Finding Artifacts

[The Weasel]

Has anyone ever found any historical (50 years or older) artifact along the AT? Did you take it or do something else with it? What about along other trails?

Thanks,

TW

[Hikes in Rain]

Do abandoned cabins or houses count? Headstones? I didn't take them......

[Blissful]

When I was twelve I once found a Civil war bullet at a campground near Harper's Ferry.

[The Weasel]

Do abandoned cabins or houses count? Headstones? I didn't take them......

I'm talking something that can be picked up and removed. Headstones, if taken, would qualify. (Yes, I've seen those on the AT, too).

TW

[Sickmont]

My thinking would be that more often than not "artifacts" normally arent be sitting at or on top of the ground, unless the ground was highly disturbed by something or someone. On that note if you do happen to find an area where the ground was disturbed, keep your eyes peeled.

[peakbagger]

The sections of the trail owned by the USFS have prohibitions against disturbing or removing artifacts. As most of the trail is on the ridgeline in NH there arent many artifacts right on the trail, but once you get down in the valleys, there are a lot of logging artifacts. Most of the stuff I have seen isnt worth carting around.

[Mrs Baggins]

I was dayhiking with friends and we had just crossed the AT footbridge southbound to go back to Washington Monument Park. After crossing the road just after that, I had my poles and was looking down at the ground when an odd outline caught my eye, just below the surface of the trail bed. I poked at it, dug around, and up came a very rusted very old horseshoe. It is so rusted it's close to brittleness, and still has a couple of old bent nails in it. As far as I know that portion of the AT was only used by horses as part the "battle road" for the Battle of South Mountain, I think as a logging road, with horse drawn wagons, for a short time. The shoe has a "clip" in the front - something I haven't seen on "modern" horse shoes. I used to ride in the early 70's. It's quite possible that the shoe was once buried deep over time and was slowly working it's way up to the surface again through rains and erosion. I have it in a window sill.

[Tuckahoe]

Understand that federal and state laws do not usually permit the removal of artifacts on public lands and artifacts on private property belong to the property owner. Also removing an artifact removes that piece from its archaeological context, damaging the artifacts historical and archaeological importance.

On a cool note, last week I got to spend a little bit of time in the lab at the APVA's Jamestown Rediscovery Project. Pretty cool looking at 400 year old artifacts.

[Tennessee Viking]

I know people have picked up old railroad spikes around Dennis Cove/Laurel Fork Gorge. I found one way back on the Laurel Fork trail in Frog Level.

Also found an 19th century axe head in North Carolina while digging trail on the MST.

[Croft]

In the early 1970's, I found an abandoned logging camp circa 1900 about 20 miles off any trail in north central Minnesota. Found an intact hand-etched kerosene lamp chimney and a rusty 9" cast iron skillet. Brought both home, cleaned and re-seasoned the skillet and use it to this day (at home).

[Luddite]

I've never found anything in the east, but I found a huge pile of Anasazi potsherds, bones, and corncobs in Utah. It was extremely tempting to take some but its almost like you're erasing history. There are some people in Utah who actually cut out petroglyphs from the rock walls and sell them on the black market. Go to any pawn shop around the grand canyon and you'll find potsherds for sale. Take a picture of them, but leave them where you find them.

[Luddite]

http://img24.imageshack.us/i/dsc01492vb.jpg/

From Comb Wash in Utah

[Graywolf]

Found a Cowie shell in Georgia in Stover creek. You can see the marks left onit from the person who wore it. It has been identified as an ornament worn over 200 years ago. I have it on one of my flutes now. A hemlock flute, representing the area that I found the shell.. Pretty cool..

[The Weasel]

I'm not asking anyone to rat themselve (or anyone else) out about artifacts. I'm in the process of revising my "Law for Backpackers 101" article here on WB, and am considering a short section on this point. I considered putting this thread in Straightforward since I don't want it to be a debate about what laws should or shouldn't exist, but since I wanted maximum response to the question "Have you ever found something?" I put it here. If anyone else has found things along trails, I would appreciate knowing that.

Thanks

TW

[JERMM]

horseshoe, pottery shards, arrowheads, spikes, antlers, door/gate hinges, cups and a purple spork, no wait the spork isn't an artifact, I kept it

the cups were stamped on the bottom Property of NY 1952, the five in the photo had be unearthed and placed on the rock before I got there, I found two more still in the ground, as far as I know they're still there

[tuswm]

Hiking around the back country in Utah, its hard not to find things. I like all the cave painting. They all have penises and I have always wanted to know if the penises were made by drunk kids or the original Indians.

[Luddite]

http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php

LEAVE WHAT YOU FIND
Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.


LEAVE NATURAL OBJECTS AND CULTURAL ARTIFACTS
Natural objects of beauty or interest such as antlers, petrified wood, or colored rocks add to the mood of the backcountry and should be left so others can experience a sense of discovery. In National Parks and some other areas it is illegal to remove natural objects.

The same ethic is applicable to cultural artifacts found on public land. Cultural artifacts are protected by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. It is illegal to remove or disturb archeological sites, historic sites, or artifacts such as pot shards, arrowheads, structures, and even antique bottles found on public lands.

[Joshuatree]

Haven't found anything intresting out east. But I camped on a ranch near the black hills out in South Dakota with a group of scouts. While swimming in the river that ran across the ranch one day. We kept finding round metal objects amongst the rocks on the river bottom, they turned out to be cannon balls. we also were allowed to prospect for artifacts around an old indian encampment, lots of flint flakes and broken arrowheads and flint scrapers. Unfortunately looting is a problem no matter if its a precolumbian native american site or a civil war battle fields which is a shame because all they are doing is robbing history of its stories

[Diatribe]

not on the AT but...
I know some people who have access to private land along the south shore of the North Anna River in central VA. During the civil war, there was a battle there right along I95/Rt 1 where Lee & Grant faced each other for one of the first times.
They totally let us relic hunt along the shoreline and in the adjoining pastures & fields.
Lots of great confederate finds, and I am sure there are thousands of other relics waiting to be found.
Not along the AT, but still, a cool story.

[Diatribe]

I did meet a guy in Hog Camp Gap one day who said back in the day when his dad used to take him up there to camp, he found arrowheads near the spring down the meadow. I am a super history buff, so he proceeded to tell the story of nomadic Archaic Indians who pass the gap yearly or once every few years. He even told of the possibility the same family/group/tribe of indians would learn of places such as Hog Camp Gap through word of mouth and return whenever they were near. He said they would stop and set up camp for days, sometimes weeks, because of the good flowing spring there, and it being a layover because of location. They would just hunt, cook & eat, and procure and refine their arrowhead making ability. When they made a newer & better arrowhead, they would simply chuck the old one. And thats what we find today...

This is yet another reason Hog Camp Gap is one of the most special places along the AT!