Monday, August 11, 2008

Unearthing History?

I'm always in awe of the housebloggers who find things left by the previous owners in and around their homes as they renovate. So, it was not without some level of disgust, that I have been digging and digging -- both for the fence and the walkway projects -- and come up with nil.

I was hoping to have found a stray coin that fell from a workman's pocket or maybe a long-forgotten child's toy. Nothing. After weeks of digging new post holes and of excavating below what used to be the concrete walkway at the front entrance only disappointment.

But then Saturday, as I was filling in and clearing away the extra dirt from completing the fence, the sun glinted on something shiny just as I was about to strike with the spade. I bent over and reached down to find this marble.
Who knows how long it's been there. While it may look large in the photo, this is a close-up. It's not a shooter. Just a regular ole marble.

It may only be from the '70s, though I'd think it would be older as the dirt in back hasn't been excavated in at least that long and it was a full two feet down!

So, I washed it off and brought it in and now have it to add to the house trinkets collection. It made me smile. (I told you I was easily amused.)

8 comments:

Ann said...

It's so PURDY! I love those colors, but I'm a sucker for anything cobalt like that - especially in the sun. COOL! Wonder what else is down there...

Anonymous said...

Oh, you've hit on something major! That's actually a killing tool from the Mastedon Period in which the cavement of that era used to use these marble looking objects to hunt down and kill wooly mammoths. They believed the different colors would hypnotize the animal as it was sailing towards the forehead. This object may start deteriorating in the open air, so I'd put it in water and freeze it.

Unknown said...

The commenter before me has no idea what he's talking about. That's clearly an original Craftsman marble, probably built from Stickley's magazine plans. It looks like the architect some liberties with the layout (the purple swirl should be an inverse S, not a convex one, which is much more of a Colonial Revival feature), but with some restoration, you'd got yourself a beaut'.

Chris Simon said...

Lucky you! Our big find was last year during our kitchen remodel. Under the cabinets, we found a bunch of 30 year old food wrappers, cigarette butts, and half a wooden sawhorse!

MonkeyGirl said...

Man, all I found was an empty Target bag. I say you should dig up the rest of the yard looking for more treasures!!!

NV said...

Ann -- It's not quite that blue but when you put it in the light, it does go cobaltish.

Vicki and j.bro -- You're clearly sharin' the same bottle o' drugs, but it's crackin' me up (pun intended) so it's OK! :-)

Chris & MG -- Sorry that you guys didn't find anything quite so extravagant ...

Anonymous said...

I wish our house had any sort of history...it's only 4 years old and all that I find is rusty nails! Love finding treasures, hope you happen on some more!

NV said...

Kspin -- It would be cool to find something else in all the digging!