Don't pass up those skulls

[+embra]

After my friend gnbrotz found JV3388 which went missing in 1990, I've started to spead my search list to include &all=y in my PID lists.

 

Today was a treat. I first looked for JV1862 with no luck (not found in 1954) although I found the site very interesting. Then I hit paydirt with JV1861 just a short distance down the rarely-used tracks. This disk was set in the concrete foundation of what was a water tower--presumably for the steam engines that ran when it was set in 1935. The 1954 team did not see this BM, either. I was able to locate the ruins of the concrete foundation, figure out where to look, and uncovered an inch of dirt to find this little beauty. Made my day!

 

So although those listed as not found in the past are surely a low probability of yielding a find, the probability is not zero and the satisfaction is immense!

 

A question came up for me with this expedition. I found a witness post about 30 yards away that had been shot in half. I was going to re-stake the lower half by the disk, but then I thought that with the relatively remote location, the post might only invite vandalism, while someone knowledgable searching for the disk would have little problem. So I left it where it was (and left the disk uncovered, of course). Would I have done better to re-plant the stake? (BTW, the presence of the post suggests that someone may have seen the BM since 1954 without reporting it...it didn't look to be 50 years old, but rather was of the orange plastic-coated wood that Maryland surveyors are fond of using).

 

Max

Often wrong but seldom in doubt

[+mr.magoo]

Nice find! 30 yards is fairly far by NJ standards. Most of the WP here in NJ are within 3 feet of the mark, some with 1 ft. Maybe there is another Mark in the area (non-NGS) that it is marking? Typically I never 'moved' WP, but often I find stakes right near the Marks. Those I will restake right at the mark, to help the next search. For your skull, I would think you would want to report its recovery to the NGS. If they get the Mark on a 'list' , it may get a list so it gets proper offical revisit from a team who can take offical measurements, descriptions, etc.

 

"Problems are merely opportunities for interesting solutions which can be implemented by those with the courage to be different."

[+happycycler]

Congrats! That is great! I agree with mr.magoo -- that find seems worth reporting to NGS. Fifty years of having been listed as not found and now you have seen it. Personally I don't move Witness Posts, I don't feel that I know enough. I do usually leave benchmarks uncovered though, when I have moved some vegetation or dirt to find them.

 

Keep on searching!

[survey tech]

I agree, you did the right thing, nice work.

[+embra]

Thanks, all. I do intend to file a report, but I want to go back this week and get some better pics.

 

I have to correct myself: the witness post was about 30 feet away, not yards. It was shot in two, and both pieces were lying on the ground. At that distance, I think it was probably for the BM in question, although there certainly could be another one put in of which I wasn't aware. It was another curious wrinkle to the whole thing.

 

Max

Often wrong but seldom in doubt