Yesterday's colonial pit dig

[Anonymous]

Had a great time digging with Stan yesterday. Was hoping for the elusive whole black glass bottle to make an appearance, but it didn't happen. Not that we didn't try, though. First pic is a shot of what the pit looked like. It was chock-full of brick, oyster shells, bones, pipe stems and bowls, black glass fragments, pottery shards, etc.
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904a.jpg">
Here are some of the pipe stems and bowls. One of the bowls had some markings, including the initials "PP".
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904c.jpg">
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904g.jpg">
Tons of black glass bottle spots and bases came out of this hole. One of the spouts was absolutely huge. Never seen one like it before. Also found one with the wire closure.
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904d.jpg">
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904e.jpg">
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904f.jpg">
Also found this bellarmine jug shard. These usually date to the middle 1600s.
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904h.jpg">
Here's the stuff after cleaning, including a giant oyster shell. Thanks again Stan for the opportunity, and hope we can do it again soon.
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904i.jpg">
<img src="http://www.findmall.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11164/122904j.jpg">

 

[Anonymous]

How did you identify the pit? I have a colonial site in Smithfield that I'm working. The house is gone, but the trees remain. It's on private property not far from the packing plant. Anyway, I made a probe and plan to try it out this weekend. I've only hit this site once with my detector so far, but I think someone searched it several years ago. If you and Stan want to come along let me know and I'll see if I can arrange it with the owner.
Johnny H.
Virginia

 

[Anonymous]

[No message]

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the invite Johnny. I'll talk to Stan and see if we can work something out. As far as finding trash pits and privies, its generally a lot harder than it may appear, and takes patience and experience. The site where I found the stuff yesterday was one of Stan's old sites, and he and one of his other hunting buddies found the pit a while back. I've done a lot of bottle digging in the last couple years, and have a pretty good feel for where to look for dumps or privies on a property, but many times they just can't be found. At colonial sites, you want to look near where the summer kitchen was, especially in a nearby low spot or ravine. I've also found a number of old bottle dumps in marshy areas near an old home or neighborhood. Those can be a little easier to find as many times you'll see visual indications of a dump, like that beach site you were at recently. Finding privies is more difficult, and sometimes requires a lot of probing. Finding them in the city is much easier than rural sites due to the size of the search area. Anyway, I'm just rambling here. We can talk more about this later. I may drop you an email later tonight or tomorrow after I talk to Stan. See ya, and thanks again.

 

[Anonymous]

The spouts look great after cleaning and makes a great display. And your pipes too. Not bad, two displays in two hours. Have to do it again soon.