Some People Enjoy Digging Up the Past (SC)
SC man finds hundreds of relics in neighborhood, including musket and buttons from Washington’s army
SC man finds hundreds of relics in neighborhood, including musket and buttons from Washington’s army
Mark Anders loves hearing that beep, beep, beeping sound his metal detector makes as he scans his neighborhood for artifacts and uncovers buried treasures long lost from centuries ago.
With 6,000 acres to comb through in the Poplar Grove community, sometimes spending hours in a single plot, Anders pieces together the history of the people who lived on the property since the 1600s, be it the Elliott family, George Washington’s potential distant relatives or the smaller characters who made the former rice plantation tick.
Shelves upon shelves line Anders’ home office — his temporary storage until a more permanent neighborhood museum is built. There’s iron pick axes dating back to the 1700s, belt buckles, spurs, utensils and a musket pistol barrel. He has uncovered silver jewelry shaped like a bow and a gold heart locket, as well as dagger guards and Continental Army military buttons.
Digging in the dirt is a lifelong hobby from Anders’ childhood, when he collected coins and bottles with a generic metal detector his mother bought him at Radio Shack.
The retiree moved to Ravenel with his wife in 2020. He now travels the…
Yeah, every wife I've had, had the ability to dig up the past even if they had to make it out of whole cloth.....