I found a mound on my land finally.The last 4 months ive been finding lots of surface points.The question i have to you hard core diggers is where do i start the dig? On the mound? Outside the mound? How far from the mound? The camp seems fairlly large.

Bill, if you have not already done so you might consider procuring a soil map from your county agent and a USGS topo map. In some cases these maps can provide you with the boundaries of your site. The center of the camp should be on fairly level ground with well drained soil such as a styx loamy sand . I generally dig test holes one meter X one meter and go down to the hard pan. Sift everything that comes out of the test holes. Let us know what happens.

Thanks Redman,I tried some test holes already,and found a small worked piece and some shards or flint.That was directly on top of the mound.

Hey bill not sure where your located but if your referring to a rock midden the think of it as this The inner core being however large the rock midden is and the core being what several diggers besides myself call the "GLORY HOLE" Indians did leave some points behind in the rock and as the mound kept extending out they camped further and further out away from the center....If your center mound depth is 5 ft then find the radius of 1 ft or less away from the center ..........The less rock being more or better in this case , This core area or Glory hole seems to contain most of the points ... In the case of a 5 footer I have exp and the glory hole is around a 40 ft radius from the center of the mound .... If the area has multiple occupations then the mantel area can be pretty good too....Just remember indians didnt camp on top of the rock.....How would you like to sleep on a rock bed ... I will try and get some pics of what im talking about week after next....Im going to the frio next week

Thanks Aaron,Ill try some test holes futher out.Good luck on the Frio.Is that FRL?

No bill its another area that im refering to thats a cross section of a mound that my dad an i started diggin about 2 years ago... We sunk down a hole through 5 feet of solid rock....( not recommended) Since that time another digger has expanded our hole and has left a huge wall that gives a classic example of a centex mound......I hope I can get pics....Ive only got a short time to take pics though.....I only have one free day to dig the rest of the time Ill be down at the coast fishing....Cheers

Thanks guys,I will try some more test holes around the mound today.

I would start a a 4 foot wide trench outside of the mound all the way to virgin soil then i would cut the trench all the way through the mound cutting it in half. then i would do the same thing again. Woodland mounds don't usually have a lot of treasure. mississippian burial mounds on the other hand are rich as hell. The crazyist mound i ever saw excavated was on our old farm in the valley. All we found was layer after layer of skeletons. 40 or 50 skeletons then a layer of rock. then 40 or 50 more all cramed together skeletons, ther were four layers in the mound. No artifacts were present,,,just old bones.

wow,thats alot of bones

The reason i dug directly into the mound was because i wanted to see if it was really a midden or not.Looking for burnt rock,flint,bone,shell ect.It might be a little harder to find the camp.

Bill if your fairly close to the austin area ..I would be happy to share what little knowlege I do have and look at your place ..... Those camps shouldnt be to hard to find......You can email me "mine is real"

Dug some more test holes around the mound today,no luck.So i just surface hunted the area,and found a couple of points.

Try the trench method next, either along the edge or across the mound. There's treasure in dem there hills somewhere.