That sinking feeling?!?!

[Arkwater]

I have been MDing a local park that has been in use at least since 1815 and officially became a city park in 1907. All my finds have been from the 1970's,(coins & trash) and most are 4 to 6 inches deep. The park is 10 acres and has 13 artesian wells. The entire place is very wet most of the year. I know there has to be some older items there. Do you think they could be beyond range due to the wet conditions?

[The TINMAN]

Just what Boobie said. Take your time & keep going over the same ground working tose area's from different directions. Just cuz you haven't found it yet doesn't mean it's not there. There should be All kinds of great stuff just waiting for ya. Good Luck & Keep Diggin.

The TINMAN

[Bill W.]

There's probably plenty in range of your machine. Although, I think wet ground will make everything sink faster. I would try different areas in the park. If it's like one of the parks I hunt it has had dirt moved. There are places in that park that I've only ever dug clad with a few exceptions. The old coins seem mostly concentrated to the outside edges of the park.

-Bill

[pris]

I would bet the farm against a pair of smelly socks, You will find some fantastic treasures there.

I have to ask you, Boobie, do you crack yourself up when you're writing your posts? I have to say that I've never heard this one before. I like it. I like it a lot!

[The TINMAN]

You do have a Way with words. I'm still crackin up about whenever you want to go Relic hunting you just look in the mirror. God Bless ya cuz there's nothin better than a Good Laugh!

The TINMAN

[cjoej]

One feature I look at is the tree roots. If the ground goes right up to the trunk without any root knees showing, then I know that it has been "landscaped" which means that several inches of dirt has been added to level the ground. When I find a tree with its root system poking up all around it I know the old dirt is on the surface and old items will be shallower and easier to detect there because they won't be under extra soil and trash.

I think that the springs would be good hunting as they would have been visited often and likely have more lost items as people would have been likely to slip/fall and be bending over to reach the water, not to mention the kids playing around them.

SWC
Joe

[ButchB]

Interesting post,never thought about the tree roots being exposed.........

[mlamp20412]

I had made a post about river terrace mding and suspect the same thing about chronically wet ground or areas subject to repeated water coverage. I think the targets go deeper, they are there, but deeep. Think about standing in shin deep water at the beach. As the water recedes after a wave, you actually sink and your feet get buried. This happens at different rates depending on water volume and sand granularity, but it has always been my experience to some degree at the beach. I would imagine in an area with seeping water or periodic water coverage the effect would be the same, things sink albeit slowly. On the beach the targets resurface when the beach gets wave-cut with storm activity, but with seeping water or periodic less intense water coverage targets just keep sinking until they hit bedrock or a more stable layer.