Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
You might be wondering why I'm putting so much effort into a site like the Indian River Ridge site. Believe it or not, the experience illustrates a lot of principles that can be applied to beach hunting. It is obviously not a site that you would put a lot of time into if you are only interested in Spanish Colonial finds or gold rings, although there is always the remote possibility that something very surprising could show up there even if it is unlikely. Evaluating a site and site selection has a lot to do with your personal interests and goals.
When I started detecting the IRR site, I had no idea there would be so much stuff buried there. So the site has already surprised me. It didn't take long to discover that there were a lot of items on the site. I discovered that very quickly.
Sampling is a very useful and important skill whether you are on a beach or some wooded lot. If you sample a site well, you'll improve your probabilities dramatically. You can then decide whether you want to continue on that site or move on. I'll get into the topic of sampling in more detail some other time.
One thing this project has proved is that sites can surprise you. Your preconceptions might not be correct. Sone of my favorite and best producing sites in my South Florida days were beaches that seemed to be overlooked by most others. I usually had them pretty much to myself. If instead of following the crowd, you can explore some overlooked sites and find a good spot of your own. You might think a particular beach or site holds nothing, and be very wrong about it. A little sampling will give you a good idea of the potential of a site.
Another thing I was thinking about when I started this site was how often people think a site is worked out when there is still plenty to be found. I've hunted this site quite a few times now, and it is still far from being worked out. In fact, I am only less than half way done with it. I am not yet down the where the old coins are - if there are any. From what I've learned of the site so far, I would say if there are any coins, there won't be many. My intention, though, is to work it very completely and find out what went on there. That puzzle seems to be clearing up.
My sampling shows that the side along the northwest border has an overlay of more modern junk. And along the west border is a also a lot of recent junk from the railroad.
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| Rough Illustration of Indian River Ridge Site. West is at the top. |
The area around the house has been detected well in the past and has produced no railroad items - only some modern coins and junk items that seem to be mostly from the time the house was constructed and the yard was graded.
The yellow grid represents the grid used for the first sampling, although it isn't to scale. A few of the major areas are identified on the map. I've found a lot since then, and the detailed site map now shows a lot more finds.
The area near the west border has recent junk over older railroad items. It is just below that area that the following finds were made in about a hour last night. Much of the time was spent into digging things out of roots and rocks.
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| Sunday Evening Finds From the India River Ridge Site. |
Included is one strip of rusted metal about nine feet long, and another shorter spliced strip. Also some railroad spikes, rail anchor, couple electric wire connectors, grommet, and broken glass and pottery or stoneware were dug. It all came from a small area of about ten square yards or less.
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| Metal Band Spliced With Connector and Surplus Rolled. |
A couple stopper-top bottles (below) and some broken glass came up while I was digging some tough metal targets. One target I didn't get out yet because it is embedded in a big root.
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| Two Bottles Uncovered While Digging Metal Targets. |
I dug up two of these types of bottles previously. The cork or stopper top was sealed with a substance, a touch of which remains on the lip of the bottle.
That area is a good prospect for some sifting. There has to be a lot more bottles buried on the site. So far I've only found the ones that came up while I was digging metal targets. Bottles can sometimes be easily dated. I haven't researched the manufacturer yet. The trademark is on the bottom.
Among the broken glass was one piece with part of a ONE PINT embossing that nearly, but not completely, matches a full one pint bottle previously found on the site.
And a piece of pottery or stoneware that matches a previously found jug bottom. Probably not from the same jug though since they were found about fifty yards apart.
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| New piece of Stoneware Jug Sitting On Previously Found Bottom. |
They sure match. Not sure if it is from same jug. Not likely.
I also dug up the bottom of a tin - maybe a tobacco tin or cigar tin. It has some writing that I can't make out yet. I'll try some cleaning with the hope of being able to read it.
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| Bottom of Rusted Tin Showing Letters. |
The clues are slowly coming in and beginning to add up.
I'm going to continue to work this site until it is pretty well "worked out." That will take a while. But I'll also get out to the beach sometime soon.
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Beach conditions have not improved, and there is no tropical activity of interest.
The tides are moderate and the surf is about two or three feet.
There should be some good modern jewelry hunting.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net