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Things that we diggers recover.

Honcho

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2016
Messages
249
Location
Russia
Hello folks guess it d be an interstin threa. We in Russia mostly recover old weapons shells, air bombs, or granades. Most of them are rusty beyond of state to cause hurt. But smtimes Germany made explosives are most dangerous. Cause some of their inner parts are made of stainless still, or are fit so tight and good that rust dont hurt inner space. So first thing we do when find an explosive is to define is it German made or Russian. freind of mine found a dagger it looked great. He was offered a good money for it but he refused to sell it. i told him not to keep it at home cause it might be a burrial item. So hi kept it in the trunk of his car. And in tree months he luckily died in a car eccident. Here is that dagger. And how it must have looked like.tovar 4182- (1).1200x1200w.jpg IMG00327.jpg
 

ovrszd

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
1,523
Location
Missouri
Occupation
Retired Army
Have to get thru his translation. I think he meant unlucky. It is considered bad luck to have a burial item in your possession.

Very cool find!!!! I find an interesting rock once in a while. Or a rusty part of farm machinery. Never anything of interest.

Thanks for posting this. Very nice find!!!!
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,323
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
There is a whole lot of cultural stuff in his story.

First off he is routinely digging up old UXO. In the US that would necessitate a week of bomb squad work.

But the Russians made them so sloppy they are considered inert. That would never happen here. The Germans made them better and might still be dangerous. That just makes me shake my head.
 

Graham1

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Messages
300
Location
Hampshire, UK
There are a lot of places in Europe that were heavily fought over in both WW1 and WW2 and they will be digging up military stuff for ever more. Locals get used to it, but there are still people killed, but it it pretty rare.
German engineering has been highly respected for a long time. You would expect the Germans to design and build it right, but the stories say the Russians had to rely on weight of numbers no matter what the casulties were.
Graham
 

digger242j

Administrator
Joined
Oct 31, 2003
Messages
6,644
Location
Southwestern PA
Occupation
Self employed excavator
You would expect the Germans to design and build it right, but the stories say the Russians had to rely on weight of numbers no matter what the casulties were.

As it has been said, "Quantity has a quality of its own."

I wasn't involved at all, but last year in Pittsburgh, about 5 miles from where I grew up, excavators unearthed a large number of cannonballs dating back to the American Civil War: http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/b...annonballs-unearthed-at-the-allegheny-arsenal

I've done a lot of work in old areas of the city, and found lots of interesting things. Around 1985 I was digging through what had once been the basements of a row of 19th century homes. The basement floors were just a thin coat of cement over the sandy dirt. Under a floor, I dug up one hard chunk of something. I set it aside, and went to check it out later and found it to be two good sized pipe wrenches, laying side by side. I figure some old plumber went to his grave still wondering what had ever happened to those two wrenches...
 

Tinkerer

Senior Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
9,374
Location
The shore of the illinois river USA
Several old horseshoes. A like new flint arrowhead. A beautiful black scraper (photos attached).
A brand new chain in basement that had been filled with building rubble in the mid 1940's. It still had bright red paint on the hooks. The basement had a slab poured over it after the rubble with the chain in it had been dumped. Altogether I uncovered maybe 7 or 8 nice useable chains thru the years2.png .
 

Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,248
Location
Australia
There are a lot of places in Europe that were heavily fought over in both WW1 and WW2 and they will be digging up military stuff for ever more. Locals get used to it, but there are still people killed, but it it pretty rare.
After the big explosion under Hill 60 in 1917, that I mentioned in the Ripple Rock thread, two of the mines laid failed to explode.
One went up in 1958 during a thunderstorm, killing a cow.
The other one is still there somewhere, now over 100 years old.
 

92U 3406

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Messages
3,162
Location
Western Canuckistan
Occupation
Wrench Bender
Up in the sands they sometimes discover fossils. Once in a while they might dig up an old pickup truck that was run over and then buried (so they don't need to report it as an incident lol).
 

sled dog

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2014
Messages
342
Location
Hartdford City, In.
Back in the day when I pulled levers instead of wrenches, I always had this feeling that one day I was gonna find something valuable. In '85 cutting the roots on a giant oak with an 8K, down about 6 ft. I rolled out a steel box. You know how your heart starts poundin, thinkin man oh man, this is it! Pried it open and all I found was paper pulp mush. Money, or deeds, or what, I never knew. Oh well, so close...
 

thepumpguysc

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
7,537
Location
Sunny South Carolina
Occupation
Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
I can see that happening Sled.. bummer. Maybe next time.

Its a VERY common occurrence for someone to dig up a cannonball here in Charleston..
& when it happens on a downtown building project.. LOOK OUT..
The streets are shut down for WEEKS, the bomb squad is called..takes them about a full day to get it in the truck.. wereas I would walk over, pick it up & put it in there in 3 minutes..
THEN the Historical Society has to come out & stick their nose in the works.!!! Its a CANNONBALL.. NOT some new alien weapon.. we ALL KNOW what it is & where it came from.. move on..
THEN its front page news for a month..
 

ovrszd

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
1,523
Location
Missouri
Occupation
Retired Army
I found a hitch with a 2" ball while grading country roads today. Can never have enough of those!!!! I've found several log chains and small tools over the years.
 

digger242j

Administrator
Joined
Oct 31, 2003
Messages
6,644
Location
Southwestern PA
Occupation
Self employed excavator
What happened to the member on here formerly known as Skull Finder?

That's tuney443. He's still around. He just hasn't been here this week yet. He's got an interesting story, for those who haven't read it yet. Hopefully he'll post it. I don't want to steal his thunder...
 

jimg984

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2009
Messages
606
Location
ronda north carolina
hired this old time digger, he was an old bottle collector, he would rip up water pipes underground after we hand shovel to show him,,,,dug up unexposed bottles never broke a one ha ha asked if he pulled harder on lever if hit rock, he said oh no, 5 mintues later I looked up he both hands on one lever,, we gave him the devil lol
 

AzIron

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2016
Messages
1,547
Location
Az
I only find the occasional farm implement left from the old place before it was developed we have collected a hand full of matats witch are stones the Indians ground corn with I have personally seen one job that dig up 2 clay pots it was shut down for 2 months
Dad did a job in the 80s that had so many Indian ruins on it that something came up in every bucket

Grandpa worked on an interstate job in the early 70s as a cat Skinner they were making a cut with 2 8s working in line and he was the lead the second dozer fell into a small cave that they uncovered it was full of pottery and blankets and who knows what he said there super went on vacation that minute and 3 days later there was no more cave they filled it in .... different times
 

Honcho

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2016
Messages
249
Location
Russia
I found a hitch with a 2" ball while grading country roads today. Can never have enough of those!!!! I've found several log chains and small tools over the years.
We say if one picks up a tool. He is gonna have repair.
 

Buckethead

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2007
Messages
1,055
Location
Waterfront
Occupation
Operator
Have to get thru his translation. I think he meant unlucky. It is considered bad luck to have a burial item in your possession.

I don't know if I believe in lucky or unlucky. But anything buried with someone should be left with them out of respect, especially a war grave.
 
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