A Strange Find Bottle Digging at a Residential privy in Yankton, South Dakota. The Hanson House.

Excavating two privies at the former site of the Hanson House in Yankton, South Dakota.
#dumpdigging #antiquebottles #bottledigging #ghosttowns #treasurehunting #bottles #antiques #wildwildwest #metaldetecting #northdakota #southdakota #privydigging

[@ValerieDee123]

I have a bizarre question. Have you tried to grow any of those seeds? The reason being is those would be heirloom seeds. Completely organic and free of harmful chemicals.

[@juriaan13]

They weren't stored right and wouldn't germinate I think, sad though

[@laurelshugars2866]

🤣😂😅🤣🤔

[@philipcallicoat3147]

They'll sprout turds....

[@Alef.93]

Several scientists around the world have been able to germinate seeds from prehistoric contexts. The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has been grown from 32,000-year-old seeds that had been buried by an Ice Age squirrel, beating the previous recordholder by some 30,000 years

[@berkleywoman]

I like these older videos where there's enthusiastic interaction between Tom & Jake.

[@twindiggersminnesotapamandpat]

I am amazed at all of the work you guys did to find that. Talk about going back in history. Spectacular video.

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah those were some really interesting pits, good age too.. and yeah its probably my favorite video so far. glad you enjoyed

[@Stacietookmyname]

Fun! Thanx for taking us along!

[@mrdale8820]

Nice dig...I am continually impressed at the time you spend grid probing/drilling before you turn a shovel. Interesting that 99% of the pharmacy bottles you find in ND, and SD seem to be slick. Out here it's the other way around, most are embossed with local pharmacy's, almost everywhere one digs.

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah theres a ton of slicks everywhere.. if theres one local bottle in a pit then thats pretty lucky.. and the ones that say dakota territory are 25 times rarer

[@ABeautfulMess]

Amazing to watch you work and fascinating to see what you gather. Your knowledge 😮

[@taramartin6117]

When I saw Yankton I knew I had to watch. I spent my childhood in Lemmon, South Dakota where my father was the town doctor.

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah we've actually dug like 100 pits in yankton over the years. sadly there isnt alot left there for us to dig, we keep waiting for construction to happen downtown so we can try get in on a parking lot or something. it was the capital of dakota territory and the biggest town in sd for several years. so it has some of the earliest stuff in north and south dakota.. hope u enjoyed. if you look under our other videos we have a 2 part series of us digging a stage coach station on choteau creek in bon homme county sd.. and we are going back to sd in march to hopefully get in on a train depot pit.. so stay tuned!

[@markduncan6690]

This is A Great Channel! No Dialogue to get in the way of the Discovery’s!

[@TheYammerHammer]

This is cool! i love it! Great content,Tom!

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks!

[@troutbassncat3025]

I've been told that rings, coins, all sorts of jewelry, got lost in old outhouses. I'm surprised that you don't use a pinpoint metal detector in some, or all, of your digs.

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah we have a metal detector but honestly there is so much iron in these pits that they are a nightmare to metal detect.. literally rust dust everywhere.. its very hard, but we do use a sifter from time to time if its a good location. we usually just find marbles (which are still great bc we collect those).. yeah people have said they have found some small gold items before, but ive never come across that. thanks for leaving us a comment

[@regu1849]

Your enthusiasm is inspiring and truely a credit to you. Keep saving history my friend. Reg

[@BelowthePlains]

i really appreciate that! thank you! and thanks for watching

[@dawnhaynes7784]

Love your videos and the small bottles

[@marciclark8266]

Hi again from the Dickinson ND area. My husband and I worked for an excavation company burying tv cable drops, digging trenches, doing big underground bores. Our best find was a 1935 walking Lady Liberty 50 cent piece under a larger tv PED in Rexburg Idaho. We were hand digging to put conduit up into it. Over the years we found no bottles but dish ware, toys, diaper pits

[@BelowthePlains]

oh yeah? thats actually surprising, but it could be bc they might have been a little lower down than the cables.. id say about 1 in 50 pits we dig have some sort of cable going thru it.. mostly bc they tend to run along the alley way and thats alot of the time where the outhouses were placed.. thanks for watching!

[@marciclark8266]

@@BelowthePlains that makes sense...we only dug super deep out on county roads for fibre optics lines...not populated areas

[@pattimessenger6214]

Diaper pit? Old diapers were cloth. They were washed for re-use. Once no longer needed they were either used as rags or given to someone who needed diapers. I was born in 1958. My mom used to write a column for the local paper. One was a product review for disposable diapers. They were a new product at the store. She used them on me, and gave a good review. So if you are finding pits with disposable diapers, it is since 1958.

[@kathycronin3571]

Another great dig

[@briaginter4837]

Just found your channel love they way you put description’s up for us💕💕

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks, we're glad you liked it. thanks for commenting, it helps grow the channel

[@flintlocke5242]

Got over here from reddit! Great channel, looking forward to the digs!

[@BelowthePlains]

hey thanks. well ive been posting on reddit for a few weeks now and i was wondering if anyone was actually using my links. well welcome to the channel. we appreciate your subscription and views. be sure to tell your friends! and comment anytime. we benefit from any engagement

[@flintlocke5242]

@@BelowthePlains oh yeah no problem, love seeing anything from up north, normally only see down south and the east coast, keep up the great digs, i got a few friends who should be interested in your channel as well!

[@teresasallam9526]

Interesting finds. Really enjoying your videos.

[@BelowthePlains]

Thanks! thats awesome. makes me happy. i appreciate the comment! thank you for watching

[@pattimessenger6214]

That first plate shard you found might be really old. But still in use for decades. Then tossed in the pit when it broke.

[@pattimessenger6214]

My mother in law collected fine china. They have now been passed down to us. Two sets can reliably be dated to post WWII. One set is stamped “Germany - US zone”. The other is stamped “Occupied Japan. It’s not unusual to hang on to dishes, glassware, cookware for generations. Digging through the garage recently, I came across some really old stainless steel pots and pans. Really well made and heavy! Probably from the 40’s or 50’s. If my current stuff needs replacing, I’ll switch to the old stuff. Anyway, that would explain how something very old winds up in the pit with newer things.

[@jamesonheche2899]

good age! another great video

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks! glad you enjoyed

[@patrickslowey7165]

Very cool Tom!

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks!

[@marykaytaff269]

Very interesting bottles nice dig

[@BelowthePlains]

thank you

[@BestSellers2122]

Nice!

[@thedirtyburgher387]

New sub here. Glad I found your Channel man. You’re very knowledgeable s d I appreciate the extra info on the different meds and botts. Those target balls are killer.

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah we actually found two of them in that hole. we must not have recorded it bc when i went thru the footage it wasnt in there.. well im glad you like the channel! and we appreciate the sub and support. if you have any friends that may like our channel be sure to let them know. thanks for commenting!

[@fishinwidow35]

Love that Palmer bottle

[@jsteelsadventureandvariety4545]

nice work finding the the dig zones👍 liked the piso bottle, and amazing the fire grenade didnt get smashed🙂

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah there was actually 2 unbroken ones, we must have only filmed one bc i couldnt find footage of the other one.. this one was in better condition

[@jerryblum277]

Love the target ball!

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah it took us a few days to even figure out what it was. very strange thing to come across

[@treasurehuntingscotlandmud9340]

Some lovely bits coming out that tip well done

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks! we appreciate you watching

[@alisonmary1443]

I thought that was a good dig, I used to go to the beach with a spoon and a bag to pick up the bits of pottery and glass, folks would call it rubbish but I seen the beauty and history, loved it. Thank you for sharing your digs.

[@cdd4248]

You were 'Mudlarking'! Fun stuff and there are some great mudlarking YTchannels

[@ljens659]

Just found your channel and can’t stop watching..do you take all those bottles home with you? We dug up an old dump on our farm, and couldn’t believe the stuff in there!

[@lynnegackstetter2779]

I've become addicted to this channel

[@Missangie827]

me too!

[@lizmbrad]

In the second pit you pulled out an amber jar. What was on it if anything? Amber jars that large weren't as commonly used. Did it have a ground lip? Love the fact that you're using hose feed buckets to take the dirt out. Lol

[@chasetonga]

I grew up in Racine, however, if you go up Milwaukee to 27th and Oklahoma, you can go to Leon’s Custard and they have Vanilla Custard with Malted Milk Powder sprinkled on top. Best ever!

[@DavidJones-smiley]

Im from crick diggers. I look forward to watching videos . Travis recommended you brother man!

[@BelowthePlains]

oh thanks man! well if you talk to him tell him we really appreciate it

[@kimblackketter1565]

Good job

[@BelowthePlains]

Thanks

[@norafitzsimmons4935]

i like your video they are not loud

[@BelowthePlains]

hahaha thanks!

[@cdd4248]

I had no idea what a Target Ball was..so, I looked it up and found them for sale anywhere from 200+ to 2k+- Pretty Cool! It looks like they are rare, for obvious reasons, I guess. LOL

[@joycemusgrave161]

Pop's here. I noticed on your year old videos you are using a dowel rod to dig. With, and in later videos you use a mason trowel. It appears the trowel is a better tool.

[@therelicextractors4761]

The A.S.HINDS , PISOS and Palmers cologne bottles are abundant out here with the Palmers coming in all sizes and shapes..I'll send ya some pics on messenger

[@mikehisey2631]

Tom is a STUD !

[@ChuckIRL]

How easy is it to tell when you strike through a bottle with your probe❓how long did it take you to get a feel for understanding the things you’re hitting with the probe❓

[@offgridoldfart8110]

All the beer bottles probably explains so many broken lantern chimneys. 🤷‍♂️

[@BelowthePlains]

haha yeah i was wondering that myself! it always seems like when we find a lot of alcohol bottles, we also find a lot of broken windows and pottery

[@offgridoldfart8110]

@@BelowthePlains 🤣

[@garybrown4101]

I’m sure glad I found your channel. Do y’all metal detect the dirt for coins when you have it out of the pit?

[@BelowthePlains]

sometimes we have someone there who goes over it, especially if its a historic sitre, but we dont typically do it. theres a surprising amount of scrap metal in really fine pieces and ive been told its a nightmare trying to detect that dirt

[@debraporch7888]

Another sweet video. Do you know how many people resided there during the time when the outhouse were used. I sure liked the color of the Pisos bottle. If you have it would you be willing to sell it? Also why do you use a wooden stake instead of a shovel? What type of wood is it and do you sharpen the edge of the stake or what type of edge to you have on it. Do you ever find any Native American artifacts? I enjoy watching your weekly videos. Take care and stay safe.✌

[@BelowthePlains]

well we use the wooden stake bc we never know what we are digging into. so once we start getting into the top layer of the pit (between 6 inches and 3 feet down) we use the fork to break the ground apart then shovel the loose dirt out. so when we get to a spot in the pit where the bottles and broken pieces are laid across each other, we scrape away the dirt with wood or plastic bc anything steel can scratch the bottle and more importantly, if the bottle gets hit just right, even if its gently, the bottle can crack.. and that tanks the value, usually it makes the bottle worthless, but if its a rare one, the pieces can still have some value.. the wooden stake is just a broom handle that we sharpened with a knife. it actually works pretty good. i never personally have found native american artifacts, these pits all date the the period of europeans. Im pretty sure its illegal to mess with "pre-historic" artifacts which i believe includes native american artifacts.. we once dug into a native american earth lodge, but we reburied it.. it was just an area of clay about a foot under a field. the clay had all turned brick color from the sustained heat, likely where they created pottery or kept a fire pit. yeah i actually do still have that pisos cute bottle, its probably only worth like $30.. probably cost half that in shipping.. but yeah if you wanted me to send it we can arrange something, just remind me in a couple of days if youre interested. ill talk to tom, hes the one who deals with all that, and the guy whos in all of the videos.. im just the one who does all the youtube and editing.

[@thebottlebug5729]

Have you had occasion to use the Hammer Drill in rocky soil and if so,how did it do? Also, what bit do you use? I've just been using a cordless drill with a 3/4" auger bit,woks great in butter(rockless soil),not so much in rocky stuff! Thanks!!

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah it drills right thru cement and rocks.. keep in mind these rocks are no more than 2 inches in diameter at most... but and the chisel bit will make quick work of pavement.. a 6 inch thick slab of cement would usually take us a couple hours to chop thru with a pickaxe and pry bars.. with that thing we could probably have a nice square hole in the cement in under 30 minutes.. its great for breaking up rock balasts from the railroad line... once that stuff fuses together with dirt its almost like concrete.. weve probably go thru 1-2 drill bits a year and theyre like $100 each but overall.. that thing has payed for itself about 30 times over.. its a lifesaver, timesaver, and makes the really hard ground towards the top open fairly easily.. and its fun to operate too! so if you dig alot, id get one... i guarantee you wont regret it, i seriously dont think i could go back to digging without it.. we dont even take a pickaxe with us anymore

[@BelowthePlains]

yes get one! you will not regret it. get a chisel bit and a drill bit and some batteries.. cuts thru cement and rock backfill.. and makes great holes from probing when the ground is harder than cement. and the chisel will chop up driveways and cement slaps and rocky backfilled pits.. i honestly dont think i could go back to digging without one. if you dig alot, id say this is a necessity. huge time saver

[@bacardijim]

I have always wanted to dig the old privy on our farm in Voltaire ND. but i dont think its old enough.

[@BelowthePlains]

umm.. well if its before 1912 there could be some good stuff in there.. and even if its newer than that, there could still be some good stuff.. seems like the best stuff is always at the bottom tho

[@tedwalker1370]

The question I have is why did they put the glass containers down the toilet ? Wouldn't that fill up the hole faster ?

[@Missangie827]

privy's were actual dispose-alls -haha

[@jaqian]

It was a big pit and when it filled up you'd just dig another one and move the outhouse

[@wendlynne]

What is that soft-tined fork tool you’re using? It’s great!

[@BelowthePlains]

haha its just a 4 pronged potato fork, but we used a saw and chopped off the two outside prongs.. we use it to soften the ground up before we scoop out the dirt.. that way we dont stick a shovel into a power/gas line. thanks for watching

[@sharikalous1121]

How do you know where to dig for these things? I would like to know as we have a family farm from the 1940's and I would love to do this there! I wouldnt have a clue as to where to begin!

[@BelowthePlains]

well did you see that thing we were pushing into the ground? its a probe rod that you can order online.. you basically push that into the ground until you feel a change in the density.. you may even just hit a bottle.. but rocks and cement can feel alot like a full bottle, surprisingly.. the best way to tell if you hit a pit is if its really crunchy about 1-2 feet down,, maybe higher maybe lower than that, but around 1 foot down.. the crunchy stuff is from them covering it in ash when they buried it. which was super common at the time.. they may not have done it from a pit that was buried post ww2,, im just not sure if it was still common practice.. and another way to tell if there is no ash in the pit is if when you probe, it all the sudden gets really easy to push down on it, and it almost drops into the ground under its own weight.. if it does that try it a few times within a couple inches of the original hole, and see if its just as easy, or see if you can hit sometimes like a bottle or broken glass

[@cferguson3368]

Cold cream container had the look of custard glass.

[@gordongate]

target ball for sure

[@JustinCarmack]

How did you get permission from the city here, and who keeps the bottles?

[@Jupitermustangmike]

We used to roll around in them seeds to get rid of the shits!

[@kayfreeman1816]

I would like to see someone make a moziac out of the plates.

[@hollylavin7796]

I enjoy your videos, but smile and have fun. It's more enjoyable for the viewers.

[@BelowthePlains]

haha thats actually good advice.

[@swbottles]

Do you ever find a privy that has been dug by other bottle diggers before you got there?

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah thats happened a few times.. one time we dug a 6 foot hole and found a plastic aquafina bottle that they had thrown in the hole in like 2005.. we were wondering why we werent finding any bottles

[@maryseigel7565]

Fire maps are great but for the life of me... I can't find any pits in my town...come to Oklahoma and help...need professionals...

[@jimandellenmeadows6244]

Could you use a different color font? The white blends in and make some tough to read.

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah we were thinking abourt adding a background to it.. black was actually harder to see, and all the other colors look kinda ugly.. we will definitely get that figured out

[@angrysloth]

watching people just destroy in situ historic archaeological sites for likes and subscribes really hurts.

[@BelowthePlains]

we always talk to the historic society of each county we dig in, and if they oppose it, then we donrt do it... they typically help us with information, and everything, and most of the time we give them more bottles than they want..