Newbies first cellar hole ...... Updated Again PART 2

[bassmstr]

Well let me start by saying I am a newbie. Had my detector less than a week and I love it. Bought it with the intention of doing old foundations. Went out today and braved the bugs and heat and want some opinions if I am on the right track. The town was established in 1721 and this is one of the oldest roads that is now abandoned except for the occasional four wheeler or hunter. This house shows up on a 1881 map I have seen. The main house faces the road and there is another bigger foundation about twenty feet behind that I believe was a barn. Well is slightly behind the house to the right and there is a round grouping of rocks about ten feet behind it down hill. Could this be the privy?
I dug alot of junk metal. Had nails turned off on my machine so none of those. Found some old cast iron pans early with gate marks but all broken. Some stove parts, what i believe is a buggy seat. Alot of broken glass, but no coins. Had a blast though.
I will post some pics of foundation and finds. I do have a ton of questions though
Can anyone date this site by what I found?
Am i wasting my time looking for coins here with a whites prizm 3? I know I have to upgrade to dfx.
The broken glass was found directly behind the main house against foundation is this common or did some kids get everyhing from the house once it was abandoned and break it here?
And ideas on privy? would they put them close to wells?

Anyways here is the pics and any help is appreciated

 

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[cwdigger]

Re: Newbies first cellar hole and I need help....UPDATED

WTG

 

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[Ed-NH]

Re: Newbies first cellar hole and I need help....UPDATED

Hi,

The site you have looks promising. I hunt cellar holes and fields all the time. Is there a pile of rocks in the center of the cellar hole so that the cellar hole looks like a giant "U"? Is there a "ramp" that walks down into the cellar hole? This would be a classic center chimney style home. The relics you found appear to be from the 1800's and some older pottery as well. The pipe is 19th century as the angle is almost straight up. The older pipes bowls leaned more forward the older the were.

Don't get discouraged at all the iron. Most of them either burned or fell down leaving tons of nails and iron behind. Lots of times I will test around the outside of the cellar hole. If it is really iron and crap I move away and hunt the surrounding areas. Later on when I'm ready for a change of pace I will hunt near the cellar hole going very very slowly with a small coil.

Look around the property for stone walls. Are there any walls that connect so as to form a closed in area? I'm looking for old field systems. They usually made stone walls with the stones that were dug up while planting the fields. Look for the walls with the smaller stones in them. That would indicate farming activities versus the larger stones that would indicate pasture land. You will find some awesome colonial flat button, large cents and buckles in the areas that they gardened. I always always look for where they kept the gardens. They can be a gold mine.

Any small trail leading to/from the cellar hole can be a great area too. Traffic was funneled in/out of those areas. I visited a cellar hole receintly that has field systems, well, and two path that join just in front of the cellar hole. I think I have located the gardening area. My partner and I will be detecting it sometime this year.

Keep at it and don't get discouraged. You will be rewarded.

Ed-

 

[rhedden]

Re: Newbies first cellar hole and I need help....UPDATED

You are surely not wasting your time at a site like this. I agree with the people who have said that this is a tough way to start out metal detecting, though. Cellar holes are surrounded by old iron, masking the good finds. You will have to be patient and build up some skills to recover the good stuff amongst the trash.

One problem with sites like these is that other metal detectorists may have found it first. If you found broken dishes and bottles on the surface, I'll bet you a dollar that bottle hunters have already been there and dug out part of the site. What you found laying on top was discarded by them. Any detectorists who have been there, probably using the same maps you found, would have gotten many of the easier finds. Any large cents that are 1-2" deep would be easy pickings, for example. Thus, we must assume that you are faced with the more difficult task of retrieving the deeper coins that were missed by others. That requires some skill! I love to hunt cellar holes, and I would guess that more than 80% of them have already been hit in my area (Pennsylvania). Some even have excavated relics lying on top of the stone foundation... a sure sign that you're not the first one to detect there! If this is a "virgin" site, you are very lucky, and I bet you will fill this thread with pictures of large cents and colonial coppers by the end of the year. Best of luck!

 

[Ed-NH]

Re: Newbies first cellar hole and I need help....UPDATED

You are surely not wasting your time at a site like this. I agree with the people who have said that this is a tough way to start out metal detecting, though. Cellar holes are surrounded by old iron, masking the good finds. You will have to be patient and build up some skills to recover the good stuff amongst the trash.

One problem with sites like these is that other metal detectorists may have found it first. If you found broken dishes and bottles on the surface, I'll bet you a dollar that bottle hunters have already been there and dug out part of the site. What you found laying on top was discarded by them. Any detectorists who have been there, probably using the same maps you found, would have gotten many of the easier finds. Any large cents that are 1-2" deep would be easy pickings, for example. Thus, we must assume that you are faced with the more difficult task of retrieving the deeper coins that were missed by others. That requires some skill! I love to hunt cellar holes, and I would guess that more than 80% of them have already been hit in my area (Pennsylvania). Some even have excavated relics lying on top of the stone foundation... a sure sign that you're not the first one to detect there! If this is a "virgin" site, you are very lucky, and I bet you will fill this thread with pictures of large cents and colonial coppers by the end of the year. Best of luck!

I agree, you may have to work a bit harder but the finds will be there. Once you get good at hunting cellar holes and the surrounding area you will LOVE IT!!!!! I even found one draped bust (in really nice condition) and one Matron head (two different cellar holes) in the rock debris that folks before me discarded while tearing up the foundation. Always check out the piles of rubble left by the diggers The coins found in the stones are often shielded from corrosion and are in nice condition. I am anxious to read this post when you find your first nice coin or relic I love hunting cellar holes visited by others who did not 'go slow' and really pick out the good stuff.

 

[JP]

Re: Newbies first cellar hole and I need help....UPDATED

Bassmstr,

What a cool find (a site) you have there!!!!  You will probably have enough artifacts afterwards to fill up a room in your house with displays. 

Don't feel like you need to bring another treasure hunter out there.  You already are lucky that your wife will go out there with you.  You know she's a loyal friend and someone that you can trust.

There was another post on here of two guys that dug up a site like yours.  I don't know where it is right now but if you can find it on the Tnet it is really interesting (from last year).  The thing I remember the most was that they ended up having to dig the site and sift the dirt coming out.  That would solve the iron nail problem. 

You probably have a site that is going to last you years.  The items you pull out of there if your not going to keep them see if a local town or city museum would like the stuff, even the historical society might be interested. 

Good luck on the finds. Keep the pictures coming.

HH

 

[49er]

Re: Newbies first cellar hole and I need help....UPDATED

You hit the mother lode of cellars.... . Can not wait until this fall and winter when the rattlesnakes hibernate so I can detect an old cellar here in northern Washington state..... .

 

[texan connection]

Re: Newbies first cellar hole and I need help....UPDATED

Havent read the whole post but I love your attitude toward digging up the history, Sifting it would be cool. Keep going man

 

[bassmstr]

Well I hit the foundation again today with the help of my wife my brother and his wife. Turned out to be a great day with some more iron being found but no coins yet.

Found some nice buttons all glass but a nice ceramic? blue one.
Found a few spoons and knives and part of a handle. the handles are bone I believe.
Found a buckle that I think is for a saddle but not sure.
a nice porcelain doll arm.
Something I cannot explain but see pics very ornate
also a large button that is silver and lead back seems lead filled atleast. I am thinking this is part of a saddle maybe? about 2" across.
and what seems like half a axe head....pretty strange

Again not great finds but enough to mke me think hat even if this was hit before there is plenty left. Also as far as the stoneware it seems there is atleast 4 of these crock/ jugs there as I have found tops to 4 different ones.


Texas connection that is a nice sifter you have I am going to use a antique one I have from a barn sale. Good old manual labor because I am pretty far from power out there.

I think my brother is addicted and he has already gotten us permission to hunt another foundation next to his house from a neighbor.....On his way home he stopped and asked and they have no problems as long as we give them some finds to display.... Cannot wait.

 

[bassmstr]

axe head

 

[trikikiwi]

bassmstr, those are all awesome finds.
The little 2 piece toy gun is intriguing. It doesn't seem to make sense with the two pieces of rod running through it. Maybe the rod in the barrel part has broken off from the handle part as they were separated, leaving only a short piece in the barrel. Could it be a handle for a parasol or walking stick, with a secret sword spike?

The double loop item in the pic #011 just below the dolls arm pic, is part of a horse bridle bit.

I'm looking forward to more of your finds.

Mike

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Awesome site you have, the finds are getting better! It may have been suggested but, find the outhouses and dig them out, should not be too far from the house, LOL. That double looped relic looks like it could be part of a sword hangar. HH and keep us updated, Mike

 

[texan connection]

I bet that little 2 piece gun thing is for eating corn on the cob

 

[CRUSADER]

Awesome site you have, the finds are getting better! It may have been suggested but, find the outhouses and dig them out, should not be too far from the house, LOL. That double looped relic looks like it could be part of a sword hangar. HH and keep us updated, Mike

Common mistake its;
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,172548.0.html

Also the pewter gun is interesting. Could the trigger piece have slid down the iron pole to join with the handle. Could have been a novelity unbrella (is it big enough?) If not I wonder why the spikey thing is so long

 

[BuckleBoy]

That interesting piece that looks like it is silver plated might be a bridle rosette--and if it is, it is indeed a Fine one.

If it's heavy, lead-filled (or lead-backed), and about 2 inches in diameter, then that's what you have.


Great to hear that your brother is into it--I think you two will get some great spots and have a Ton of fun hunting together.


-Buckleboy

 

[Robin]

Good fines,Also don't forget to look for old huge rocks in the area even many yards away, and old trees to big ones that might have been there for 200 years or so.
Sometimes caches are stached in areas like that.
Big rocks are good because if there was fires the rocks will still be there.
Good luck !
LOL ! Robin

 

[The Seeker]

Very interesting site........Nice old pottery, and iron products. Looks like the site had plenty of activity , the coins are there some where! Good luck ! WTG