Looking for places to dig in Western Maryland

[tas21502]

I live in Allegany County Maryland just outside of Cumberland.I am new to artifact collecting and was wondering if anyone knows where any good places in my local area to start looking for relics.I live about 1/4 mile from the Allegany County Fairgrounds.Somehow I think this area is full of things to find but I have no real idea what I'd need to start,and where to start.Any help would be wonderful.

[chase]

Not sure I will be much help for you. but start with museums and talking to the farmers. All digging needs to be on private land and not public. Look for water since this resource is a must for all.

[Olden]

chase wrote:

Not sure I will be much help for you. but start with museums and talking to the farmers. All digging needs to be on private land and not public. Look for water since this resource is a must for all.

  Hey Tas - sounds like some good advise from Chase. You may want to try your hand at surface collecting before you start digging - would be much easier, and would be insightful as to the lay of the land. Other sources would be to study area maps (topo or otherwise), or find site reports
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient...w=1288&bih=697 , or talk to people that do a lot of digging http://www.youtube.com/user/2arrowhe...?feature=watch
Don't forget to wear some hunters orange this time of year - Good Luck!

[rmartin]

Good advice so far. I agree with Olden on the surface hunting part. Find the highest concentrations of flint, fire cracked rock, and pottery shards. I don't know the soil conditions where you are but if it is heavy with clay you might want to reconsider digging. Digging can be very labor intensive!