Surface hunting/Collecting in New England

[JeffDNH]

Hello Everyone,

I have a question for all of you fellow New Englander's who have a love for anything lithic. How can I do a productive search when most of New England, (I'm including all 6 states) is basically paved over? I do have an old gravel pit in my town which I have asked questions on and will go there to look, but other than town forests, state parks (which are always crowded) there isnt too many options for us surface collectors. Any advice is greatly appreciated and I look foward to talking to you!

Thanks,
Jeff

[CMD]

Jeff, I surface hunt in RI, and while most of the agricultural fields that produce artifacts here have been hunted for generations and the pickings are slim, finding stuff has been far from impossible. We also hunt the shoreline of Narragansett Bay and its' tributary bays. I realize NH does not have the estuary system that RI has, but there should be cultivated fields to hunt in New Hampshire. You want to find such fields that border or are near sources of fresh water such as rivers and streams, then you need to get permission to walk those fields. Use Google Earth to find such places. I'm also providing a link to your states archaeological society, whose membership will certainly include many surface hunters. One of the best ways to get the jump start you need is to touch base with other surface hunters in NH who can guide you, and you should find them in the NH Arhaeological Society. New England is far from being all but paved over. The Ct. River has fields along its' entire length for instance, although I'm not sure how many such fields border that river up your way. If you can find fields that meet the fresh water and owner-permission criteria, you can hunt them when they've been turned over and after they've been washed by heavy rains. You can also explore your river waterways and hunt the embankments where stuff erodes out. As I always tell beginners, though, the easiest way to get a running start is by finding other folks in your neck of the woods with experience and a willingness to help. You may find them at the link I mentioned. We also do have quite a few New Englanders on this forum and I'm sure they will chime in with good advice, but it's pretty much the same everywhere: Fields near fresh water that have been washed by rain. I should add that many/most states don't permit collecting on public property like state parks or forests, but if you're surface hunting, forests aren't your best bet anyway. Good luck, hope I've been of some help. Use Google Earth and look for fields!
Charlie

New Hampshire Archeological Society

[Aboman]

Jeff,
Keep looking more site possibilities! You may have to "chip-check" a bunch of places before you find anything, but when you do, you have a site. Eventually you'll eliminate the non-sites, and you'll have a series of places to go. This won't happen overnight.
As Charlie said, most public property is off-limits, and you need permission from private landowners to go on their land.

[zachMA]

Jeff, how close are you to the Merrimack river? There would've been major trade and population centers along it (one at the falls in Manchester for instance). Since there are hardly any fields around me either, most of my hunting is done from a kayak looking along the river banks. This is, in my opinion, the only way to really go about it in interior New England if you aren't lucky enough to live in the Pioneer Valley. Even if you don't have a boat, there should be some river junctions near you that have gravel bars, these are always great places to look along with any eroding soil along the rivers' edges.

[JeffDNH]

Hi Zach,

I am close to the Merrimack, sadly though I dont own a kayak. My wife does express an interest in trying it, and if I can get her on a body of water in one, we would probably invest in a couple. But not this late in the season, it's getting cold and the leaves have started turning already. I too know of the places along the river, amoskeag, pine island, litchfield site, but its the access to them that is the issue. Perhaps I will try my hand/feet at river/brook/creek walking. Thanks for the help.

Hi CMD,

Thanks for your help as well! I have to retract my stating that NE is paved over, rather it is over-developed, way over-developed than the rest of the country. I see that the NH archy society membership is only $25, think I will try joining.

Thanks again gentlemen.

Best,
Jeff D.

[JeffDNH]

Thank you too sir for your advice! I hope to talk to you guys alot.

Jeff D.

[CMD]

Jeff, I just noticed on their website that the NHAS discourages collecting artifacts for private purposes, which likely means you won't find sympathetic ears there. Sorry I didn't notice that earlier. They do have a meeting coming up on 10/15 for what that may be worth. Some state societies reflect the party line of most professional archys in discouraging private collecting; others do not discourage it. I know many surface hunters in the Mass. archaeological Society, for instance. I did a google search and can confirm what Zach said about the Merrimac and that it is a good area to hunt arrowheads, saw some found at Amoskeag Falls for instance. Also found a referance from an individual who stated he had found alot of arrowheads in Milan and West Milan, NH.

[zachMA]

Jeff, good to know you've done your research! Have you been collecting in New England long? I've read lots about Amoskeag but don't remember it from my time in Manchester, I imagine it's pretty urbanized these days. As for the kayak, anything that floats and can get you to somewhat remote spots will greatly increase the chances of you finding something. I bought a 25 year old fiberglass old town kayak for 90 bucks and it works great. It's awesome to have another New Englander on the forum, last year you could probably count us on one hand, and now there's someone hunting the same river drainage as me. Pretty cool.

[Jones River Judy]

Great discussion... I've been getting rather discouraged. We've been going out every weekend looking finding some interesting places to walk. My husband found a small quartz point and that's about it. Nothing else. Hard to believe, especially when there are supposedly over 40 sites in my town. Obviously they are probably mostly on private land. The ones that aren't I've been visiting or trying to but no luck. The ponds in my area of Mass. are overgrown with pond weeds and you can't find the shoreline. I've gotta be doing something wrong just not sure what. Can't even find creeks to walk in there too deep or too much sediment. I sank up to my hips a few weeks ago when I went out into one river. Any suggestions!

[zachMA]

Judy, I didn't consider the weeds. I think the best place to check would still be the beach, with all the rain we've been getting, something has to have eroded out. They sure don't jump out at you around here, but they're out there! And you'll get better and better at recognizing what to look for.