Tips needed for MDing old foundations

[togamac]

I have located several old foundations that I'll be MDing. They are in bad shape, i.e., foundation stones have toppled into the cellar, etc. Some have obvious signs of having been detected before (sadly, unfilled holes).

Tips from some of you more experienced MDers would be appreciated.

Thanks much and HH!

 

[togamac]

I was at one of the old foundations today, circa 1902. As I entered it I pondered on what life was like at that time. What did they use the cellar for?

Perhaps storing food in the winter, a place for their tools (I did find a half of an old ice tong), a place for their money?!?! If I lived in a cold climate during those days and had to have access to my money stash, then the cellar would be a perfect place to put it. The cannng jar in the yard would be frozen in but the canning jar in the cellar would be accessible all year round. Or perhaps I'd loosen one of the stones in the foundation and stash the cash behind it.

I brought along a small shovel and a piece of hardware cloth today, picked a spot at random on the cellar floor and dug down through the loose decaying vegetation, through the ash colored soil (the structure had obviously burned down), and about 6 inches into the cellar floor soil. The hole was about 1' x 2'. The MD had detected nothing but iron which I assumed to be nails. Imagine the thoughts going through my mind when I hit what looked like the cover of a metal box. It was about 8 x 12 and parallel with the cellar floor. It got the old ticker going for sure. However, all it turned out to be was a cover to a metal box, nothing beneath it. I sifted all of the soil I had removed from the hole back into the hole but didn't come up with anything.

I stood at the entrance to the cellar and looked at the wall. If I wanted to stash my cash, where would I put it? To the left? To the right? In the corner? Eye level? Near the floor?

I noticed a missing stone to my right at about waste high. I stuck the Propointer in the hole - nothing. I poked my digger into the hole and cleared the debris looking for folding money - nothing. Had this been the spot and the owner cleared it out after the fire? I'll never know but I can't stop thinking about this place and probably never will until I've dug up the whole floor and examined every rock in the walls.

What a hobby!

 

[mudpuppy]

What a great adventure! I know if I was one of those old timers, I'd a buried the loot in the cellar...in the NW corner, or right under the stairs..
Mud

 

[togamac]

MUD! You, my man, are a trooper! I saw your pics of the cooooooold beach. Neither rain nor snow or..... . You are an inspiration. Keep on digging my friend. I plan to. One of these days, we're gonna hit it BIG!

 

[Connecticut Lovejoy]

There is snow in Connecticut, and there are more coming.

 

[osgood]

obviously as close as you can get in and around the perimeter. Also envision an area nearby where they would of spent time during the day outside, maybe overgrown now, but a side yard, a side garden and a well, any old pottery there? Look for things like daisies, lilacs, sweet william ground covers, evidence of habitation. Sometimes it takes a number of visits to clear away trash masking coin hits.Any level area nearby even if now overgrown..If there is a road or trail nearby, of course from an entrance to the road or trail. A fairly nearby apple grove, bottle dump etc. Look up at old trees nearby., Any iron hanging there or hooks suspended, nails etc. from which a line might of run. Look for the outhouse, and well (maybe now a spring or wet rocky area). Good luck, CO