NOT MUCH OF A DIG. ALL RAKING AND SHOVELING DIRT DOWN THE PILE, LEFT FROM THE EXCAVATORS. THERE'S HUGE PILES OF DIRT THERE, AND ONLY ONE SMALL SPOT I FOUND ANY THING TO DIG. BETTER ONE

ONE MORE, CLOSER UP.

THESE ARE THE SCHARDS I DUG UP.

AND ANOTHER. A STRAIGHT SIDED CLEAR CANADIAN COCA COLA, BY ISAAC, CAME OUT.

MORE DIGS HAPPENING!

FRED DUG A HALF PINT RAINIER, TOOLED CROWN LIP. ANOTHER FIRST FOR THIS DIG SITE.  SEE IT ON MAINLAND B.C. ---MISCELLANEOUS -  

JAMIE WITH HIS VERTICAL RUMMINGS. EXCELLENT SCORE!

FRED & ISSAC ARE AT IT AGAIN! RIGHT ON! IN THE FOREGROUND ARE TWO BOTTLES, UPRIGHT. ON LEFT IS THE W. E. RUMMINGS PICK & SHOVEL POP AND ON THE RIGHT IS A CANADIAN BREWING A

NOW HE CAN EVEN SEE WHAT HE'S DIGGIN'!!

FRED'S BACK AT IT! RIGHT ON, FRED!

FIRST DIGGING PICS FOR A LONG TIME.

GOOD LUCK, FRED!

FRED HAS A GREAT HOLE GOING NOW. THE BUILDING IS GONE, THE YARD ALMOST ALL CLEANED UP, AND THE ONLY DIG HOLE HAS FRED IN IT. ABOUT 8 FEET ACROSS AND 7 FEET DEEP. A MINT LOUIS LAWRENCE S

AT IT AGAIN, THIS TIME THE BOSS IS RUNNING THE SHOW. SOME GOOD BOTTLES CAME OUT TODAY.

SURE SAVES A LOTTA HAND DIGGING! A GREAT COLORED (BEST AQUA I'VE SEEN) LOUIS LAWRENCE INSIDE SCREW CAME UP HERE. CAN BE SEEN LISTED UNDER "LATEST FINDS"   THE BOSS,

ISSAC, BILL, FRED, MYSELF, AND BOB AROUND LEFT CORNER. LUCKY BOB! 

IT LOOKS LIKE IT!

EASE IT OUT, BOB!

NOW, FOR SURE, WE KNOW IT'S ANOTHER UNION!

WORK IT OUT, CAREFULLY, BOB!

JUST LIKE DELIVERING A BABY, EH, BOB?

UNION CROWN, REBORN!

BOB GRIFFIN, WITH A REAL BEAUTY!! WONKIEST LIP EVER! MINT!!       GOOD FOR YOU, BOB! WHAT A GREAT SCORE FOR YOU!

FRED HAD A LITTLE MISHAP AND GOT HALF COVERED IN THIS CAVE-IN. ABOUT 18 FEET OF OUR DIGGING FACE CAVED ALL OF A SUDDEN. LUCKILY, WE WERE DIGGING IN A SHALLOW AREA. FRED'S FIBERGLAS

FRED, GREY, TONY AND MYSELF WERE DIGGING AT THE SITE TODAY; WELL, YESTERDAY NOW. SUNDAY. HERE IS DOMONNIQUE, ONE OF FRED'S FRIENDS,  HOLDING A VERY UNUSUAL PIPE. SHE MANAGED T

FRED'S BROKEN SHOVEL. STORY ON ABOVE PIC.

HERE'S THE RECORD FOR THIS SCARCE BOTTLE!

WAY TO GO, FRED!!

ISSAC GOT ONE MORE LOUIS LAWRENCE INSIDE SCREW. DIGGING AT THE MILTON STREET SITE.

THIS IS DAVE. EXCAVATOR OPERATOR, AND A NEW BOTTLE COLLECTOR/DIGGER TO OUR GREAT HOBBY.

WELCOME, DAVE, AND GOOD LUCK! DIGGING AT THE OLD BUILDING

THIS IS THE HOLE THAT FRED FOUND THE UNION APPLIED CROWN BEER. BOTTLE CAN BE SEEN UNDER LATEST BOTTLES SUB-PAGE.

DANIEL AGAIN

AND ONE MORE OF DANIEL

BILL AGAIN

BILL, DANIEL AND MYSELF AT THE GORGE, SNORKELLING FOR BOTTLES. DID NOT FIND ANY GREAT ONES, UNFORTUNATELY.

ANOTHER OF BILL

DANIEL

BACK AT IT NEXT MORNING. WE BARELY GOT STARTED WHEN WE GOT SHUT DOWN. CONSTRUCTION BOSS WASN'T VERY COOPERATIVE.

SO, BACK TO THE BUILDING. EVEN T

NIGHT SHOT

ACTUAL DIGGING TIME WAS ABOUT 4 HOURS FOR THIS PILE AND MANY MORE GOOD BOTTLES. TAKEN AFTER DARK.

NIGHT SHOT 1

MITCHELL HUTCHES, PLAIN HUTCH, GREEN 8-SIDED BURST-OFF INK, SQUAT BEERS. I GOT A LATE START. ONLY HAD ABOUT 2 HOURS TO DIG.

AND ANOTHER

WE HIT A FANTASTIC DIG SITE, BEHIND THE OXY HOTEL. THE OXY IS ONE OF THE OLDEST, MAYBE EVEN THE OLDEST, HOTEL IN NANAIMO. BUILT IN THE LATER 1800'S. A LOT WAS DUG OUT BY EXCAVATOR

NEW DAY, BIGGER PILE

CLOSE UP. THESE UNIONS ARE MINT!

FRED & ISSAC WITH SOME OF THEIR FINDS. FRED DUG 4 UNION BREWING BOTTLES (MINT!) WITHIN ABOUT 2 HOURS. JOHN MITCHELL HUTCHES, RUMMING PICK & SHOVELS, AND UNEMBOSSED HUTCHES&

ANOTHER

ISSAC'S HOLE

ANOTHER SHOT

HERE'S DIGGER FRED, WITH A GREAT HOLE IN THE CHINA TOWN DUMP, NANAIMO.

ISSAC, IN A HOLE NEXT DOOR TO FRED'S.

ANOTHER SHOT

HERE'S FRED'S HOLE TODAY. YOU CAN'T SEE THE BOTTOM. IT'S ABOUT 18 FEET DEEP! SEE THE ROPE GOING UP THE SIDE? THAT'S FRED'S WAY IN, AND, OUT.

THIS

WELL, LOOK AT THIS! FRED WANGLED HIS WAY INTO WORKING A REAL JOB, HELPING TO DEMOLISH "THE BUILDING"! OF COURSE, HIS ULTERIOR MOTIVE IS TO HAVE FIRST CRACK AT ANY BOTTLES THAT

THIS 1905-1910 GRAIN ELEVATOR HAS SAT ON TOP OF OUR NANAIMO DUMP UNTIL NOW. IT'S COMING DOWN. BUILT WITH OLD FIR TIMBERS, PLANKS AND OTHER ASSORTED BOARDS. HUGE TIMBERS GO FROM FRO

AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS "THE BUILDING" BY US LOCAL DIGGERS.

A FEW PICS OF MY HOLE, WITH A BOTTLE COMING UP. THE WATER LEVEL WAS TOO HIGH. ABOUT 5 FEET DOWN. HAVE TO GO ABOUT 8 FEET DOWN TO GET ALL THE TREASURES. STILL, FOUND 2 MOULD BLOWN BOTTLE

ANOTHER PIC. ABOUT 5 FEET DEEP. ALMOST ALL DUMP. 

IT'S A START OF SOMETHING BIG!

THIS IS ABOUT IT FOR RECENT DIGS. MY DOG, SHILOH, AND HIS FRIEND, DIGGING AND HAVING FUN IN OUR MONSTROUS SNOWFALL THIS WINTER.

THE 3 MIKES  FRESH OFF A SCUBA BOTTLE HUNT IN VICTORIA'S GORGE WATERWAY. ALL 3 GOT LUCKY AND FOUND GOOD BOTTLES.  SUMMER OF 2K8

FRED PRAYING TO THE BOTTLE GODS!

FRED DUG HIMSELF A BED, AND NOW HE'S SLEEPING IN IT!

VIEW FROM BOTTOM UP! ONLY THING ABOUT THIS FANTASTIC DUMP IS, IT'S ALL ABM BOTTLES. SO FAR, ANYWAY. MAYBE THAT'LL CHANGE WHEN I HIT THE BOTTOM!

THE LATEST FIND BY A FELLOW COLLECTOR. DUG JUST OFF EAST WELLINGTON ROAD, HERE IN NANAIMO. DUG THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE, 2008.  COMPLETE, WITH WOODEN, INCISED, INSIDE THREAD STOPPER.

GO DEEP, BOB!!    MARCH 22/08

FIRST PHOTO WAS LEFT SIDE. THIS IS THE RIGHT SIDE

MY EVER-FAITHFUL COMPANION, AND HELPER, SHILOH. I GAVE HIM THIS NAME RIGHT OFF ONE OF OUR TORONTO BOTTLES, "SHILOH'S CONSUMPTION CURE"

THIS IS THE AFTERMATH OF A FEW HOURS OF FURIOUS DIGGING! THE ONLY WAY FOR YOU TO TELL WHAT'S DUG, IS THE DARKER COLOR. I STARTED AT THE BOTTOM AND WORKED MY WAY UP. ALMOST TO THE T

HOW'S THIS FOR A BOTTLE COLLECTORS' FANTASY PARADISE??

Same hole I dug my O'KELL & MORRIS jar, June 18/07.

E.Pimbury find still coming.

Fantastic Find! 2nd of only 2 known in this size & color.

Fred, our local digging Fiend! Fred has dug many, many bottles that he always shares with his friends, for a fee, of course! Here, he's dug a Blob Top Union Brewing (which I bought!) and an inside scr

Fred Keswick with a New Westminster Medicine

Close up of 2 rare ones: Union Brewing applied crown and Greer's Ammonia

Native pounder, rare to find, dug by Bill Bokstrom

This was a big one. Bill and myself were caught in this one.  Bill was not so lucky. While Bjorn Woldmo and Fred worked feverishly to Dig Bill out, I  was lucky to be in a natural protected

Better scope of what this cave-in really looked like.

Can't have a good cave-in without a good bottle popping out of it! Here, Bill got himself a John Mitchell, Nanaimo, inside screw pop.

The aftermath. Could easily have been a lot more serious. True digging is not for the faint-hearted!

Bjorn Waldmo's Hole. His escaped our 3 hole cave-in.

Turn-of-Century Dump, Nanaimo

New Years Day 2008. Dug UNIQUE 16oz "From Campbells" Victoria Med yesterday from this same hole.