A bloke with a metal detector got a shock when he thought he’d hit the jackpot in his own backyard, only to find out it was something totally unexpected.
The man took to Reddit to share pics of his intriguing find, thinking he’d uncovered an old well, but sadly MetalDetecting subreddit users were quick to set him straight.
“My wife and I found what looks like an old well in our backyard,” the man posted excitedly. “As the title says, can anyone give me insight on what else this might be?”
READ MORE:Retired man makes rare discovery with metal detector in field – worth £16,000
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He added his home was built in the 1920s, which seemed to confirm other users’ suspicions.
“Back in the day, no one had indoor plumbing,” explained one user. “This could be a pit that was dug for an outhouse.” Another agreed: “It’s an outhouse cesspool.” And a third simply responded: “Cesspool.”
But not all hope was lost, as one savvy historian pointed out that the discovery could still be a treasure trove of sorts. “[A cesspit] in itself isn’t a bad thing,” they began. “They were often used as trash dumps. While you probably won’t find a ton of metal, items bottles and ceramics are possible.”
Another enthusiast egged him on: “If it’s an old outhouse, there is very high likelihood of bottles etc down there. Keep going.”
If the detectorist does scoop out any bottles, he could still be be quids in. For in Victorian and Edwardian times, it wasn’t unusual for people to discard their unwanted possessions on the edges of towns and villages – some of which now have a significant value.
Complete and rare bottles from those eras can fetch price tags into the thousands, and as such, the eccentric hobby of bottle digging in the UK has grown increasingly popular in recent years.
In his book Digging for Treasure: A Guide to Finding Valuable Victorian Rubbish Dumps, author Ron Dale reveals: “The rarer finds dug out of old rubbish dumps can now realise several thousands of pounds and it is understandably important to collectors to be able to continue digging.”
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