What is Buried in Your Backyard?

Pacific Northwest Historical Research & Artifact Recovery

Every Property Has A Story To Tell

100 years ago people dumped their trash in the backyard outhouse, well, and trash pit. Now this “trash” provides valuable insight into the lives of the people who once called your property home. Even after a century, glassware (bottles, marbles, jars), stoneware (crockery) and certain metal objects (coins, copper, brass) often are well preserved and awaiting discovery.

Discover Underground is an historical research and artifact recovery project based in the Pacific Northwest. We provide a range of services to discover the hidden history of private property. Artifacts are located, excavated, restored and researched to provide property owners with a window into their home’s past.

Brian Richardson

I started digging in 2003 after stumbling across an early 1900s farm dump in my  backyard. I was just 13 at the time and blown away by the ability to look back in time by analyzing what people left behind. Over the years I have refined the process of finding, digging, restoring and providing historical context to antique bottles and artifacts. I’m fascinated by pre-WW1 material culture and the unfiltered glimpse into history that discarded objects provide. This is not my day job but a hobby driven by the excitement that comes with connecting to the past. My work is not meant to challenge the services of professional archaeologists and is always performed with cooperation of private property owners. No digs occur on protected land or native american sites.

Bottle Digging

Curious About The History of Your Property? Contact Me