Hello Folks, for the last few months I have been writing about different aspects of bottle digging and shared some pictures with you. This month will be a little different and I hope you will enjoy it as well. There are other things to dig than bottles in older areas and they can be quite enjoyable as  well.. I have in my years of digging found such
things as old chamber pots, silverware, marbles, fine china, toothbrushes (ivory and bone handles), clay pipes and sometimes money to name a few and now after 30+ years  of collecting I have many relics and the like to display with my bottles.
On a trip to New Orleans with a few of my digging buddies a couple of years ago, we dug a mid 1800's privy (outhouse) as they are called by some and (pools) as they are called by those guys from New Orleans, and
found some interesting items which now are in my collection. The trip started with a plan to meet up with the guys that lived in the area to dig a site that they had found earlier and picking up Jerry Atwell, I set out on the 2+hour drive to New Orleans. After arriving in New Orleans, the  lot was located in an area where older homes were torn
down by the city and was covered with some debris yet not cleaned up from the wrecking crews, so naturally we cleared some of the area to be able to began the task of probing for the goody hole.  Locating a couple of good spots we began the tasks of  making a little test hole in the area to make sure that our efforts were not being wasted on newer or modern garbage. This method proves to be an advantage when time, energy and wear and tear on your physical well being is at stack. The New Orleans area is a great place to dig but the soil conditions are horrible. The mud will stick to your clothes, your shovels and whatever it comes in contact with and many times the odor can be just as bad. But even with all of the  disadvantages come some really great items. On this particular trip both Jerry and I came home with 2 such items. I had dug a Slave Collar and Jerry had dug a statue of a Horse. The Slave
Collar is quite unique as to  how it was made. Measuring ¾" in width and 5" in diameter, it is made from spring steel with a brass inset , probably used on a young female and crafted in such a way that her neck would not be injured. A Roman Numeral V(5) is stamped in the collar, also. Some of the guys who have looked at it did agree that the
possibility of where it was dug that the slave collar was used by the owner of the home
.
Some of my other ventures in privy digging has produced parts of guns, a set of brass knuckles, a pistol, glass eyes, reading glasses and parts of a sword handle. One dig in particular that comes to mind is" THE DOG GONE HOLE " -the owner of the property who had given us permission to dig had forgot where he had buried a dog and  yes this pit was the dog's burial ground. Yes, we did give the little guy a decent burial upon finding him. This privy yielded a LOUISIANA STATE SEAL BUCKLE and 4 GEORGIA STATE SEAL BUTTONS , a few bottles and other items.

For those of  you who do have a chance to dig a privy or even a dump, keep your eyes open for some of these relics. Pot lids are really neat and make nice displays along with marbles, doll arms and heads, clay pipes and children's dishes. Keep in mind (another's garbage can be your treasure). Remember to always leave the area you have dug- in better condition than how you found it. FILL IN YOUR HOLES AT ALL TIMES- to prevent injuries to others and this might help you in getting permission to dig for bottles with others in the neighborhood.  HAPPY HUNTING AND GOOD LUCK.......