Here is a website dedicated to the practice. Caught in the act eh? Judging
from the size of some of the holes someone might key Dr Gott into the
possibility of cave ins!
http://www.mich.com/~jloose/ohdigger.html

Phil Levy

-----Original Message-----
From: Dendy, John <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, January 31, 2000 1:07 PM
Subject: Re: "privy digging" for pleasure


>If Vergil will provide the address, here's the pertinent content. I think
>anyone responding should also point out to the Dr. Gott there are
>Clostridium spp. living in the soil, the potential for tetanus infection,
>not to mention the extended survivability of anthrax and, in some cases
>cholera (which usually dies within 75 years).
>
>John Dendy
>
>-- DEAR DR. GOTT: I live in a part of New England that has a rich cultural
>heritage. People are always finding arrowheads and other artifacts. I am
>sort of caught up in the practice of collecting old bottles and am about to
>embark on what is known as "privy digging." The area that I want to explore
>is about 50 years old. Can I assume that any infectious agents in human
>waste have been degraded by now?
>
>DEAR READER: I think it's fair to say that the outhouse bacteria have long
>ago returned to the soil and provided nitrogen for the plant life around
the
>site. However, you might want to use your fingers to do some math first.
>
>A 50-year-old privy is not all that old. We're talking about what people
>were doing in 1950. At that time, I was in high school. If the outhouse of
>your dreams had a holding tank, beware: bacterial counts could still be
high
>and you should exercise caution, wash your hands after digging, and so
>forth. Based on my memory of circa-1950 privies, the design was a one- or
>two-holer over a trench to which lime was added periodically. People did
not
>dispose of bottles in privies, so I believe that your enthusiasm about
>recovering significant artifacts is premature. At best, you might be able t
o
>salvage a few pages of a Sears catalogue.
>
>I suggest that you refocus your attention on the waste site for an old farm
>house. Here is where the real relics can be found, especially if the site
is
>more than a century old. Old bottles, farm equipment and dinnerware are
>available for the taking.
>
>Before I get angry letters from privy-diggers, let me say that when you are
>exploring receptacles for human waste, the exuberance of discovery may last
>about as long as a spring snow. Although such activity may not be hazardous
>to health, you're probably better off going for the oldest sites you can
>find.
>