# Farm dump help



## foster2100 (Jan 3, 2016)

So I've been working a farm dump from the 1800s and its on the side of a hill, with large rocks in the way of course. I've only pulled one whole bottle from it in a year. I think I've got a rough outline of where it sat, with that being said, taking into consideration the large rocks and I'm hitting the clay layer (red clay) I'm just wondering how far these large rocks have moved it down on the hillside. I've found dirt that appears to have been burned and shards around it, but there is still more large rocks even underneath the burn layer and this is about a foot and a half down. My gut tells me to go down further on the hill and I will but is it plausible that it moved it that far down the hill it's probably 15 feet down the hill so if you can give advice it would be welcomed. 

Thanks.


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## LisaH (Jan 4, 2016)

When you are starting out always follow your gut more often that not. 

Have you been running a probe to the bottom V where the oldest bottles would have rested? Also you would want to get a bead on where the most ac***ulation was and then dig that down and run a probe there.

Pictures always help anyway you can get a few up for us?


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## sunrunner (Jan 4, 2016)

man . if all your coming up with is a bunch of rocks , chards and one hole bottle ! I would say forgetaboit!


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## LisaH (Jan 4, 2016)

He pulled a whole bottle out and doesn't sound like there are other sites to be hunting. Let the guy dream eh! Persistence isn't a bad trait.


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## hemihampton (Jan 4, 2016)

If it's full of big rocks not sure a probe will do much good, you just might keep hitting big rocks with the probe? I'd dig deeper just to see whats down there? LEON.


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## foster2100 (Jan 6, 2016)

I was just out there today and the ground is frozen over but I was digging anyways. As far as getting a probe into the ground I haven't yet but am going to as soon as the weather breaks a bit. I will get some pictures of it as well it's an interesting site very scenic as well. There is a huge rock face back behind the massive boulder and when I say there is literally a small tree growing on top of it. Im thinking that burn layer is running like almost in a square and then there's the clay layer underneath of that. In the burn layer I've been finding some awesome looking pieces to electric blue mason jars. Today I found a couple of parts to bodies that was blown out that belonged to medicine bottles, and about a week and half ago I found some pottery pieces one was a part of a jug the white and brown kind with the smaller spout and the other piece I'm not sure what it was off of but it was grey in color I'm thinking it may have come off of


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## foster2100 (Jan 6, 2016)

You know normally I would've said just forget it and move on to something else but I am learning and do collect antiques and metal detect, so I like adventure. In addition I've been trying for over a year just to locate it sparse directions and not knowing if I was in the right area was a big part of it too. Like I'd mentioned before about the rock face and the massive Boulder here's what will hopefully kind of let you see why I was confused, the man which I know pretty well had pigs in a pen a ways from there but he made two boulders that were sitting kinda close together into a pen and just put up a gate. So we have 3 boulders now and these are within 20 yards of other and then the rock face so I was having problems just really finding it precisely. The dump like I said before I believe it's in a square but I'm not sure the next time I go, which I try to go out about 3 times in a week and it's close to my house so I just drive out and visit for a while and go back and work the dump for a while. I really think that I will take a rake and just clear the leaves off the entire area so I can stop guessing at where exactly the burn layer was and where it is now.


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## foster2100 (Jan 6, 2016)

This is the first time I had ever dug for bottles so I'm really just learning and it's been a long but enjoyable experience and it's not easy but the one bottle even if it's just one that I pulled out whole yes I'm not going to lie it will have been disappointing but at least i will have a good story to tell and how many people actually follows through with something until the end these days.


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## coldwater diver (Jan 6, 2016)

Hi Foster do you have any photos of the shards and the whole bottle? I used to dig and still will if there is positively no poison oak,ivy,sumac. I had great success on the side of an old barn once. It was like digging through the generations of those who lived there. A friend of mine who is an avid digger & diver told me this was very common on farms. Just another area to always check out in your bottle adventures. Good luck


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## foster2100 (Jan 6, 2016)

I will be getting some pictures maybe later today. I really need to take a rake and get all of the leaves off of the area.


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## foster2100 (Jan 6, 2016)

I get almost the feeling that I am digging through generations especially out here because I've got enough information to know when people lived there and I feel like I'm just scratching the surface figuratively, as to what it could hold and literally as to the depth of the burn layer.


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## foster2100 (Jan 6, 2016)




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## nhpharm (Jan 6, 2016)

The bottle you found is from the 1910's or early 1920's.  Farm dumps were rarely burned...classically they just dumped everything (unburned) down a banking or behind a stone wall.  On a banking dump, I will typically dig some test holes as the base of the banking, then work my way up.  Often there will be a small ac***ulation at the base of the banking, then nothing for a ways up the banking.  It is always good to start at the bottom of the dump and work upwards.  Often these bankings were used to dispose of rocks from the fields as well, so the dump will be a lot of rocks mixed with trash.  It is usually pretty clear when you are to virgin soil.  

Often these dumps are mostly broken but there will be a pocket or two of whole bottles.  I wish you luck.  I spent many years digging farm dumps.


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## foster2100 (Jan 6, 2016)

nhpharm said:


> The bottle you found is from the 1910's or early 1920's.  Farm dumps were rarely burned...classically they just dumped everything (unburned) down a banking or behind a stone wall.  On a banking dump, I will typically dig some test holes as the base of the banking, then work my way up.  Often there will be a small ac***ulation at the base of the banking, then nothing for a ways up the banking.  It is always good to start at the bottom of the dump and work upwards.  Often these bankings were used to dispose of rocks from the fields as well, so the dump will be a lot of rocks mixed with trash.  It is usually pretty clear when you are to virgin soil.
> 
> Often these dumps are mostly broken but there will be a pocket or two of whole bottles.  I wish you luck.  I spent many years digging farm dumps.




The lone bottle I found so far was at the top of the dump when I was clearing out some of the large rocks and it was actually loosely packed in between under the rock it was near the top of the soil, like maybe I'm gonna say 2 or 3 inches at the most. I'm thinking that what helped this bottle to survive was right there was the large rock at the top the bottle was like I said loosely packed under not much soil well right down below this rock is a tree looks to have been new growth at one point but died out with a dead stump right beside of it. Yesterday I was digging out from rock that was at end of the stump and got the rock loose no burn layer just clay under it but up above the rock and under the dead stump was more shards of glass.


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## foster2100 (Jan 6, 2016)

I'm moving this to a new thread so others can see and may be able to offer some more help. I thank you all for input and insights.


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## LisaH (Jan 6, 2016)

Foster you should take nhpharm's advice and start at the bottom working your way up. If the dump is not just off the side of hill and happens to be in a valley, try to get as deep into the middle of it as you can to start. The shape of the terrain will affect the refuge dispersal pattern.


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## foster2100 (Jan 8, 2016)

If you have seen the pictures in the album I made there is no clear pattern to the scatter of the bottles. I think I'm going to look for pieces of the grey clay and try to match up the shards so I don't get too discouraged.


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