# How do you find old bottles in creeks and rivers?



## FlaskMan

I always was curious as to why there are bottles in the rivers. How did they get there? When people finished using them did they just throw them in, or did the dumps dump them into the river?

 I always found this real interesting and I would like to try a river dig.  How do I know where the spot in the river would be good for digging?  Also, I have located an 1840s-1860s man-made canal that has since dried up.  Would there be any luck there?

 Any information is great! Thanks


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## JOETHECROW

Try a steel probe in the canal muck....People have always thrown bottles into water....Kids to target practice, etc....Out of sight out of mind, yea,..also some dumps do wash into rivers....Welcome to the forum...


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## j.dinets

A lot depends on the location. In my area the Des Plaines river is a relatively shallow river, which just happened to pass through several Toc picnic groves. Over the years hundreds of bottles were thrown into the river by picnickers. Lighter medicines whiskies and their ilk tended to be carried off by the current. Bottles such as hutchinsons, crown top sodas and beers which were heavier usually went to the bottom. This was also true of bottles that were still mostly full of "whatever" someone put in them. Sometimes these would sink directly into the silt at the bottom where they stayed. Else they would be carried along the bottom until they found a resting place. I have found many bottles both up, and down current along large rocks. Most rivers have s bends, so the current will take from one bank and deposit on the other. Recently due to the drought, and the removal of 2 small dams, the river level dropped by about 4 feet in some areas. It was fun it exposed a lot of bottes in about 7" of water on the deposit side of the banks and nothing on the other sides. Lots of crowntops from the teens to the 40's, and a few hutches. So in summation, in general look for areas along rivers that had heavy shore use, or passed through older settlements. Keep in mind though that many rivers are routinely dredged in heavy use areas. Best of Luck.


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## splante

wow J.dinets great answer, stated very well. 
 I have  good luck in rivers and creeks, before trashmen. Things were thrown over the banks into the rivers and rivers edges ,along withall the other reasons J.dinets said they can be very productive. Great for embossed bottle most clean up like new, normally any paper and painted labels will be worn off and faded badly but not always. Have found some painted labels in very good condition. The thing with rivers is that they are constantly upchucking things that may have been burried. After a storm you can check a spot that had no bottles before , and next thing you know some surfaced on the rivers edge or laying on the bottom waiting to be picked up. heres a recent post showing some bottles I found. The rivers are low and some were just the base sticking out of the side of the river banks.
 https://www.antique-bottles.net/forum/had-a-little-to-go-out-im-my-Kayak/m-539039/tm.htm


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## RCO

i haven't had that much luck in creeks and rivers , there is a good place to swim near my house and its been a park for years and has an old bridge . only found a couple broken pop bottles so far and old beer bottles . there could be more stuff down stream but it be very difficult to get to .


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## riverdiver

With Scuba gear...Look for a section of your community that has the oldest houses lining the banks of a small river, canal, creek...you get the picture. If you do not know how to dive you can always snorkle, have a pair of kevlar divers gloves and get looking. All of those houses before the advent of trash removal threw all of their household trash into the river because it floated away out of sight. If you have good visibility you will find a lot more than just bottles. You will find dishes, silverware, coins, buttons, pipes, doll parts, stoneware and modern trash to include hazmat too. Be aware of your surroundings, let someone know where you are and have fun. All of my bottles and artifacts come from underwater, I do not dig on land. Oh and don't forget the marbles, they are everywhere.

 Here is a sample of one of my dives from a river.


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## JGUIS

Using a pitchfork as a probe, increases your chances by 3.  []


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## Potlidboy

Flaskman......All good information......except......for God's sake don't try diving for bottles with just a snorkle.....Don't get me wrong...there are certain situations when a snorkle may do....but if you get tangled in fish line, hung on a spike in a collapsed warf, the list goes on! SCUBA cost's more but allows you to deal with "the problem" with several breaths of air.....not just the one....watch your pressure gauge to know how much air you have left....get out when it's unsafe to stay down (recommended 500lbs) in shallow water & good vizzz maybe longer.

 From what I've read, Riverdiver has a ton of experience....I know that to be true.  

 I'm just concerned for your saftey.....I have worked commercially underwater for years.....be careful.


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## AntiqueMeds

what is a good product for cleaning neoprene?


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## andy volkerts

cat5 they even have a website, cleans and preserves wetsuits.....


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## RICKJJ59W

> ORIGINAL:  JGUIS
> 
> Using a pitchfork as a probe, increases your chances by 3.  []


 
 I second that. We used to pull up milk bottles with a fork like they were going of of style. Well they were out of style you know what I mean[]


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## FlaskMan

How exactly do you probe a spot in the ground, do you just take a pitchfork and poke it into the ground hoping to hit bottles?

 Thanks guys, this info helps! 

 Also, I won't go into the water without proper equipment, I appreciate the concern!


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## j.dinets

In a sense that's correct. you're using it as a probe, going in a continuous pattern trying not to miss any areas. You will be able to tell bottles by the sound and feel. Once you have founda few, you will have no trouble recognizing others on contact. If you are in water shallow enough to wade in, I would suggest a spading fork.  Same concept, except the tines are strong enough to dig bottles out of silt or sand, and can be used to lever rocks and other debris out of the way. In the river I spoke of above we found many bottles in about 3 feet of water, and a spading fork was invaluable. We also carried a 3' handled fishing net to nudge bottles into with our feet. We also got very strange looks form people crossing the bridge[]. Most assumed we were fishing, even though we had no poles. The spading fork also acted as a walking aide and by always using it in front of you as you walk will detect and protect you from many other hidden objects. A spading fork has saved my shins from many a submerged metal drum, and is a great way of detecting changing depth. Until you are very sure of a rivers topography, and even after, as storms and floods can rapidly change bottom topography, walk upstream against the rivers current. This will allow you to avoid being swept into something you don't want to go in, and make backing up easy. Much of this info is dependent of whether you are in water or on shore. On shore look for pieces of broken pottery, glass and metal eroding out of the bank, which may indicate a dump along the bank. Bank erosion being caused by river flooding will always deposit in the direction of the current. This is to say if you are finding bottles in the river or creek, you think came out of a dump on a bank look for it along the  bank upstream of where you find them, and vice versa if you find a dump along a bank look for bottles, which were washed out of it downstream of the dump. Hope this helps, good luck! and have fun.


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## The black cat

I have an old creek behind my house and I found some old beet bottles and an old perfume bottle


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## embe

Cool, this is an old thread, but maybe you can share the story on how you found them?


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## Kheidecker

embe said:


> Cool, this is an old thread, but maybe you can share the story on how you found them?


All I do is creeks. I Walk The Creeks looking in water and banks. Here in Illinois where it's flat all the trash went in to the crevices or low spots which was mostly creeks. I look towards the banks for high concentrates of glass shards.start digging.a old dump will be some easy ground to dig like a privy. lot of times they caught the dumps on fire so I it'll have a lot of black ash in soil.. what they usually had the dumps east of town within a half a mile from center of town.sanborn maps can also help. Always look around animal holes in the banks and uprooted trees. I always try and dig into the bank and let gravity help you move some dirt.heres a pic of an uprooted tree I'm gonna dig up soon as it warms up.good luck


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## seniorscuba1

Best way to find bottles in a river or Lake or stream depending on the depth of water is with scuba gear depending on the current  I push my hand in the Muddy Bottom and went back and forth and when your hand  feel something I pulled it out of the mud. Most of the time I find junk it gets threw away recently beer bottles pop bottles and garbage. But every now and then I catch a nice crock or medicine bottle.. Once well doing this diving Northwest arm  new Halifax  I was  swimming back and forth with my arm up to my elbow in the silt object I grabbed something and pulled it out of silt  by this time the  visibility was basically zero so I had to come up some to see what I had  is a emerged  from the silt and shook the mud off the object  I saw  Baby eyes and little button nose looking back at me per second I just froze but within a few seconds I started breathing again when I noticed it was just a doll oh, but I got some scare


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## DeepSeaDan

Just another word on safety if deciding to hunt underwater on scuba:

> Most divers I know who bottle hunt ( including myself ), dive alone. Many will plan a dive as a group, then split up after entering the water; net result - you're still diving solo, except other divers are in the general area. Solo divers must understand the potential risks involved, such as:

* Entanglement hazards
* Boating hazards
* Low-head dams & hydro dams
* Heavy current complications
* Cold water complications
* Medical incidents ( heart attack, cardiac arrest, stroke - incidents brought on by the stressors 
                                         possible while diving )

 !Currently, subaqueous 911 service is not available!

Bottom line: If things go bad, you have only yourself to effect a solution.

Please - do not undertake solo scuba diving unless properly equipped, VERY well experienced,
and properly trained ( Properly executed "Buddy Diving", remains the safest way to dive, but there are agencies who offer certification in solo diving ).

I'm in my 46th year of diving. Thus far - no accidents or incidents. I dive VERY safely & VERY conservatively! I acknowledge & accept the risks in doing what I do.

Be Wise! Hunt Safe!

Regards,
DSD


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## seniorscuba1

you are absolutely right, .that is why we didn't take any newbies on our bottle dives it is hard to watch your buddy when the the viz is the length of your arm . Also when i started what became solo bottle diving I got  a small tank and cleaned it up  and used it for an auxilary air tank . once I had to use it . I was in 80 feet of water in the middle of Halifax Harbor  not the cleanest place in the world to dive . As i swam a sort of a zigzag pattern I took a breath and it was hard to breathe , I quickly looked at my air supply and it   was ok I had lots of air there was a problem with the valve . then I took a second breath and it was only a trickle . by the third breath there was nothing . so I was alone in 80 feet of muddy water . with no air! I quickly took the regulator to my "pony bottle " purged it and went over to my emergency tank I tested it on a previous dive I made a controled accent from  100  ft  so With no time to linger around  I surfaced  the damn thing was the guys found some fine bottles ..  but i guess getting back alive is something ...


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