Question. Something I just cant understand

[b1pw3ha]

Question. Something I just can't understand

Hey all I got a question for you. I am having a problem understandng how a coin gets into the ground if it was dropped on the surface. If the dirt was undisturbed how do the coins get into the ground? if you look at anicient digs, they dig up cities that are 15 feet under ground?!?!? HOW? I just don't believe that 15 foot of dirt was produced out of thin air in a thousand years? Can someone explain this to me?
Back to the coins though. How do they get to 1" to 15" deep?

 

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[omnicognic]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

every time it rains, every time dust blows, every time it snows the surface is dusted with more soil. falling leaves grass clippings all this covers them. When they get stepped on moved in any way any vibration someone walking by makes them sink.. and on and on..it's amazing that some are as shallow as they are!

 

[wmas1960]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

I will take a stab at this also, I am kind of new at this and had thought of the same thing. From my understanding, think of it this way. While a coin or ring etc., might not be very heavy, all of it's weight might be distributed over a much smaller footprint. Thus, the force, exerted over that small area is much greater. Similar to the issue in some buildings where a floor might not support something like a refrigerator but it would support a water bed. The issue being that while a water bed, fully filled, might weigh more than a refrigerator, the weight of a refrigerator would be concentrated on a smaller footprint and thus distributing more force on that area. However the water bed, might distribute it's weight over about 8X the area using more of the underlying support to hold it up. The downward pressure per sq foot is much less. Especially, depending how many feet there might be on the bed to carry that weight , Or maybe the issue of why you can't walk on water but you can stand on a flat bottom boat. Or, try walking in the snow with your boots or shoes. Then put on skiis or snow shoes. Why, if you weigh the same in all instances do you sink in the snow in your boots but can stand ON the snow in your skiis or snow shoes. Reason being is that your weight is being distributed in a more concentrated way in one case and redistributed over a greater surface area in another. .

Looking at the makeup of sand or dirt, and the comparity of that to the size of the edge of a coin, there is a lot of possibility for the thin edge of a coin etc. to slowly edge itself between the grain of the soil or sand and sink. I would imagine, if one were to pay attention to this, you would probably find such items in the ground on end as opposed to flat. For similar reasons as mentioned above. More weight being exerted over less area when on edge as opposed to flat. Now, add in other factors. If the ground is hard compacted and dry, and stays that way, it might be that a coin won't sink as far or as fast. However, if the area is soft, loose and wet, with a lot of rain, as the soil gets wet and looser, the coin would settle. Loose sediment that is displaced will then flow over the top, burrying it. As time goes by, this process compounds as the object gets further and further below the surface.

Now, add the issues of erosion. Wind blowing dirt and sand that cover objects on the ground. With the top soil or sand shifting, items can get deeper and deeper in some areas. But, the good news for detectors, if they look carefully at the geology around them. Other areas may become more and more exposed as that sand and dirt comes from somewhere. Then, there is the issue of grass and leaves from trees.... and stuff that falls on the ground. In forests, where the grass isn't mowed and leaves aren't raked, all those leaves decompose over the top of the forest floor. That would also, over the years, possibly add inches to the depth of an object. As people walk over the area, the loose materials get compacted under new layers of new materials. The object can then get deeper and deeper.

All of what I have mentioned is my theory from my rationalization of the thinking. Don't know how accurate that might be. Hope I am not wrong and that it helps some.

 

[miester]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

I remember reading somewhere that in an undisturbed area about 1 in. of new soil will accumulate just from falling leaves every 100 yrs.

 

[stoney56]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

A real quick reason is the frost line. The earth shifts just like a water bed but on a much smaller scale. The freezing and thawing constantly move the earth and anything in it. That is the main reason that utility companies bury their gas and water lines a minimum of 18" so as to not have the lines flex and break. JMO
BTW, the other explanations above also enter into the equasion as well.

 

[MD]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

Somebody said on here that archeoligists use 1/16" per year as a typical accumulation of top soil.

 

[Einstein]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

1/16th inch sounds about right, or 6-8" over 100 years. The majority is from decomposing grass weeds and leaves.

 

[allen]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

actually people get bored and go out and just bury the coins so we can find them later !!! keep on digging !!!!by the way, im just kidding , lol.....

 

[leadsman]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

every time it rains, every time dust blows, every time it snows the surface is dusted with more soil.

Rain will not form where the air is clean. NASA has discovered liquid water drops in the upper atmosphere where the temps are as much as -140 degrees F because there is no dust for the water to condense on. Your car gets dirty after a rain or snow just sitting in the driveway, because rain and snow contain dust. Dirt just falls from the sky and over time it accumulates! That, in addition to the other reasons an object may become buried. It's not surprising that some older objects get so deep.

 

[stoney56]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

Another reason is the Treasure Gods and their rugrats-the Treasure Faries! It's the Treasure Faries that keep moving the signal around making it hard to pinpoint. LOL

 

[b1pw3ha]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

Hmmm. very interesting responses. I thank all of you for your input.

 

[wmas1960]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

Another reason is the Treasure Gods and their rugrats-the Treasure Faries! It's the Treasure Faries that keep moving the signal around making it hard to pinpoint. LOL

Hmmmm, I must have had a run in with them a few weeks ago. Was out detecting and got a hit at about 4.5" in the sand. When i pinpoint an object in the sand, I tamp my coil down to leave an impression of where the object should be. Theoretically, it should be inside the circle made by the coil. Then, I dropped my scoop into the circle and pushed straight down with my foot. Considering the size of the scoop, it had to dig out a good 5 or 6" of sand. Pulling up the scoop, I shook out the sand and nothing. I checked all the sand that I had sifted out, with the detector and still nothing. Thinking that the object might have been in sand that fell out of the scoop when I lifted out of the hole, I checked the hole again and beep. Now about an inch and a half. OK, that might make sense. So, I pinpointed again and I scooped the area that beeped and nothing. Nothing in the sand I sifted either. I checked the area that I had scooped and nothing. As I checked the other areas of the small hole, beep. Again about an inch and a half. So, I scooped some more and nothing. I did this about 5 or 6 times getting hits in different parts of the hole, enlarging the hole till I had a pit in the sand, big enough to build a bonfire. The object, whatever it was, kept moving from one side of the hole to another. Now, as the hole got big enough, and the object is supposed to be in the top 1" of the sand, I should either see it or just scrape it into the scoop. But NADA.

Those little buggers must have seen me coming and were having a grand old time. Now I can just hear them giggleing at me all along.

 

[DugHoles]

Re: Question. Something I just can't understand

Somebody said on here that archeoligists use 1/16" per year as a typical accumulation of top soil.?

I heard that as well

GL & HH,

DugHoles
Upstate NY