What's the weirdest thing found while surveying?

On the same project this was just sitting on top of a couple of concrete blocks in the middle of the woods with

no pipes going to it.

Drug paraphernalia in a grave yard. 

Deed call for shotgun barrel and found a double barrel at the corner.

@stacy-carroll 

In service or not, I think your find would have inspired a 'canine moment' for me. 😉 

Meth Labs in remote locations, twice. 

A tombstone.  Sort of tossed in a ditch.  Learned later there was an error on it and a new one had been installed in the cemetery down the road a few hundred yards.

A tombstone fairly close to the center corner of a section.  Genuine.  The date was prior to the time of the GLO survey so it was pure luck to stumble onto it while hoping to find a stone.

A tombstone.  Genuine.  Placed near a road fenceline.  Never did research it to see if it was legitimately tied to an owner of the aliquot part.

Two tombstones in the back yard of a funeral home.  We were told that "Gus" and "Charlier" were dogs.  I asked if they were "permanent" employees.

Posted by: @holy-cow

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A tombstone fairly close to the center corner of a section.  Genuine.  The date was prior to the time of the GLO survey so it was pure luck to stumble onto it while hoping to find a stone.

Sounds like that section corner was "dead on".

Went looking for a couple corner pins from the 50's a couple thousand feet in the woods. No line markings to follow. Compassed and paced in nothing other than a white porcelain toilet bowl. Weird, who the hell would carry that in all that way. Go to next corner and find the same thing. Turned it over and there was the pin.

Found out later a past owner was a plumber. Boy you could see that white porcelain from a long ways off in the woods.

A mannequin. It actually had me pretty freaked out until figuring out it wasn’t a body.

@james-vianna 

We later found out that the owner's late husband was a fireman. That explained the hydrant and creatively used fire hoses around the property. Still didn't explain that weird structure though.

Posted by: @stacy-carroll

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This (from 2020) is probably the top of my list of weird things encountered while surveying. It appears to be fiberglass and it's just sitting on top of the ground, nothing underground at all. 

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Bunker?  Large funnel from a old factory nearby?

I'm still waiting to see an overhead glass sewer somewhere, since I told so many people that's what we were building.....

Posted by: @james-vianna

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Went looking for a couple corner pins from the 50's a couple thousand feet in the woods. No line markings to follow. Compassed and paced in nothing other than a white porcelain toilet bowl. Weird, who the hell would carry that in all that way. Go to next corner and find the same thing. Turned it over and there was the pin.

Found out later a past owner was a plumber. Boy you could see that white porcelain from a long ways off in the woods.

 

Posted by: @wendell

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I'm still waiting to see an overhead glass sewer somewhere, since I told so many people that's what we were building.....

I also used this a couple of times to curb the locals and their questions. 😆 😆 

Ours was: "overhead, transparent, about 4' above existing terrain, and a large diameter (usually 4-6')"

Several years ago we came across a bunch of short trails, hunting and camping gear, an obstacle course, and bullet shells everywhere. After we alerted the police, they told us that this was a “militia group” that was training up there several years back before the police chief caught wind of it and told them to knock it off. 

A couple acre field of wacky tobaccy many many moons ago. The local Sheriff got an 'anonymous' tip about it a week or two after we finished our field work.

Had a buddy surveyor who found the bodies of two little girls who had been abducted, murdered, and dumped in central Virginia. It (rightfully so) messed him up pretty badly. 

A covered bridge.  Right of school I was thrown on a crew doing a design survey for a large commercial park.  The place consisted of acres and acres of blackberry vines reaching to the sky (upwards of 20 feet in some places).  While cutting tunnels through the ticket we came across an abandoned covered bridge.   The developer brought in the hydro axes once we were done with the survey (typical) and the bridge was demolished.  Apperently it was not historic.

Posted by: @hi-staker

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A couple acre field of wacky tobaccy many many moons ago. The local Sheriff got an 'anonymous' tip about it a week or two after we finished our field work.

Had a buddy surveyor who found the bodies of two little girls who had been abducted, murdered, and dumped in central Virginia. It (rightfully so) messed him up pretty badly. 

I've walked right into one of those as well.  Not quite 2 acres though.  Called a buddy that was on loan to the local DEA task force and he and his crew showed up and took a look around.  

The second part has always been a fear of mine.  I've been in some places where I was for certain that I would stumble on some bones.  I have no doubt that I've walked by such at some point and never knew it.  I could not imagine being in your buddy's shoes during that.  Wow.  Heartbreaking.

ATM  The money was already gone. I'm sticking to that story.