The Urban Archeologist: A cure for finding treasure.

Urban archeology is a great hobby in that it is something you can do almost anywhere and it doesn’t require a lot of accessories to get started, just two - (1) transportation, and (2) a weekend. My assertion that you can dig “anywhere” was put to the test when a family vacation took us to Florida.

This presented an interesting challenge: Would I be able to find a “dig” in Florida? With a firm grasp on the 2 accessories listed above and an online search tool, I managed to find a sale that fit the description of my desire. You can see by the pictures that this was a true dig in a tropical paradise. Both inside and outside the house were many potential purchases.

After digging for about an hour, I finally found the story I was looking for: 100-year-old books on Steamship regulations, navigation, and medicine at sea. Though warped and water damaged, I began to read about the procedures for drunkenness, cures for hanging and numerous other odd things that can and do occur at sea.

Click here to see more of the contents of these books. It is entertaining to read some of the ailments and possible injuries as well as the antiquated cures of the day.