http://www.drilline.com/news/drilline-o … programme/
I saw this tv program and it shows how they mapped underground badger tunnels.
“The BBC took our findings from the software and created a fantastic 3D rotation image of the subsurface which the badgers were living in”

Thats really cool!
where do you look to rent one?

As I understood it, very few models of GPR “Focus” that close to the surface.
The transponder and receiver are not placed optimally for that near of objects.

I think just about any shovel will work but I would like to add that your method of digging seems to be the best. A nice wide hole should be dug in case the treasure has shifted. I regret not doing this in New Orleans in where I was aiming for a greater depth than width. We also checked the dug up dirt in case the cask was in pieces.

Fun test. Great idea.

From what I know for a fact about GPR is If you have someone qualified to transcribe the data, it will detect pottery, as well as air gaps. Even if the casque is crushed, it should detect the porcelain. This has been proven in past expeditions with the GPR.

I forgot I had this video on my phone of using a cable drill bit on my mock-casque,
http://vid11.photobucket.com/albums/a18 … 6c2be4.mp4

There’s a lot of options for digging.  Perhaps some new tools have been developed since the last person dug.  I’m interested in what tools people think best serve the purpose of verification and recovery.
Today I used a semi-circular spade edger to cut a good 2′ x 2′ square piece of sod about 5″ thick.  I flipped that over onto a flat piece of cardboard.  I then used a standard length shovel to dig down about 2-1/4 ft with a truncation to a center space of about 8″ x 8″.  I then buried a 6″ x 6″ x 6″ cube of 1/4″ thick plexiglass containing a “mysterious box”.  I packed the ground very firmly.  The soil was moist with a good bit of clay and several small stones.  I tested my 48″ cable drill bit fit in a cordless drill powered by an 18v lithium-ion battery.  The drill bit hit some of the stones and didn’t have any problem deflecting past them to go deeper.  Once the drill bit connected with the box, it didn’t have enough bite to cut into the plastic, but it made a satisfying thunk feel and sound that was more detectible after smoothing the hole after two or three up/down motions with the auger.
I figure it’s possible the casques might’ve cracked and become filled with mud or sand after 30 years resulting in a diminishing of that ideal “thunk” sound.  Anyways, that’s the result of my research and preparation today.  I hope it’s sufficient to someday verify and produce a real casque.
Please share or discuss you’re trials or methods of probing or digging and the tools that you think might improve our chances of success.

I’ve been doing a lot of research into the metal detecting since I have no prior experience.
Many MD’s typically discriminate based on your tuning in order to find objects that aren’t trash metal, such as nails, hairpins or paperclips. In our case we’re looking for that trash, so I don’t expect the discrimination function to be of any help. There are different types of MD technology. VLF is pretty common, good for discrimination, but it doesn’t typically do well at depth. PI (Pulse induction) excels at depth and ignores high mineral content sand or soil. The size of the coil helps with depth. Most of the regular sized coils that I came across were great at finding things up to 12 inches. A coil of about 18 to 20 inches might be our best bet, but they do make them larger.

a link for more info on Md
http://www.metaldetection.net/English/D … n.Eng.html

An acquaintance of mine spoke to a geologist, who has used ground penetrating radar. The geologist seemed to virtually guarantee that a GPR device would not be able to pick up anything as small as the casque, and that a GPR would not work in locating it. Anyone know anything about GPRs, and whether this is true?

We have used them at dig sites for day trips with kids for archaeology purposes and they can detect old pottery and brick foundations from old neighborhoods 2-4 feet down….trust me, no child is willing to dig more than 3 feet in an outing….the GPR was right on, it said pottery, kids dug and found pottery. They actually work better at shallow depths and provide more resolution…. The deeper an object or the more magnetic the ground is, or the soil density may affect the image resolution, however the less dense, more shallow areas provide excellent resolution.
I will let you know how good they work on Plexiglas soon enough…The casques, according to the book, are buried no more than 3-3 1/2 feet, there should be optimum resolution at this depth…now all you need is $500 to rent one. 🙂

I recently used the following things as a probing device:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_502413-52487-831411_0__
and
http://www.lowes.com/pd_287699-94953-LW30700/L2B_0__
They were quite adequate and proved easy to conceal and use. By holding the rod near the ground, it easily pushes through many types/densities of soil. The gloves give amazing grip and leverage on a stiff 1/4 in rod. While you have to be careful about how large of a stride you take, the rod runs nicely under the pants and coat from the ankle to the armpit. Cut to length and comfort.

I look forward to hearing about you’re spotting of a Good Proof Raider Fairy. This wide-eyed little fedora wearing goblin can sometimes be seen peeking over your shoulder as you type out your ideas on this forum.

The nature program on TV that I saw about underground tunnels was detecting where there was a hollow space. It did not detect a tunnel where it had collapsed. So there would not only be an empty space inside the casque but also within the plastic box presumably. I understand that in addition to the GPR that some 3D software is also needed.

We will be checking several places this week with GPR. The Archaeologist I work with tells me that not only can they extrapolate the data and provide a 3d rendering of an area, but GPR will also indeed sense air gaps. Another plus is that it senses changes in soil density…so if someone dug a hole, the soil density in comparison to it’s surroundings might still be different after 30 years. Also the density of dry ceramic differs from wet clay. It’s my understanding that a normal Joe wouldn’t be able to define these specifics, but I am going to absorb what I can about it this week.
Still looking here, but we’ve made a ton of progress and found many more visual clues in the image…time to test some theories this week. If we locate something you will all be the first to know, and I will be sure to report the GPR findings. Maybe “Counsel” is considering GPR in the future?
One thing you DO want to look for is a 500mhz antenna…that is going to give you the best resolution at .7m – 1.3m – the higher the frequency, the deeper the resolution.

Which image/city/cask are you GPRing, and what general locations if you don’t mind me asking? I assume Milwaukee? Is any of your info public, or are you keeping it close to the vest?

I was really open about sharing my findings on the board until I posted a few things several weeks ago and then found a hole and prod marks all over a spot that didn’t have them the day before I posted my theory. I have since been only emailing people (mainly people who were involved with the 2004-07 hunt) with specific ideas and we have been hashing them out not in a public forum. Also of the few idea’s I have posted here, the only realistic feedback and idea’s I’ve received came from those old users.
I promise to put all my findings up after this is over, good or bad, but for now…I don’t know who’s monitoring the board and running out at night with shovels…We are going in the legal way and I don’t want anyone to ruin that as there are too many people and too much planning that has taken place for it to be foiled for a good long time by someone who is just trying to get the casque any way he or she can without regard.
Just keeping it close for good reasons…also like Egg pointed out…I COULD BE WRONG!

after some experimentation I found that probes do not work at all in sandy soil,
the sand compacts beneath the probe and cannot move deeper than 6 inches.
This is the kind of soil found anywhere in Golden Gate park.
This is my digging tool of choice, I just keep one in the trunk of my car. so its always ready.

that is the best tool I’ve seen yet. Thanks.

drawing to scale
As someone who has dug a lot for casques, here are some things I noticed.
going from left to right in the drawing
If a casque were to be only 1 foot deep, you would only need to dig a hole 1.5 feet in diameter to uncover it.
this would entail only moving .6 cubic feet of dirt (basically a shovel full.)
but if a casque was down 2 feet, you would need to dig a hole 2.5 feet in diameter, you would need to move 3.25 cubic feet of dirt just to uncover the casque.
the max depth BP said was 3 feet,
at 3 feet you need to dig a hole 5 feet in diameter. this entails moving 19.63 cubic feet of dirt. Thats a lot of dirt.
lastly if you missed your exact spot by 2 feet left or right. you will miss finding casques at any level.

+1 Malted. That’s my choice too. Give or take, $30 from an Army Surplus store.
It’s always kept in my sling backpack in the trunk too.

The Radio Shack Discriminator 2 on max sensitivity was able to pickup two paperclips at 1-foot depth but unable to detect at 2-feet. I hope to try a more powerful detector, if it could pickup a single paperclip at 2-feet, we’d be in business.

Egbert

An acquaintance of mine spoke to a geologist, who has used ground penetrating radar. The geologist seemed to virtually guarantee that a GPR device would not be able to pick up anything as small as the casque, and that a GPR would not work in locating it. Anyone know anything about GPRs, and whether this is true?

I called a local GPR provider here in North Florida a while back, and he was very uncertain of his equipment’s ability to handle such a job. He said he would first talk to his affiliate offices around the country to determine if the job was doable. I had sticker-shock from his $750 quote, and did not pursue it further. May I ask where you are thinking about trying this? If GPR can handle our project, I am willing to chip-in to run GPR in St. Augustine.