All

I am located in this guy's back yard, but I do not know him.  There are dozens of people around here who dig privies as a sideline.  The money they recoup from selling and trading bottles is amazing.  As to safety, we did lose one about 20 years ago when he was digging a 20 foot limestone lined shaft in downtown Cincinnati.  Because they are dry-laid, the walls can give, particularly if there has been a breach due to erosion or tree roots.  In this case, his shovel knocked one stone out of place, the entire lining spun out, there was a cloud of dust and dirt, and the hole was gone.  Took the fire department two days with a crane to get him out, and they reportedly decapitated him in the process.  Those who were with him now dig with fiberglass sleeves that they had designed to withstand pressure from the outside.  They use a backhoe and a swing set to lower and raise them.  Nothing is going to stop them.

Bob Genheimer
George Rieveschl Curator of Archaeology
Cincinnati Museum Center
1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45203
513-455-7161


-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ron
May
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 10:49 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: privy diggers


A bottle hunter in Ramona, California died a few years ago when a rock slid
down his privy dig and smashed his head. There was a story in the San Diego
Union.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.


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