So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork?

   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #1  

crazyal

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Northern Vermont
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Over the past few years I've unearthed plenty of objects that I wasn't expecting. So what treasures :laughing: have you found?

Last summer I was stopped dead when using the rippers on my grading scrapper. Someone had used two sections of stainless steel duct work as a culvert. I think each section was only 3' long so the 6' duct wasn't really wide enough to work and soon the downhill side got blocked with dirt and silt filled the duct turning it into a heavy anchor. I'll try to take a picture of the duct and post it (I know the rules, no picture it didn't happen).

I've found various vehicle parts from a master cylinder to a leaf spring. The leaf spring was laying on it's side and when the blade caught it I dragged it for quite a bit because it was under the tractor out of sight. The front hit the edge of the pavement at the end of the drive and broke a chunk off before deflecting to the side where I could see it. I have one section that had PVC pipe used as a culvert. Over the years it has broken into pieces and each year I dig more of it up. The odd thing is that there must have been more than one buried since I have found, white, blue, and green PVC. I found a section of chain link fence, that was a surprise. All of a sudden I was low on power. When I looked back all I could see was what looked like the whole driveway being dragged behind me. I think I have found almost everything (except for the endless amount of rocks) there is to find.

So has anyone else been as lucky as me?
 
   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #2  
I have found everything from arrow heads, sledge hammers, forged nails, well casing, 2" diameter steel rod 6 ft long, and some supicios leg bones that didn't look to be deer or bear, but too long to be coon or coyotes or hog. Mostly on construction projects, not on my property. One thing that kinda surprises me is where you will find golf balls, 9 miles back into the national forest, in the middle of a rock mine, ....

On my little 2 acres I've found a handful of CV joints, wheel bearings, be frame. On moms 50 acres I've found the remains of a old septic tanks and a well from a house that was there a hundred years ago, that no one knew about (its 50 acres of scrub oak woods).
 
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   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #3  
I found an old bear claw the other day.

-Phillip
 
   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #4  
Many years ago I was building a shopping center in a San Diego suburb. The site was low and we were importing dirt from the basement of a new high rise downtown, about 20 miles away. The material was basically beach sand as it was right on the bay.

The dirt was front end loaded at the site, transported 20 miles in a bottom dump, dumped and then spread by a 14.

What did I find? A old fashion large base light bulb still totally intact!
 
   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #5  
an old vw bug motor and transaxel
only about 20" deep
 
   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #6  
i have found my collection of oddities (and not so odd meth perephenalia). but the story I wanted to share is that my neighbor manages a national wildlife refuge. Pretty big area. lots of history, lots of native american artifacts. There is a staff archeologist who is tracking some of the native american movement on the land. so my neighbor has to dig a trench, and along the way up comes a blue plate. He looks at it, it is maybe 50's or 60's Probably a farmer had lunch brought to him on a plate and he forgot it. So into the dirt pile it goes. Flash forward a month and the archeologist goes by and see the blue plate and goes nuts. Comes back to my neighbor and reads him the riot act. It turns out the the fed mandate has that anything older than 50 years is to be preserved as a relic.
 
   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #7  
woodlandfarms said:
i have found my collection of oddities (and not so odd meth perephenalia).

I just finished a road in the Ocala National forest and I can tell you there must have been a lot of "diabetics" that live on that road because we would find dozens of dirty needles everyday. That and short straws, too short to use to drink with but .... if you get my drift
 
   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #8  
I just know that one of these days I'll be running the plow and dig up a perfectly preserved Twinkie.
 
   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #9  
I just know that one of these days I'll be running the plow and dig up a perfectly preserved Twinkie.

Nope...the unions killed the Twinkie. ;)

-Phillip
 
   / So what strainge objects have you found while doing roadwork? #10  
I'm actually surprised there haven't been more responses. I've had guys I work with find a pistol, a hollowed out cypress log water line, a preserved sharks tooth in a piece of limerock.

... I found a 3 phase primary electric distribution line with 6" of cover.... luckily I thought to probe about 5 minutes before we ran a road reclaimer through at 15", that would have been ugly
 
 
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