Privy diggers find and excavate old outhouses. Before there were dumps, people tossed their garbage in abandoned privies. Also things fell out of people’s pockets. Old privies have hundreds of old bottles in them. 150 year old bottles are highly collectable and good examples can go for hundreds of dollars. Privy digging is associated with bottle collecting, but privy diggers also find coins, keys, false teeth, and the occasional silver cup.

Larry used to subscribe to a newsletter called Privy Digger Journal, which I wish he could find. I’d like to scan them.

Here is a cool link to an interview with a couple of privy diggers.

Privy Digging is one of the things that I’d like to do after I retire. Nyack has to have some incredible privies. I know of three that were on my property, and I’d like to try my hand at those. I have a mostly written story called the Privy Digger’s tale about modern privy diggers who have a very lovecraftian encounter at the bottom of a privy.