New and Would Like Some Input

[CrazzyIvan]

I'm in west central Alabama and since I was a kid, found points and tons of chips on a small dirt road on my parent's property. I have found about 15 or so intact and 20 or so missing tips or in half. I also find thousands of flakes from chert, quartz, and other material I cannot indentify. I only find the artifacts where the dirt is exposed from tire tracks and eroded by rain because everything is mostly grass.

An oil company put a methane gas well behind our property 15 or so years ago and ripped a dirt road right down the edge of our property (this is the complete otherside of the dirt road where I have found the artifacts). Of course they put tons of gravel down so it is near impossible to distinguish anything on the oil company road.

My father tried to stop the well from going up and got an archaeologist from the University of Alabama out here to see what he could find. The man said there was a major settlement here due to its elevated ground plus two creeks that run side by side and by what he, I am assuming, found while digging a little and walking around. He also dated the objects from 4000-2000BC.

My question is what would be my best option to find more? I have screens we have made and digging is an option, but the ground here is tough to dig (6 inches down and it turns to clay). Or should I try the creek? Look where other stones collect in the creek? The creek is also very muddy and sandy and the banks very steep. Also, is tilling up some of the land an option? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I found another one a week ago and I have been bitten by the artifact bug.

thank you

[Tdog]

Sounds like you already know your options so I think till and wait until it rains will be the least labor intensive and most productive. However, some are gonna get busted and dinged by the plow / disk. This also may reveal where digging would be most productive. High ground is where the encampment will be. Some creeks produce more than others so not a bad place to look. Welcome and I hope you like it here.

[fldwlkr]

Deep plow and let it rain. Walk those creeks while you wait for the rain to come. Many enjoy digging but I'm just too lazy for all that work. Luckily the farmers up here like to disc.
fldwlkr

[MidlandMan]

Points and other artifacts protected in the ground are your best bet for intact finds. Once exposed to the elements they begin being broken and dinged up pretty fast. Also the experience of digging a point is especialy exhilarating. The context from which the artifact comes is also insightful as opposed to a surface or creek find.

[Indianasmith]

If you do plow, DON'T use a disk! They are very hard on artifacts. A deep turning blade is far better, in terms of not breaking stuff.

[longtimefree]

if you are serious about digging you need to dig a trench, wide enough to work in , move forward a little at a time put your dirt behind you after you go through it , based on what you find in your initial trench will determine where you concentrate your efforts, dont make the mistake of punching holes everywhere, believe me when i say you will forget where you have dug after a year or so and never feel confident that you havent already dug there before, some places i dug years and years ago that were productive i now go back and try and find a place i have never dug before, its a pain and a waste of valuable time, dig down as far as the clay, the clay is a natural barrier , (if you find anything below the clay , i would like to know ), all the stuff i find is on top, i dont know if that holds true in your area , only that that has been my observations here, plowing only mixes up the soil and occasionally brings something to the surface, people continue to walk plowed fields for their whole lives and continue to find artifacts, one or two a year. if you want to find all the artifacts dig a trench, . go through every bit of dirt and move it behind you welcome to the site and cant wait to see what you find, you alabama boys have some fine artifacts there

[CrazzyIvan]

Thanks for all the insight. Much appreciated.

[drdave514]

That sounds like a great opportunity. If it's me, I'm going to deep blade plow it ONE TIME to find the best areas and then commit to digging. I hope you find a boat load!

[CrazzyIvan]

I'm terrible with the camera and shots aren't so good I'm sure...but it rained for a good 5 hours and I decided to head to the parent's house to do a little surface searching and found this one as we were about to head back! Makes me want to dig up the whole 10 acres!!!!!!