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My First Privy Dig

Rabid1

New member
Privy-Dig.jpg


Glamorous work this digging privies is!

This is my first time at this, and although very challenging, I think it could ultimately be worth the effort. <insert forum encouragement here>

This shot was taken yesterday when I was about 31/2 to 4 feet down.I'm now at 6 feet, and it's becoming more difficult. I an finding pieces of relics that deep, so I'm convinced I need to go a bit deeper to get to the good stuff. So far I've found broken tools, broken bottles, nails and various other pieces.

The privy appears to have been lined with rocks, and when it was back-filled large rocks were dropped into the hole. Needless to say digging ain't easy! <insert forum encouragement here>

I'm deep enough now that I have a safety concern of a cave-in. Maybe somebody can give me some advice about this.

How deep do you think I should go? I have yet to find any whole bottles etc., but I'm still finding little things that keep me digging.

Best,
Rick
 
Remember that every one of those things were hand dug, so they went as deep as they thought they had to, but not much deeper. I remember watching my uncle dig one when I was a little kid. Seems to me he stopped at about 7 or 8 feet. Probably more like 7. Keep remembering.....Hand Dug.
 
Good luck on finding some really
good artifacts...

Hope to see pics of your finds

And stay safe

Ron

Rangers Lead The Way
 
From what I've read, anytime you are in sandy soil, be extra careful of a cave in. Since someone took the picture in the post, it's good to see you are not digging alone. Good luck and I hope you find some interesting bottles or relics. One or two old bottles can make it worth your while. Somebody has a post on the bottle and relic forum about the value of bottles, but I don't remember the exact post.
 
Been thinking about your question and you should be able to tell by the soil composition exactly where the bottom is
 
Yeah some costly bottles can be uncovered in those pits. There are two guys here in Portland who arm themselves with a ton of plat maps and go through the neighborhoods getting permission to dig the old pits and they come up with some great stuff.

Bill
 
Make sure to check the corners of the privy. The guy who wrote the Urban Treasure Hunter book says that's a place to check in an old privy site. Lots of stuff gets pushed up in the corners. Privy digging reminds me of this plumber I used to know. He had a business card printed that read: Your sh*t is my bread and butter. lol
 
fongu said:
Privy digging reminds me of this plumber I used to know. He had a business card printed that read: Your sh*t is my bread and butter. lol
That there's funny, I don't care who you are!
 
Let us know what you find! Good luck! I just spent a whole week in a ghost town looking for the privies on the map, but couldn't find one.
 
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