Hiking about one of my favorite spots this past weekend, I got to thinking about a previous discovery there, and thought to check in on it. I almost forgot where it was. I checked one spot and then another, before a crunching sound underfoot that did not align to the sound of leaves confirmed the location.
Brushing away the dead leaves, I noticed some of the pieces of mason jars previously noted. There were not quite as many as before and the rusting remnants of the vehicle that contained these artifacts were nowhere to be found. That is not surprising. At the time, I had made the mistake of posting about this little discovery on Twitter. Shame on me. Lesson Learned.
A couple of new pieces emerge this time, with a few more light brushes. They were only lightly covered in soil and appeared to be part of some sort of dishware. Turning the piece over, fading paint appeared on the artifact. It was not much thicker than a nickel and appeared to be hand-painted. An AI search on this image indicates:
"The image displays a shard of antique porcelain with significant crazing, which are the fine cracks in the glazed surface and a common sign of age in old ceramics. The pattern appears to be a transferware design, potentially from the 19th or early 20th century."
The second piece was a bit larger and probably a flanged bowl of some sort. Judging by the diameter and the convex interior curve, it might have been a old wash basin. An AI search on this image indicates:
The object in the image appears to be a shard of vintage ceramic dishware, likely stoneware, featuring a cream-colored glaze. The shard shows a thick body typical of 19th or early 20th-century pottery, with significant crazing (fine cracks) in the glaze.
Coloring, texture, and general make indicate both items are related, beyond just their location. They were rescued and cleaned under hot water and placed in a plastic bag for preservation. I feel as though I may need to excavate a bit more of this situation to learn more.
This is the most anyone will get to know this time.
The backstory on this weird little archaeological find begins after a series of heavy rains a couple of years ago, when I discovered an interesting artifact along the trail of one of my favorite hiking spots. Lying perpendicular to the trail in a ditch created by downhill drainage, I noticed a chunk of metal sticking up and went to examine. Brushing away leaves and dirt uncovered what appeared to be the decaying bed of an old pickup type vehicle from the 1930s. The tailgate remained mostly intact, though sides and bed were one. Multiple broken mason jars lay against a corner of where one of the remaining corners met the tailgate.
It appeared that someone had been driving along and had broken down while ascending the hill. The general direction of the vehicle indicated progress from the direction of Liberty towards Gladstone. They apparently just left everything there, though that seems a bit odd for someone to do. Did they go looking for help or otherwise and simply forgot how to get back? Did they just give entirely? Did they get caught transporting moonshine? Did they die here? What exactly happened? Scant research uncovered nothing.
Leaving this little find in place and undisturbed, I took a couple of photos and unwittingly made a post about the discovery on Twitter. Returning to the site a few months later, it should have been no surprise to discover that someone had been rooting around, though it remained mostly undisturbed.
I posted on Twitter about it, at the time. I should have never done that and won't make the same mistake twice. Almost everything described in this back story has vanished.
A few hundred yards from there, an old mower lay quiet on the forest floor. This land was used for something at one time, or it was junk yard. Hard to tell just now. More research is needed. Below are a few shots of that in the last couple of months.
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