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My professor said to always check the spoil heap first. He was right.
On a dig in rural Vermont last fall, we were clearing a 19th century farmstead cellar. We spent two days carefully sifting the floor. Found almost nothing. My old professor's voice popped into my head. He always said, 'The good stuff is in the trash.' So I spent an hour poking around the big pile of dirt they'd shoveled out. Found a complete 1840s clay pipe stem and a worn 1857 Seated Liberty dime in the first five minutes. The context was messed up, but the artifacts were real. It taught me that sometimes the obvious spot isn't the productive one. Anyone else have a simple piece of field advice that paid off big?
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beth7116mo ago
My buddy found a killer arrowhead in a gopher hole once, lol.
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anna_coleman466mo ago
Honestly my best find was a 1909 penny in the gravel of my own driveway. Tbh we overthink it sometimes.
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jessica7074mo ago
Honestly I used to think the main dig spot was all that mattered but you guys are totally changing my mind now lol
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park.miles6mo ago
Man, that's so true. My crew leader always told us to check fence lines near old houses. Found a whole cluster of Civil War era buttons that way when the main site was just nails and glass. What's the weirdest place you've found something good?
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