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This shows a concern for his crops, which he makes a living
on. After permission has been granted, I'll ask to try and locate
the privies to dig. I'll explain how they are a good spot to
locate bottles and relics. I'll offer to throw large foundation
stones in the holes before I fill them back in. This helps cut
down on the damage to his farming equipment. After I've been
hunting on his property for a season, I try and get his address.
Sending a Christmas card explaining how I enjoyed my hobby, due to
his generosity, will keep me in his mind for the next season. I've
been thanked many times for sending a Christmas card. Always treat
the landowner with the utmost respect. We're only as successful
as they are generous.
Now, I'm on the field and found the house site. How? By looking
for areas of brick, foundation stone, broken china, pottery, and
glass. Next, I'd like to determine where the back of the house
was. Several factors can determine this. Roads can help. The house
usually faced the road if it was close enough to it. If the house
was away from the road, I'll use the east-west rule of thumb. Most
houses I have come in contact with, faced east or west. This has
also been noted in historical record accounts about settlement
locations. Sometimes, I can probe for and find the cellar hole or
stone foundation of the house. If there is visual evidence of a
trashy or debris laden area of the house, this could be the back
where outbuildings were. These rules of thumb are not written in
stone. There are always exceptions to these rules, but when you're
starting at square one, you have to go by something. If I can
determine the back of the house, I'll start probing in a
semi-circular direction there. I'll start at a close distance and
work my way out. Older privies seem to be closer. Additions to the
house could have been added on and would have moved the privies
out a little farther. As I'm detecting the site, I'm taking mental
notes of the type of surface debris. Concentration of broken china
and glass are always suspect to me. This could represent the top
or "fill cap" of a privy area that has been scattered by
the plow. Actually, I carry my probe with me while I am detecting
and push it through on these suspect spots. If I locate a well, I
can assume the privy will not be in that general area. They did
not want to contaminate their water source. The prevailing winds
can help determine a general location for the privies. The
homeowner will not want the odor drifting back to the house in the
summertime. He might put it off to the side where the winds would
carry it away from the house. Again, this is not written in stone.
I have found some where the winds did carry the odor to the house.
These are exceptions, and not the rule. Just don't rule out any
possible areas. Check out the most probable areas first, and then
eliminate them one by one. Page
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