Lights out bottle dig

[kenleyboy]

A power cut was in full force for best part of the day so rather than be left with idle hands I needed to get out and about and what better place for me to get busy than the Farm tip .This tip has been playing ball recently and the fact that it is very close to home makes life a lot easier , no long hauls and deep digging . This place affords me a shallow enough dig to be comfortable on my own with out the fear of being buried alive . Safety is paramount and deep holes 8 -10 feet plus is a two man job and a good sturdy set of ladders . We each carry these and probably the best and most sensible move we have made , getting out the holes on a ladder saves having to expend anymore energy cutting out steps in the side walls as an escape route .

The Farm tip is far more tame by comparison , 4 feet maximum depth and an easy take your time type of dig plus the location is a little more prettier than some places I have dug . Norfolk affords some very pleasant surroundings and this place is one of them so it is always a more laid back excursion .

It does seem to go in strange cycles here as far as digging bottles , there seems to be no rhyme or reason that one dig will nab you a theme of bottles , stoneware inks have played a big part in what is dug , then the odd Ginger Beer and other stoneware items . Glass inks seem in abundance as does poison bottles and each dig seems to bless me with at least one fine example , my favourites are the blues . Today was no different , first real decent find was the small rat poison with the rat logo embossed to the base , sheared lip so would have been a cork bung in place originally , pleased with that and the same for the classic not to be taken blue poison . Things were looking good and even more so when a very fine decorative clay pipe bowl emerged from the next shovel fun of soil . These are always pleasant to find and once again , come and go , three for me today .
The clay pipe bowl depicting the castle looks to have inscribed "Enniskillen " then underneath this reads "Egypt" , not sure what this means but some research is on the cards .

, rat , poison and pipe cleaned.jpg

The soil here is temperamental , it can be cruel as well as kind to the bottles and nothing is as deflating as finding a little gem only to find once the wetness has evaporated the bottle dries to a dull matt opaque finish otherwise known as the dreaded "sickness" ! A lot of this has to do with the quality of the glass just as much as the acidity of the soil , if the glass is good then little or no sickness is evident however poor quality glass in acidic soil will ruin a perfectly good bottle .However sometimes the reaction can play dividends depending on personal taste and sometimes the bottles will turn an iridescent range of colours such as this Amber Lysol , a Boots Cash Chemist poison bottle . The photo does not do the actual colours that much justice but the colours are far brighter with an array of petrol blue , greens , purple and a dash of pink .

irridescent lysol .jpg

Once again , a theme is running here because I had three of these Lysol bottles and the best example for me is the green , totally unmarked with an impressive colour and pattern embossed to the glass which make this bottle a beautiful addition to the ever growing collection ! The smaller cousin is also in good condition , ice aqua blue . The Fields ink is a slightly larger version and this also is in the aqua and in very good top order yet you can dig along further and find the same bottle or similar and it will be ruined with the sickness , just the luck of the draw .

cleaned , 2 lysol and fields ink.jpg

Finally the spoil for the morning , some interesting bottles with some additional gems , some were too far gone to bother taking home .

fresh out the hole green lysol.jpg

[Gareth50]

I have. cap badge with inneskillen at the base of a castle. It is from the Inneskillen fusiliers could be place to.start with you research. The cap badge I have from memory is from the first world war, so may be after you pipe bow was lost.
Gareth

[sweepstick47]

Some very nice finds indeed there Love the rat poison base and of course the 'Lysol' but the plain Fields Ink is also a favourite ('cos I like Field's Ink). The Victorian pipe bowl could be linked to a member of the 27th Regt. of Foot - (Inniskilling).

I suppose you ignored the instructions on the 'ribbed' blue poison......and took it anyway
Cheers - Regards ss47

[fred]

The Second Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was in Egypt between 1902 and 1908. The First Battalion was only in Egypt for a few months in early 1916. I would guess that the pipe dates from before WW1.

Love the rat poison base too.

[kenleyboy]

Some very nice finds indeed there Love the rat poison base and of course the 'Lysol' but the plain Fields Ink is also a favourite ('cos I like Field's Ink). The Victorian pipe bowl could be linked to a member of the 27th Regt. of Foot - (Inniskilling).

I suppose you ignored the instructions on the 'ribbed' blue poison......and took it anyway
Cheers - Regards ss47

Couldn't resist stealing the blue poison Love the Fields inks , nice strong embossing , very common but hard to find in near minty condition where I am digging .

[kenleyboy]

Thank you one and all for the information on the pipe bowl . I had an idea it was possibly something to do with the military and the connection between Enniskillen and Egypt .
The date would be about right and fall into that pre WW1 period and thereafter .

[Oxgirl36]

I covet that rat one - love it

Another great write up and some beautiful bottles to boot

[Dave The Slave]

Even more great finds and photos of finds I have never seen before.
Pipe bowl is very decorative and specific.
Thanks for the photo of the base of the rat poison bottle.
Large green bottle is nice as is the one with an iridescent colouring.
Yet another great day out for you , Paul.
Cheers,
Dave.

[Ladybird66]

Another good session Paul. Won’t comment on the one you could’nt find a few weeks ago but it now seems they’re almost jumping out if the ground for you
The ‘Ratty’ bottle is a lovely find. As are most of the others. And the pipe is a real find.
I was interested in reading about the iridescence factor. Out in the fields I’ve come across many broken pieces of glass with the same multi colour effect. Even some that look as if they have flecks of gold in them. I’ve often wondered about that, were they made like it, how were they made, and so on. Mostly they are very thick, and so dark in colour I couldn’t see if they were brown, green or just black. Found one base which reminded me of the old Brandy bottles, with a sunken middle.
All very interesting. Just proves, you never stop learning

[kenleyboy]

Another good session Paul. Won’t comment on the one you could’nt find a few weeks ago but it now seems they’re almost jumping out if the ground for you
The ‘Ratty’ bottle is a lovely find. As are most of the others. And the pipe is a real find.
I was interested in reading about the iridescence factor. Out in the fields I’ve come across many broken pieces of glass with the same multi colour effect. Even some that look as if they have flecks of gold in them. I’ve often wondered about that, were they made like it, how were they made, and so on. Mostly they are very thick, and so dark in colour I couldn’t see if they were brown, green or just black. Found one base which reminded me of the old Brandy bottles, with a sunken middle.
All very interesting. Just proves, you never stop learning

I have also found some glass on the fields and when they get baked by the sun they can turn into some wonderful jewel like colours . The glass quality plays a part in this and the glass shards you find are most likely to be amber which can look green or even black in colour but in some cases held up to the light will show its true colour if not a little darker than it would have originally been .
From my photo of the bottles I only took half back , getting fussy in my old age or is it just shelf space

[Bypass2]

More great finds and photos

[Digger Drew]

Nice rat poison not a common bottle at all especially in that colour the green Lysol is also a nice one