Ditches running parallel to river?

metalguy1889

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Hi all,

I've been exploring a site where there used to be several homes along the banks of a small local river. I came across an odd looking ditch or canal that runs parallel to the river for several hundred feet and is dotted with boulders. Any ideas what this could have been ? Maybe next time I will bring my detector.
 

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Maybe an old road that ran along side the river? There is an old road behind our house that looks like a grown in ditch now. Are you in New England? The rocks don't really look like the stone walls that I see around MA.
 
You better get in there Pal! Could be anything from an old trading post kind of deal, to some sort of battlements! Especially along a river like that? Check in the water too if you can...Report back!
 
Many times cities come in and create ditches along the sides of rivers and creeks and they're just overflow reservoirs for when the river Rises
 
If the ditch runs from a high point to a low point, it may have been an irrigation ditch to catch snow melt/rain water rolling down the hill. if it goes both up and down hill, probably as others described.
 
That's really interesting. What state are you in? First thing I'd do is a historic map search. Where were the buildings? What type buildings? Was the river at one time navigable? Was there any Rev War activity, Civil War activity? Was it settled very, very early (1600's early) ? Is there evidence of a structure at what would be the high end (topographically speaking), like a dam or diverter?
Many possibilities, it'd be an interesting thing to study. Should be able to figure it out. Someone spent some serious time doing that. Should be some evidence left behind, those relics might help you date the structure.
 
Most likely a skid trail, where a guy was bucking out trees behind some Oxen or Mules? Jacked up the rocks to keep everything on path and not rolling down? Apogee of the transit...easiest path...?

Still, those rocks are big and old..it certainly bears a good look and exploration...go and hunt it! Depending on what you find, Surely something will lead to the right conclusion...?
 
Most likely a skid trail, where a guy was bucking out trees behind some Oxen or Mules? Jacked up the rocks to keep everything on path and not rolling down? Apogee of the transit...easiest path...?

Still, those rocks are big and old..it certainly bears a good look and exploration...go and hunt it! Depending on what you find, Surely something will lead to the right conclusion...?

This is a good possibility as well. If that's the case, you could/should come across shoes, tack, shackles etc. Fun puzzle.
 
If you follow the ditches, do they end in a opening or field. If so they are irrigation ditches cut in up stream and bring water to the fields.
 
The second pic looks like they were diverting surface (rain) water away from that section of the river. They could be doing that for any number of reasons.
 
Maybe an old road that ran along side the river? There is an old road behind our house that looks like a grown in ditch now. Are you in New England? The rocks don't really look like the stone walls that I see around MA.



One time I went to RI and there was many walls like that, but I don't know


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One time I went to RI and there was many walls like that, but I don't know


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From my research and limited experience, the stonewalls in NE were made most often because landowners needed to clear the rocky New england soil of stones to farm, etc. So the walls tend to be rocks of all sizes and shapes. From the pics it looks like his wall is more uniform sized rocks, and there are fewer, spaced apart, like they were brought in specifically for some purpose that the wall or boundary would serve. It could be for any of the reasons the others suggested. I could be totally over analyzing and way off, but that's the sense I get.
 
The only way to figure this out is to get in there and do some sniffing around!...For starters, I'd be as bold as to take a mattock and a tiling spade and dig a test hole or two down behind those rocks just to see how deep it is to the undisturbed soil...

If its deep, it could possibly be some sort of battlement to protect that stretch of river, if not, it is merely a logging trail or old flume trace..Especially if theres evidence of a dam upstream or pinch point on the river at that treeline in the photo? Could be just an old flume for irrigation or to a little mill or something...

.It aint a natural structure, definitely created for a purpose, somebody long ago rolled those big heavies there for a specific reason...It wasnt kids either...Water was and is precious...people made flumes all the time to divert upstream water to use..

Surely theres some metal left behind that will narrow the possibilities down a bit, ...Horse/Ox Shoes, busted off cant hooks and lumbering gear,, scattered nails from a long gone rotten wooden flume, evidence of an old dam upstream? etc...

Back in the day, Some old flumes were miles long...they didnt have pumps or pipes back then and had to go all 'Roman Aqueduct' in areas...
 
Thanks for the discussion everyone.

I followed the ditch further and it led to a small 'harbor' in the river that looks like an old canoe drop-in. My best guess is that it was used to divert water during the flood season.
 
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