Old stone structure?

[undertaker]

I found this old stone structure while deer hunting last fall on the side of a small mountain ridge. Does anyone know what it might have been used for? As you can see in the pics it has a small hole in the center of base, and a 10ft. or larger circular hole on top. I havnt found any trash pits around and I havnt detected it as I dont own a metal detector at this time. Im just interested in knowing what it was and its time period......looks real old.

 

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[mojjax]

http://dnr.state.il.us/orep/nrrc/cultural/limeKilns/kilns.htm

 

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[jeff of pa]

mojjax idea of Lime Kiln Sounds Possible.
What Confuses me is how Small the Opening.
Almost like a Fireplace.

No Chance there was a Mansion there & this was a Primitive Fireplace in it ? :P

This is a PA Iron Furnace.

I would think they all look like this.

 

[jeff of pa]

Undertaker,it's time to buy a metal detector and get out there and detect that thing.That way you(we'll) know what it was used for.It's an oven but used for what?Could of been for smelting,then again could of been for liquor making.A good detection of the area would tell you which,I would believe.Good luck.

Id say For Sure.

IF it's an Iron Furnace, Your Detector is NOT going to work Right there.

 

[PostFatal]

If you decide to detect the inside of the whatever, go in from the top if at all possible. The way those rocks look in the little opening, I don't think it would be safe trying to crawl thru.

 

[cryptodave]

I'm telling you guys, its for sure a iron ore furnace. I've seen hundreds of them all over KY, OH, WV, and a few in PA.
The one in the original post has some serious age to it, plus different material to make it with. The hole in the bottom more than likely was bigger back in the mid 1700s to mid 1800s. The area looks very overgrown, and over the years, I would wager that displaced rocks and dirt have made a pretty good fill in.
Plus, some of the old furnaces were filled in after their life. If you notice the hole in the original seems to be tiled with different kind of rock material, almost slab like, compared to the rest of the structure which is brick like.

And Jeff is right. Metal detecting that could prove to be an exercise of futility. There is probably tons of specks of iron all over, and if you discreminate that out, then you would more than likely miss anything that you would recover, such as tools.

There is one simple way to solve this. Try to look around the area and find a creek. That would have been very important to the furnace. If you go further downstream, depending on the force of the creek, you will more than likely find black glassy looking rock that resembles black flint. That is the left over from the kiln process, and you will have proven that it is an iron ore furnace.

The thing I think everyone should be asking themselves is how did a furnace just fade out like this? They were extremely important to the way of life, and almost everyone I have seen has at least one of those metal historical markers near it. Maybe this one was built, but was discovered it didn't work properly, or the township moved, or one of hundreds of different things.

You should give the location of the furnace to the local historical society, so they can get to work on it. Maybe they might want to dig it out a bit, and if so, maybe you can help. That would be pretty cool!

 

[gollum]

I'm telling you, it was a still! Look for a coil of copper tubing.

Mike

 

[dg39]

And a hot rod Chevy with big tanks.......................Thunder Road!

doc, i think you are a Robert Mitchum wanabe.

 

[cryptodave]

It would be historically worthwhile but don't expect to find treasure as such and like Jeff said the slag and debris would make it a hand search. Metal detectors wouldn't be any help.

Doc

Historically worthwhile,agreed.Don't expect to find treasure,agreed.Metal detectors wouldn't be any help,disagree.How do you know this? I guess you can put a positive ID on this one too,just by the photo,huh? How do you know for sure without a doubt that this is not a kiln for a still?You of all people who questions every id made,even the already id'd ones. Metal detectors wouldn't be any help? How can you say that? It makes no sense.BTW- Are you ever gonna show us anything in todays finds or do you even own a detector? Let me guess,your a bigtime prof.treasure hunter and you use a boat that has side scan sonar,magnetometers,rov's and such huh? I'm sorry if this offends you doc,but your statement is just not true at all.

Oh lord, this is painful.... Great Scott, its making my eyes burn.... Unnnnnn... I have to agree with Doc... OOOWWWWWWWOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!!

If it is indeed a iron ore kiln, which as I've stated in previous posts that I am positive (96.7%) that it is, then the amount of debris is going to be very high, not to mention tons of hot rocks. Best chances in my opinion to recover anything of historical value is a dig, and even then it will be a long search.
The problem with MDing it would be digging iron all the time, and if you discriminate against iron, your going to miss all the tools and neat artifacts.

 

[jeff of pa]

I believe my Sovereign Would Work there, BUT I wouldn't get a TONE.
Which Means, I would be in fear that I would be Missing Small Objects.

I also believe it would be Crackling from Overload on alot of Large Iron.

that is IF I tried to use IRON MASK.

all Metal May be Different But Time consuming with all the Hot Rocks.

 

[gollum]

And a hot rod Chevy with big tanks.......................Thunder Road!

No way Chevy! They were mostly Fords. Ford's flathead and the original V8 OHVs had the most power going back then. Just check out Junior Johnson (NASCAR). He has a great collection of moonshine running vehicles. That's how he got into racing. He used to run shine.

Mike

 

[blurr]

Well then I stand corrected, pass the 'shine please

Doc

Lord help us!

 

[blurr]

Well then I stand corrected, pass the 'shine please

Doc

Lord help us!

Takes a real man to admit he's wrong in print, doesn't it?

Doc,

wasn't even talking about you being wrong, hope you can take a joke. There is nothing wrong with being wrong, i'm wrong all the time, just ask my wife. If you are mad, be mad I have moved on.

John

 

[blurr]

Sorry you don't see my humor. I'm far removed from the ego or personal level. It's puzzling to me that you'd think I was mad. I hardly ever get mad at anyone but myself. There is no venom in my posts unless personally attacked, then it's snakebite time

Regards,
Doc

Doc,

I'm not gonna go round and round with you. You seem very smart and all that stuff, so I'm sure you can figure out what I was saying. By the way, I saw a VERY similar structure on the discovery channel. It was a lime furnace. Wouldn't know the difference myself though.

John

 

[PostFatal]

some of them "shine" runners did use Cadillac V8's. they were "The" motor to have. strong reliable and fast.

 

[blurr]

some of them "shine" runners did use Cadillac V8's. they were "The" motor to have. strong reliable and fast.

I have had some "shine", almost need to cut that stuff with water.

 

[gollum]

Run your car on it as well!

Mike

 

[Chris Whewell]

on top looking into it

Furnace of sorts is probably correct. But my first thought was that it would make a nice curing pit for deer and game. A couple fee of salt in there, then you can put in the meat and throw some more salt on top till it is full for the winter, with cured meat. Of course it should be covered, Hole at the bottom seems too small to stoke a fire and would make a good drain for the meat curing. just a thought........

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Howdy: Unlike Doc etc., I am never wrong, just ask me.

We have many very similar ones down here for processing Lime for building purposes - mortar.

Of course it is easier and cheaper to buy processed lime today.

A furnace for iron smelting probably would need a much higher chimney for the increased draft needed for the higher temperatures.

Tropical Tramp

 

[silverswede]

I ran across one of these too several years ago in an area that had been placer mined in the early 1900's. It was built the same with flat rocks, hole in front and on top. On examining the inside with a flashlight i found a iron rod across the inside about half way up that could be used to suspend things for cooking or smoke-curing fish etc. The outside was covered with earth making it look like a mound about six feet high. I assume it was an oven for food preparation and was used by the early miners or the Chinese miners that followed the early discoveries. I think ovens like this were used in very early history even for bread baking.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

=diving doc [/quote]

Yeah unlike Jose I am wrong from time to time and unlike him I am ready to admit it.
*******
Admit what?? I am never wrong, so how can I logically admit to an impossibility?

snicker

Tropical Tramp