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The Best Way to Dig Up an Old Outhouse

Digging up or excavating an outhouse or privy hole is the practical application of the old adage that one man̵7;s trash is another man̵7;s treasure. Outhouses were a standard fixture in the backyards of all homes prior to the early 1900s and the advent of indoor plumbing. Along with the disposal of human waste outhouses were the disposal sites for many empty bottles and other items that were garbage at the time but are now collectible antiques.

Locating an Old Outhouse
- Most all homes occupied during or before the 19th century would have had an outhouse or privy in the backyard. These buildings, sometimes referred to as ̶0;necessities,̶1; were usually located outside the back door of the home or business and as far from the home as possible.
  
  In older rural communities, some houses still have outhouses in the backyard even if they are not used any longer. In other yards, a slight depression in the ground may be the only sign of a previous outhouse. Another source of information on where an outhouse once stood may be older people who live in the neighborhood. They may recall locations of outhouses that stood until the 1940s.
  
  Remember to get permission from property owners before exploring the possibility of digging.
Digging Up an Old Outhouse
- The top soil over the outhouse hole usually will yield few artifacts and should be dug through quickly and as efficiently as possible. This is the dirt that was hauled in to fill the hole when the outhouse building was removed.
  
  The careful digging begins when the digging hits what the Outhouse Diggers of Pennsylvania refer to as the ̶0;use layer.̶1; This is the top of the material that was placed in the outhouse hole during its period of use. The depth of the use layer will vary with the outhouse.
  
  Once the use layer is reached, the digging must be slowed and done more carefully. One of the prizes for outhouse diggers is glass bottles. Empty bottles were often thrown in outhouses but are valuable collector̵7;s items now. The value increases if they are undamaged.
  
  All material excavated from the outhouse should be screened. A screen of hardware cloth, usually with a quarter-inch wire spacing, is attached to a basic wood frame. This allows all dirt to fall through the screen while any items of interest are caught by the screen.
  
  A wide variety of historic items can be found in an outhouse hole. Garbage items like empty bottles are possibly the most common, but coins and other valuable items were occasionally lost down an outhouse hole and may be recovered if the outhouse hole is dug.

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