I need some advice.

spleeninator

Anyone have a good detector to start with thats not too expensive. I probably would have gotten one a while ago, but having the chunk of woods where everyone dumps their trash, i would have found old crap. I randomly dug and guess what i found:

-nails/screws
-scrap metal
-old glass from headlights
-wire
-broken plates
-one of those candle holders with a one finger handle thingy
-floor tile
-that immitation plastic tile thingy
-much more
-and the best of all, take a guess: a MATTRESS

woodwalker

Cool find on the mattress.

lordmarcovan

Regardless of the type of detector used, that sounds like the kind of site to avoid. Hunt that with a cheap detector, and you might find yourself frustrated, pretty quick. But if you get a detector with target ID (not necessarily a more expensive one, since even many base models have it, now), you might be able to pick and choose a little more. However, large pieces of scrap metal are impossible to tune out on most any detector.

Of course, since its your property and you have the time to hunt it at your leisure, you could work on clearing out all the trash and then hopefully find any goodies that are there. But that could take several lifetimes.

My own backyard produced 90% crap, with the only coin being a 1963 cent. And such wonderful treasures as a giant piece of aluminum siding. Now that I have a top-of-the-line Garrett with "imaging" capability that also tells the relative size of the target, I could avoid such big pieces of trash for the most part, but frankly, after that first outing, I have no real desire to detect in my backyard anymore and prefer to head for greener pastures. But one day I might give it another shot.

PS- your broken plates and candle holder, if the right age, might indicate some potential. Got pictures?

spleeninator

I left 'em in the woods. After i posted this, i was thinking of going out and getting them. But it was like 8:30 and already dark so i couldnt AND i was going to get them today but it was pouring. I'll probably have pics tomorrow. At least, i think it was a candle holder. It was like 2 months ago. There is a house bordering the property line that used to be a one room school house like, 100 years ago or somthing. Its about 50-60 feet away. Who knows what else could be there. Its all in the middle of a car-sized path that we made but the stuff extends VERY far into the more wooded area. I will probably have pics of stuff and the area tomorrow. Unless it rains. I wouldnt know. I dont watch the weather channel. A seventh grader finds no intrest in it what so ever.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>There is a house bordering the property line that used to be a one room school house like, 100 years ago or somthing. Its about 50-60 feet away. >>

Well, this could have some possibilities, and be worth clearing away some trash for, I suppose.

spleeninator

Heres some pics.

SOME JUNK?!?! You mean about 50 pounds per sq yard?! Yeah.

lordmarcovan

Well, some of that is old, but I didn't see anything that looked really old. One of the large group of sherds you showed had some craquelure (or however you spell it- that network of fine cracks in the glaze), which indicates it could be pretty old, but it is impossible to date undecorated, plain white fragments without expert examination and/or scientific testing, which would obviously be a waste of time and money.

The large white sherd with little ridgies on it looks like milk glass and is from the mid-20th century, most likely.

The brown sherd (earthenware?) could be anything- fairly modern flowerpot fragment, or ancient Indian pottery. I don't know.

The "candlestick holder" thingie doesn't look like that to me- I don't see a socket for a candle. It looks old but not that old... 50 years or less would be my guess.

spleeninator

Yeah, well I saw it a couple months ago, and i dont have the best memory. The brown thing being ancient indain is a possibility I highly doubt. It has very smooth sides and near perfect angles or whatever you would call them. But that would be pretty cool if it was. But Im still wondering what the thingie is.

lordmarcovan

Brown earthenware like that could be from almost any period. I don't know enough about the different types and glazes and so on to tell you what it is. I wasn't really suggesting it was Native American, but moreover suggesting that it could be almost anything, old or new.

spleeninator

Ehh, who knows what it could be. Good news. My friend is sleepin over and we are gonna try to bring back the matress! Wish me luck!