Below is presented a pictorial essay pertaining to proper recovery techniques for lawns. Homeowners love it when you demonstrate the ability to retrieve a target without so much as a smudge on there manicured lawn. There are several ways to go about this in a manner adherent with our philosophy of "leaving no trace" artifact recovery.
Perhaps the most effortless way to recover an item such as a coin, that is not too deep is, after accurate pinpointing, to gently probe the location with a probing tool(1). A rounded off long shaft screwdriver works well. Pushing down slowly to avoid damage to the object of interest, it will be obvious when you make contact. Using the probe, create a small slit alongside the item, and gently widen the slit with a side to side rocking motion(2). Insert your fingers and retrieve the item(3). Once this is accomplished, simply squeeze the slit together(4) with you thumb and forefinger. The only thing left behind will be your knee prints in the grass!
Now what happens when you come upon an item too far down to retrieve successfully
with the above technique? The next series of photographs demonstrates a very good procedure for recovery of deeper objects. It involves cutting a "plug" in the turf with a cutting tool, such as a large solid knife or one of the tools specifically manufactured for this purpose.
After pinpointing the object accurately,
and
if possible, determining the depth of the item, place your cutting tool about an
inch and a half to one side of the items location,
and somewhat on the side away
from you. Make a cut straight down, trying to cut as deep as the item was
indicated, and continue to cut towards you. When you reach a point about
one and a half inches closer to you than the items location proceed to cut a
semi-circle or partial rectangle in the turf ending the cut adjacent to the spot you originally
started.
This
creates a hinged plug cut in the turf. At this
point use your cutting tool to pry the plug up, using the uncut side as a hinge,
and folding the plug back to expose the item of interest.
If the object is not directly in view, more
soil may be removed, but must be placed on a towel to prevent it from
contaminating the surface of the lawn.
Once the object is located and removed,
replace the soil into the hole, tamp down lightly, and replace the plug by
bending it back into it's original position. A gentle push or two will settle
the plug into position. Ruffle up the grass slightly, and no trace will remain
of your excavation!
This results in a win-win situation. You recover the object,
and the homeowner ( or Park Ranger ) retains his lawn in pristine condition.