do with the find> period....I do this for free and do not ask for reaps in my finds unless they want to be charitable and thats all!I don't think that means bottles and small change and stuff I believe it is meant for large finds of lost gold and or graves with Indian articles and that stuff..I would leave that up to the owner-state!Still it would be an honor to help archaeologists sort all the stuff out for my own learning and see the owner be amazed and honored etc!!
 

hmmm well I'm with "dneyedli". You don't dig up dead people on or off your property. And if you do - I hope their spirits spook your sorry a$$. Maybe if it was your ancestors, you'd have a different take on it. However, I realize pirates are pirates and that's why this hobby doesn't have the best reputation.

There's plenty enough relics and coins to be dug all over the place. Those places will continue to be closed off to MD'ing if you do not respect the "Law" including grave sites. And that's a fact, jack!
 

okay I'm going to go way off to the other direction just because its a mound does not make it a grave depending on the size of the mound it might be something all together different this is the part where you go just like what exactly mav and this is where i say a civil war trench there where approximately 11 battles fought in KY so depending upon location this is what the mounds could be the soldiers towards the end of the war dug in and usually on top of a hill and yes they look exactly like the kind of mounds you all are referring to the earth was mounded up for protection the soldires would get in the trench to fight this is just my opinion so search your self for what you think is right



Mav
 

Yeah, archies are grave robbers, w/nothing but there credentials to back hem up, I dont feel they are better than us, however there dig tactics, as for burial grounds , these people who think that they are only disturbed for (studying) are wrong, archies help (rob) graves..... In florida ther are condos built over Indian Burial grounds, no one complains, there is even a plaque describing what they did (for humanity). the area is not just a plot, it is like a mile long,, HH, (along the water of course) makes for a nice view I bet......

Im not saying if they are burial mounds to dig them, but if you want to , heck & iif ts private property, & you want to dig then hey I respect that..
its not liek your doing it to build condos & everybody is for that (type of research) ??? LOL


Bootyhunter
 

The mounds being referred to are more likely than not burial mounds. I am originally from Kentucky as are my ancestors. although I am part Indian I love relic and arrowhead hunting. I have a great deal of respect for the ingenuity and talent of Native Americans. I, however, think it is horrible and unjustifiable to disturb burial mounds. Camp sites and areas of occupation can yield fascinating clues to past lives. I believe that Kentucky has some of the most rigid laws in the country governing disturbance of burial sites. You may be risking significant fines as well as jail time. You will likely find some very interesting pieces in the vicinity without having to tear into the mounds. As to those who responded earlier who think it is o.k. to bulldoze and level such sites if it is on their property, These individuals display an incredible amount of ignorance. I did not know until recently that the area where I grew up had one of the largest mound builder civilizations in the United States. Hundreds of mounds and village sites where bulldozed and leveled with huge subdivisions built over top of them. This occurred before I was born. The only thing that remains are cute little road names referring to a once mighty people. It breaks my heart to think of all the graves as well as information and history that were treated with such disrespect. God bless and good luck with any relic hunting you may do, but I would think twice before destroying a sacred site.
 

Touchy topic here,

I don't believe in digging up bones, graves, etc. The dead of the past deserve respect the same as we do now, and will in the future. On the other hand, as someone here mentioned, how do we/you know that these 'mounds' the guy in KY has found on his property are 'grave sites' and better yet, how does anyone go about finding out if they are or not (with out doing some investigating/digging?).

I mean, what if these 'mounds' the guy says are on his property are nothing more than some dumping ground from long ago? Does he not have the right to at least search/dig on his own property to evaluate the contents (if any) and then make a decision as to call in pro's or not?
 

I would have to agree with the last post. I used to live in an area known for its past population of native Americans. A friend bought a nice peice of property with an old stone house on it. Scattered throughout the woods of the property were about 20 "mounds". Well, to make a long story short, they were mounds of leftover STONE from the building of the house. So unless you investigate them by digging(respectfully) you'll never know. My 2c.
 

Don't know about Ky. but when I was a kid in AL. there was a mound about 20X30' on our property. I was told it was a carcoal pit. The mound was around 3' in height. Could this be the case. And yes I agree with most, respect any burial site. That means no digging or distrubing. That is not what MD is about. Respect the hobby, and others will respect us.
 

Jed said:
I guess it's just me, I always thought it was against the law to dig up graves no matter what land it's on.

I can see now I was wrong.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I've not had time to read all the posts above so this may have been covered already.

Unmarked and lost graves are sometimes found at construction sites. Those I've heard of were mostly early European settlers. I believe they are generally moved to a local cemetery but I'm not sure about that.

This grave-robbing thing is a wide and deep issue. Besides the desecrating of Native American gravesites, think of everything from the tombs in Egypt to the recovery of Titanic property. I'm just saying this a very debatable subject indeed.

It just seems to me, in regard to world opinion on this subject, there is no absolute and non-hypocritical stance.
 

MrSovereign said:
The aboriginal peoples are not native to America, it has been proved via Kennewick man that the first americans were Caucasian. Yet the US Government has covered it up & refuses to allow tests be done on Kennewick man.
Click to expand...

It will be MOST interesting to see what will come of the current study but I think we all already know. ;)
 

I dug a mound once

was covering three dead cows. That will teach me.

I think it is illegal to dig indian graves. If the mound is a grave then it is illegal and should not be done.

How to tell. Dig some and if you find bones stop.

If you tell archie they will want to come and dig or make your property off limits. Here in VA we have had a lot of trouble with archies and if it was my property I would never tell them ever.

If you dig and find bones and tell archie they may have you arrested or just threaten to do it.

Of course any self respecting archie is going to say don't dig anything ever. It's all precious and we are the only ones who know how to dig a hole.
 

Have instructed my wife to bury me face down. so everyone who comes along later can just kiss my .......anyway i will prob leave all coins rings ets about 6 in deep , so no one will have a lot of trouble digging.................Just kidding !!! ::)
 

Archeologist were all amatuers in the beginng and them decided to keep it all for themselves!


When I die I want to be cremated,take my ashes to the local drugstore dump them in a bottle of summers eve and let me go there one more time!
 

You know I have been following this post for awhile and have put a little thought to this situation. I think that the landowner can do whatever the heck he wants to. The property belongs to him, regardless if Native Americans are planted there or not. Besides it being "HIS" property, we have no idea what these might be. There are mounds around here that when I was more naive thought to be teepee mounds or burial mounds which turned out to be nothing more than displaced dirt from the building of structures, roads etc. These piles are usually not placed too near a home as they would make the property look trashy and unkempt. So who is to say what these are?
The fact of the matter in my opinion is that it is "HIS" property. I absolutely do not condone digging up graves of any sort but this guy has the right to dig them up if he feels like it. Do you think that upon the founding of this country our founding fathers thought that in the future the government would be telling people what they can and cannot do on property legally owned by a "FREE AMERICAN"? Seems to me this is just the kind of B.S. that the left Europe because of.
 

If they are burial mounds they would of had to been designed to stay mounds. Are they uniform? Same width, hieghth and length? When someone was buried back when, there was a mound only because the body displaced the earth. The mound was soon gone because of erosion.
 

the mound's here in Kentucky that i have seen and that are protected are very large,probably the
size of a school bus.
I'm thinking they were garbage dump's and not burial mound's.


Mark
 

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