Moved into this house late in the fall 2024. House was built in 1995 and the lawn is uneven and mushy. I want to level it out and firm it up.
HOWEVER – I hope it’s not too difficult to see from the picture, but it has these 4 mounds that kinda look to be the size of shallow graves? I have a well, and my house is to the right in this picture. Behind me is all woods. I am hoping that someone can tell me that these can be anything but graves because they’re the perfect size…
by airpranes
32 Comments
If it’s difficult to see, the highest point of the mounds are free of leaves with the closest being on the left in the bottom 3rd of the picture
You dig those up and you’ll end up in one too
Had a similar issue….probably from when irrigation pipes were installed and / or wiring for my shed was put in.
Step 1) aerate the area thoroughly since you’re not going to be doing any digging.
Step 2) https://youtube.com/shorts/yAi_M_nmizQ?si=yvUB4oB9zW_P7IC6
If those are graves, let em be. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
ancient indian mounds? Live in the midwest?
Unless you see Stephen king walk his dog by your house you’re probably good
Lol.
Could be a stump
Could be “random” subsidence (or rather, lack thereof)
**And the most bizarre option, which is way more common than you might think… Trash.**
Back in the day, all the way up to the 70’s in some cases (later in rural areas), people would sometimes bury their trash out in the lawn.
~~Being a 50’s house, I really wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what it is.~~ (i read 1959, my bad) I’ve seen that a few dozen times… Stuck a soil probe down and got loose bits of metal and very old plastic.
Dig
Dig them up, hopefully they were buried with their jewellery.
Run to the light Carol Anne, run as fast as you can…
You have to try digging if you don’t have visibility in previous years google maps snapshots. I have a few of them that are similar sized and they’re old tree stumps and roots from large trees. Basically as trees grow, their roots push up the soil around the trunk. A half-assed landscaper with a stump grinder is going to take it down flush with the ground…but with the soil pushed up from the large roots, that isn’t really conducive to flattening the area out. For most people it’s not an issue, but for those of us who want flat yards it is.
Graves would likely be marked on the deed.
also, Graves tend to create depressions as they rot, not mounds.
Stop making excuses and Level it
Parts of a septic system? Perhaps no longer in use?
Shallow graves. You live near the pine barrens?
Yes
If you find uncle Jeff or auntie Marie lmk we never did find them after the “killer” got a hold of them
Could be old garden beds. In 1995, those trees weren’t as tall. Probably could even grow tomatoes! But with more shade, production dropped and a new owner just threw seed over it.
Have a scratch around and have a peek
Are you on septic?
Someone could have also buried the trees they cleared instead of burning or hauling away…
If anyone offers to clear your land and tells you they can save you money by burying the slash, smile politely and escort them off the property….
It always is a nightmare, unless you have 20+ acres and are doung a Hugelkulture in one particular area that wont be built on, isnt part of the grade, etc…
Well you legally can’t just bury someone. Their would be records. My property, dogs buried all over. Been here a long time..
Try witching rods. It’s basically voodoo and shouldn’t work by all logic but always does. I use to do a lot of work in cemeteries for monuments and locating graves. I was taught by an old timer. I would commonly find graves with witching rods and then probe to verify. Had a freakishly high success rate. Like 85-90%. It’s something with the density of ground being different. I know a well digger that uses the technique for finding good spots to drill for wells since water is different density than dirt. Go down a YouTube rabbit hole if you want to. Again, I know by all logic it shouldn’t work, but it always did for me.
the harder way would just be bringing in dirt and raising it to the height of the mounds….then you can just live not know what they were but also that they are still there 😛
It’s just random leaves spread out🫤
https://preview.redd.it/hb067301jabe1.jpeg?width=812&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74e89638b04f5d9193b77c0df4ac14d07410835c
I had something similar in my small backyard. After getting to know a neighbor, I mentioned them and he told me the prior owners had a slightly raised garden there. They pulled out the border timbers, but never re-leveled anything.
Dig it up, could be Jimmy Hoffa. There’s a $200k reward.
Probably the burial grounds of a homicidal maniac. Be careful.
As long as you don’t just move the headstones, you good.
Graves tend to sink inward, not stay as mounds.
Lucky for you curses aren’t real so just live your life.
Poke it with a stick and see if it moves.
There’s one now, Barbara. It’ll be just like night of the living dead.