Old trash dump behind 1800s farm stone wall

RockieBoston

Full Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Messages
164
Location
Boston, Massachusetts
Hi, new here & new to the hobby. Detecting cellar holes in New England woods and getting REALLY good at finding old square nails and rusty iron farm junk. My family owns an 1830s farm house in another state. There's a big trash dump site behind a stone wall where we've found junk junk junk, mid-20th century. Broken bottles, old boots, rusty iron. I mean real trash.

Is it worth excavating all the mid-20th century junk, would it be likely to have older, more interesting stuff below? I haven't gotten over to the property to detect anywhere but I was thinking about starting with the dump. It's a lot of trash to move though.
 
One man's trash , is another man's treasure. Do it !
 
Always worth digging a test pit . Figure out where the center of the dump is and dug it till you hit bottom. You never know. If the house is that old there are likely other older dumps . Check any ravines or downhill slopes in the woods behind the house and across the street. Good luck
 
Yes, some trash pits were used for decades, so the deeper you go, typically the older it gets. Not always the case, but usually. Keep us posted on your findings, and welcome from the center of the commonwealth!
 
Welcome from Boston, RockieBoston.

If interested in joining a club, MTHA meets in Newton Highlands on the 3rd Friday of each month www.masstreasure.com. Guests arewelcom to drop by to check us out before deciding to join. Due to the pandemic, we have not met at the usual club building for a few months and not sure if the June meeting will happen yet either. The web site will be updated with status of meeting. Several members are having bi-weekly ZOOM meetings until we can resume our regular meeting schedule. Stay tuned.

Jim
 
Welcome from Boston, RockieBoston.

If interested in joining a club, MTHA meets in Newton Highlands on the 3rd Friday of each month www.masstreasure.com. Guests arewelcom to drop by to check us out before deciding to join. Due to the pandemic, we have not met at the usual club building for a few months and not sure if the June meeting will happen yet either. The web site will be updated with status of meeting. Several members are having bi-weekly ZOOM meetings until we can resume our regular meeting schedule. Stay tuned.

Jim
Awesome, thanks
 
Man, the trash dump really is TRASH. The bottles are all 1930s-1950s junk, mostly broken, and the rest is burned and rusted out metal cans. Offered to pay my kids a dollar a bucket to get it out of the woods so we can take it to the town dump but they won't even touch it.

Will save further exploration of this dump for a time when the Maine woods is less buggy (haha) and/or I have more energy for sifting through the trash.

Gin bottle with a terrarium growing in it. Aesthetically pleasing.
 

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Hi, new here & new to the hobby. Detecting cellar holes in New England woods and getting REALLY good at finding old square nails and rusty iron farm junk. My family owns an 1830s farm house in another state. There's a big trash dump site behind a stone wall where we've found junk junk junk, mid-20th century. Broken bottles, old boots, rusty iron. I mean real trash.

Is it worth excavating all the mid-20th century junk, would it be likely to have older, more interesting stuff below? I haven't gotten over to the property to detect anywhere but I was thinking about starting with the dump. It's a lot of trash to move though.

I'm good at finding rusty nails myself.. welcome
 
I like exploring those old trash pits. It's discouraging to see nothing all too old, but first, some bottles and things from that date range are collectible/worth keeping. Secondly, there still may be some older stuff under one side or another. Some spots can have better stuff, but you won't know until you dig around. GL & HH!
When I was a kid, I would've done it for a dollar a truckload!
 
Man, the trash dump really is TRASH. The bottles are all 1930s-1950s junk, mostly broken, and the rest is burned and rusted out metal cans. Offered to pay my kids a dollar a bucket to get it out of the woods so we can take it to the town dump but they won't even touch it.

Will save further exploration of this dump for a time when the Maine woods is less buggy (haha) and/or I have more energy for sifting through the trash.

Gin bottle with a terrarium growing in it. Aesthetically pleasing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Love that gin bottle terrarium with the fern inside, Rockie. I once found a cream-top milk bottle in the woods, half buried, half exposed. It too had a natural terrarium inside.
 
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If you can clear out the modern stuff here and there, odds are you'll eventually find something decent mixed in.
Had a similar situation last year: 1930s and 1940s junk close to the surface, then some 1880s/1890s stuff about 1.5 feet below.

I'd guess it depends on the site, but there's a strong chance they utilized a dump there for some time.

Keep us posted with what you find! Love the terrarium bottle.
 
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