Weekend trip to OLD property...any tips?

[Danimal]

I have the opportunity to detect a 12 acre lot in Connelsville, PA that not only has a house on it dating back to the eraly 1800s, but has remains of 1700's-era dwellings as well. The standing house was last occupied in the 1960s so I am hoping not much modern trash.
Any helpful ideas on search patterns, etc? I have only been MDing since this past January, and have not really hit much old (undetected) areas.
I am hoping for old silver of any type...and am really looking for my first IHs.
I'll take pics,post them next Monday with search results.

 

[Oklahunter]

I've not had any experience around old homes so I can't offer any advice.
I CAN, however, wish you luck!

 

[Schrecky]

Sounds like a great opportunity.  Trash should diminish as you get further away from the foundation.  If you feel confident run with discrimination wide open and use the display (depending on your detector) to interpet signals.  Tree lines (including stumps) are also good.  12 acres is a lot of ground to cover, if you have a larger DD coil you could us it to cover more ground faster once your out of the trash areas.  I'll bet your going to find some good stuff, wish I was there too. Also follow any paths between buildings.

 

[richetts]

Let me see if I can help you out with a few tips. The first thing I would do is to make a paper map of the main house and any out buildings, or at least out building foundations. A house that old should have had an outhouse, most likely in the rear of the main dwelling or on the predominately downwind side. You should also find the remnants of a chicken coup. All families in the country in the 1800s had some type of building for keeping chickens. Most families had some type of barn or lean-to for keeping livestock. If they had only a horse for transportation, they would have a small lean-to, if they had several livestock they would have something more resembling a barn. Next you should look for the remnants of a clothesline. Take note of any trees close to the house that you can't wrap your arms around and touch your fingers on the other side. These will be trees that were most likely there originally. Also, as Shrecky mentioned, look for a tree line or fence line depicting the outside of the main yard. Another thing you will want to find out is if there was a well there. Some folks had sisterns and some had wells. Knowing where these things are will help you concentrate on the most likely area for targets. There is always the chance of finding a cache around a home like this. I would personally run in all metal mode and determine what to dig by the size of the signal. A small iron target like a nail would not be dug, but a large iron target could be a good relic. You could find horse shoes, Ox shoes, old lanterns, the list is endless. A large iron target could also be a cache of coins or jewelry. Many folks used tin cups or boxes along with mason jars to bury the family savings. If you are limited on time to detect this property due to future construction or development, you might try to cherry pick for old silver, if you have some time, like a whole summer, I would take my approach and really get the most from it. If possible, you can get on one of the Terra server websites and get an overhead view to help find the remnants of outbuildings. Research really pays off if you have the time.

Hope these suggestions help you. Would love to see some pics of the place. Good luck on your new adventure into finding history. Happy hunting.


Richie Etts