What Lies Beneath: Excavating the Concrete Yard
Here’s a note and some pictures from a reader who recently dug up the concrete that had been covering her rear and front yards and found an archaeological trove underneath, including tons of bluestone, pieces of marble and an old cast iron sign. From the horse’s mouth… We started breaking up all the concrete at…
Here’s a note and some pictures from a reader who recently dug up the concrete that had been covering her rear and front yards and found an archaeological trove underneath, including tons of bluestone, pieces of marble and an old cast iron sign. From the horse’s mouth…
We started breaking up all the concrete at the beginning of the month, initially using a sledgehammer and crowbar – Bad Idea! After a day of back-breaking work, we decided to get a jack hammer to complete the job. This was much easier but we still had to move all the concrete and cinder block wall pieces out of the way to allow us access to the bluestone. Anyway, we finished breaking it all in about 4 days. We were surprised to find the original bluestone patio and path in the backyard. A couple of pieces have a fleur de lis design and some have crosses and 1836 stamped on them.
We also found quite a bit of marble (broken pieces), glass, random iron and a lion head sign. In the end, we were able to use all of the found bluestone to enlarge the original patio. We also used the remaining stone to pave the front yard path as you will see in the pix. Everything turned out beautifully – the hardest part was trying to find someone to take away the mountains of debris. We also lucked out by finding Denny Wiggers Gardens, who had a couple of larger bluestone pieces we needed for the front yard. Next we will put down sod in the back and create our flower and vegetable garden. We also have to do the front sidewalk which has cracked and raised pieces.
We also found a lot of bluestone buried on our yard but have yet to jackhammer the small portion (first ten feet or so) that has concrete poured over it. What have other readers found in their yards?
Treasure Found Under Concrete [Forum]
A cast iron pully wheel from a factory, probably around turn of the centiry. 2 1/2 feet in diameter, weighs about 100 pounds and looks beautiful. Couldn’t bare to part with it so partially buried it in the yard and now it’s art . . . . bad art.
In the back yard I found a rollerskate probably from the 40’s, the end of a meerschaum pipe, carved to look like a colonial guy’s head, and a lot of oyster shells.
In the ceiling in the cellar though, we found the best thing – a Lucky Strike tin filled with porno pamphlets from what looks to be the teens or twenties. (The punchline of the best one – from a little comic book – was about shennanigans in a car and the punchline was of course “Get a Horse”.
We found an old stone wall buried across the back of our property. Huge stones and oh so many. It took two van loads to get them to a dump.
I’ve far found two ancient wells that reminded me a little too much of the movie “The Ring” and a partially dirt-filled brick bunker that looks like it might have been a bomb shelter in the 50’s.
Granted this story comes from Penn. but when my mom was digging up her backyard to make a moat (long story)for a new garden, the contractors kept bring up old elixir bottles and such. Then one day a contractor came in to the kicthen with a femur.
After the cops and forensics came through, it was determined that an old farmer’s graveyard across the street (on the ridge line- not good crop land) had been pushed down the hill, and into what became our yard decades later, to build the foundations for first big house in town.
Question 2:17- did you keep the gun or turn it in?
we found a bottle from sir j murrays patent carbinated cold magnesia and the foundation to a hen house and pig run!
Horseshoes…the carriage house next door used to be a stables
I found a .32 revolver wrapped in a plastic bag with the classic electric tape handle.
oops, snuff “tin”, not “tine”.
A favorite fine in the back yard was the original carriage stone that would have been in front of the house on the sidewalk, for stepping down from horse drawn carriages – pretty cool.