sifting old celler hole

[johnrielly]

Last year I md an old cellar hole from a house that was in the late 1700's but there was so much iron I couldnt pick up any solid signals. I have heard of sifting the ground to find stuff,does this work? The soil is very soft and doesnt seem like it would be to much on the back. Has anyone tried this??

 

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[Roaddog]

I haven't done it for metal items but i have done it for indian points and pottery. What I had was a sieve on legs so I could shovel dirt into it and stand up to shake the dirt through. Much easier on the back than squatting to do it.

 

[JakePhelps]

yes it does work to find metal and non-metal items(like indian points, marbles, and pottery) There is a good book that shows how to make a standing sifter: The Urban Treasure Hunter A Practical Handbook for Beginners by Michael Chaplan, but im sure there are also online instructions on how to build one. Oh and the best time to sift is when it hasnt rained for a few days so the soil goes thru the sifter nice and doesnt clog it up. Good luck on that cellar hole and post anything u find!

 

[comfyinvermont]

Sifting works well, but you might just try a five foot square area at a time, set your discrimination really low and pull all of the iron out. Then you can go over the area and find everything else. You will find a lot of great things that are iron around those old cellar holes. You will be surprised, and you will have a great area to detect for a long time....Lance