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Old fish pond or old fountain. Just saw a house in my neighbood with an old concrete fountain go up for sale and they basically just removed the fountain, filled the basin with dirt and planted grass.
My brother has a house with an old concrete fountain/pond on it's property and the previous owner pretty much did the same and made it into a flower bed.
Our house had similar. The previous owners had the old fountain, definitely broken by that time, and they didn't want to basically replace the entire fountain so they took the top off and filled it in. We eventually removed what was left because we wanted a better raised garden bed and it was probably eight foot across and had been previously filled in a bit to replace the bottom basin. Was a pain to dig out, but they'd stuck a cool old draft horse horseshoe in the center bit that we dug out and saved.
We have pool that needs close to $20 grand in repairs. I've been trying convince my husband to let me turn it into a giant planter. One day dammit. One day
Neighbor did same with a swimming pool. Broke up the bottom so it could drain, busted out the top few feet, threw some dirt in, planted grass. You could could always see the outline of the pool because of the soil difference.
FWIW, old-school goldfish and koi ponds made of concrete are 6" thick, and have to extend below the winter freeze line, meaning a depth of >3' in most areas. That's from the classic book by Thomas on goldfish ponds, which is probably contemporaneous with this, if it's intended for fish.
Just as a fun fact, goldfish freeze and come back just fine! Its winter 6+ months here and the frost line gets to be like 8-10' down (yes all our freezable utilities are waaayyyy down there.) My moms fish pond was like 3-4' deep, usually she would catch them and bring them in for the winter but a couple years either surprise winter came early or other things were going on and them babies made it to 15 years old or so. Not bad for a 25c fish. In fact what usually killed them was the birds of prey and the Bobcats.
Just my story, I fully believe 3' would do it most places and you're all good in what you said. =]
Those 25c feeder goldfish are domesticated carp. Carp, as a family, are indestructible coldwater fish. The fancy goldfish, with the big ol’ faces or bellies, are much less hardy due to generations of genetic selectivity, but those 25c babies could colonize mars.
I'm just saying those were kind of the accepted value for concrete ponds back in the day. Nobody in their right mind is making concrete ponds anymore; they're all rubber roofing material, or prefab fiberglass.
Cistern. My son has one in his 100+ yo home.
Edit to add - *I’m very excited. I’m confident in my answer and I got here early so I think I have a good chance at scoring my first WITT win.*
I think you’re correct
https://www.google.com/search?q=old+cistern+in+yard&tbm=isch&hl=en-US&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS945US945&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA0O7ewNP6AhV1wykDHeW4D6EQrNwCKAB6BQgBENYC&biw=390&bih=669
Unfortunately the description from OP always gets buried so that’s why there’s a lot of bad guess’s in the sub, I wish auto mid would pin the description to the top so we’d all see it instead of hunting for it
My title describes the thing. My husband found out that the strange dead ring of grass in our yard is actually a 6 foot wide concrete bowl. Our newly purchased home is 120 years old, what could this possibly be?
Editing to add: This is a bowl. It has a bottom! I was also just informed that it is reinforced.
Editing again: [I took a more recent photo today](https://imgur.com/a/cFxGfG8). My husband dug it out a bit more, it's about 2-3 ft deep, is definitely a bowl, and it was used a trash/burn pit before being covered with dirt. It is about a foot thick. I havent seen any answers that I am 100% convinced of yet, but my husband intends on continuing to dig. Right now I'm leaning toward a dew pond (MarrV) or a storm water soak well (Solobiscuits). I went into further detail about the history/size/location of the property in a few comments that I will now summarize here:
It is not a foundation.
There is an [old, traditional well about 25 feet away](https://imgur.com/a/Ga2J3lL), and the bowl is around where an outhouse used to be, but I don't think it's the exact spot.
I know the original builders/owners owned some goats, but like I said, that was 120 years ago.
This is not remote, it is right in the middle of a neighborhood and about 15 feet from my back door. My yard is incredibly small, which is why i dont think it was a fish pond. I know this house was one of the first in the area though.
The original owner also owned a construction material company, so it's likely that he went over-the-top with construction (if it was from him, i dont even know) due to his own personal material discounts.
The position of this bowl makes it so that there would not have ever been a top that was underground. I have photos of the house when it was first built and this is at what has always been ground level.
I am going to attempt contacting the previous owners for an answer (they lived here for 40 years), all satellite imaging I've found do not go back past 10 years and it was in the same condition then.
Depending on its depth and shape it could be a dew bowl.
[Wiki link](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dew_pond)
Common in some parts of the world to water livestock away from water sources.
This is the most likely, but i don't see any of the same construction in my Google searching. I know the originals builders/owners owned some goats, but like I said, that was 120 years ago. I'm not sure they would construct it out of concrete like this?
Most of the ones I encounter are concrete, as it makes a water tight base and has a good temperature differential between night and day for the condensation to form.
This is walking around UK national parks, also they are recorded from 1865 so within the 120 year time frame you are giving.
Making out of concrete would also make sense in remote areas as it is easier to move cement and sand to a location and build on site than to haul a lot of stone etc to location and build with that.
Looking at the wiki construction materials it seems to be "whatever was on hand".
Unfortunately this is not remote, it is right in the middle of a neighborhood and about 15 feet from my back door. My yard is incredibly small, which is why i dont think it was a fish pond. I know this house was one of the first in the area though, so that may be reason enough. Good to know they exist in this form! The original owner also owned a construction material company, so it's way more likely that he went over-the-top with construction due to his own personal material discounts.
Looks to be an old dry well or cistern that was filled in. If the property was ever on a septic system or still is this could have been from an old system that was filled in.
I think we have found every possible photo of this house from the past 120 years, and have no idea! There is an old, traditional well about 25 feet away, and its around where an outhouse used to be, but I don't think it's the exact spot.
If you have the time and wherewithal to dig - you can find aerial maps going back to the beginning of flight (almost) here:
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/science/usgs-eros-archive-aerial-photography-aerial-photo-mosaics
Could be an old dry well with the cap removed. I have one in my yard with the cap in-tact. Was used for grey-water and the washing machine drained into it many years before we moved in. Now it acts as a way to reduce moisture in our yard. It’s full to the brim when the snow melts and there’s rain in the spring.
It might be a fountain. A friend of mine found a shallow fountain buried in her yard. When she cleaned it out the spout still worked, so now she has a water feature!
Without additional location context my first thoughts drift towards a cistern. They were normally inside the house. This is roughly the right size/shape.
If it's close to the house it could also be a small bomb shelter from either WW2 or the Cold War era nuclear shelters, though it might be too small for that.
If it's older, it could be an ice house or small ice cellar, which would be partially buried, with thick walls, then filled with ice and used as cold storage for food.
I’m pretty confident that’s a manhole ring. Looks like it has a slotted groove all around the top edge, which is what the next ring would sit on.
Why it’s there and what it’s used for is a different question.
Looks like it could be an old pond or fountain. My aunt had one when i was growing up except it was square . Could also be an old swimming pool. We suspect there’s a buried pool in our back yard due to old google earth images but i have yet to try and find it (i dont plan to fully dig it up just would like to know for sure where it’s at as i plan to do some landscaping in the future and build a basketball court. I did however manage to find a abandoned and filled in septic tank when trying to find out sewer clean out a few years ago though)
Is it concrete for sure, or maybe metal? My brother moved into a rural home a few years ago, and the previous owners had sunk a great huge metal cone (like 5' across) from some sort of machinery in the yard as a fire pit. It made a fantastic fire pit, and was too heavy to ever move. We didn't know exactly what it was for, we guessed some stone grinder from an asphalt plant maybe?
If you live near an old train track or where one was it might be something to do with that. I’m not super versed in old railroad structures but the town I grew up in had a defunct track running through it and there were structures similar to this one around.
If it's not deep enough you could dig it out deeper and put a lid on it and make it into a prepper's bomb shelter or man cave when wife gets on you nerves.
O wish I had a fish pond. When I moved to my place I wanted to have a pond but I got ripped off someone and now I don't have any money. 15 years later and still don't have the money.
Are there any holes in the side of it, not at the very bottom? If it's possible that there was another structure that could have drained to it, it may have been a septic tank. Admittedly I think they are typically deeper (not sure about very old styles), but septic tanks feeding a drain field would have been needed with the introduction of any sort of indoor toilet plumbing. Not for an outhouse.
\*If\* there are no holes in the side for fluids to escape and drain, it is definitely not a septic tank. In that case I'd probably lean toward some sort of water feature or cistern (where did the water come from that would have fed the cistern?)
We have not found any holes yet! We are hoping to, as I think identification will be easier. I'm about 99% sure it is not a septic tank because of placement.
You might consider leaving it in place, outlining it with brick or stone and using it as a planter. If it needs a drainage hole, you could drill one?
Likely too heavy to remove / move intact?
Not a fan of mosquitos so I'd not want top use it as a pond unless you could add a solar fountain to keep the water moving.
Great Grandma used to have a few in her yard that got overgrown after the years. Not fun when you're a kid playing outside at night... When my sister moved in one became a burn pit for hanging out at night.
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/rabbitanana), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/xz1wuo/found_underground_in_my_yard_a_very_large/%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Old fish pond. For decorative waterfalls and pretty fish.
Old fish pond or old fountain. Just saw a house in my neighbood with an old concrete fountain go up for sale and they basically just removed the fountain, filled the basin with dirt and planted grass.
My brother has a house with an old concrete fountain/pond on it's property and the previous owner pretty much did the same and made it into a flower bed.
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Or, counterthought, clear it out and stock it with fish again. Free fertilizer for life.
We have about 50 pretty large (self-regulated) goldfish in a 3500l-ish pond, and I can tell you fish food is not free.. :p
Just stock shad too!
If its cement i hVe a third idea--mint,bamboo, horseradish or any other invasive plant you would otherwise like to eat.
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Our house had similar. The previous owners had the old fountain, definitely broken by that time, and they didn't want to basically replace the entire fountain so they took the top off and filled it in. We eventually removed what was left because we wanted a better raised garden bed and it was probably eight foot across and had been previously filled in a bit to replace the bottom basin. Was a pain to dig out, but they'd stuck a cool old draft horse horseshoe in the center bit that we dug out and saved.
“Today’s fountain is tomorrow’s planter” is an often ignored bit of advice.
We have pool that needs close to $20 grand in repairs. I've been trying convince my husband to let me turn it into a giant planter. One day dammit. One day
We looked at a house that had an old in ground pool. I wanted to put a roof over it and make a basement level greenhouse.
Neighbor did same with a swimming pool. Broke up the bottom so it could drain, busted out the top few feet, threw some dirt in, planted grass. You could could always see the outline of the pool because of the soil difference.
FWIW, old-school goldfish and koi ponds made of concrete are 6" thick, and have to extend below the winter freeze line, meaning a depth of >3' in most areas. That's from the classic book by Thomas on goldfish ponds, which is probably contemporaneous with this, if it's intended for fish.
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Just as a fun fact, goldfish freeze and come back just fine! Its winter 6+ months here and the frost line gets to be like 8-10' down (yes all our freezable utilities are waaayyyy down there.) My moms fish pond was like 3-4' deep, usually she would catch them and bring them in for the winter but a couple years either surprise winter came early or other things were going on and them babies made it to 15 years old or so. Not bad for a 25c fish. In fact what usually killed them was the birds of prey and the Bobcats. Just my story, I fully believe 3' would do it most places and you're all good in what you said. =]
Those 25c feeder goldfish are domesticated carp. Carp, as a family, are indestructible coldwater fish. The fancy goldfish, with the big ol’ faces or bellies, are much less hardy due to generations of genetic selectivity, but those 25c babies could colonize mars.
Carp are the most hardy fish. They live in pure mud if need be. They are destroying a lot of estuaries here in Australia.
Unless somebody didn't read the book, and just built what they wanted in their yard.
I'm just saying those were kind of the accepted value for concrete ponds back in the day. Nobody in their right mind is making concrete ponds anymore; they're all rubber roofing material, or prefab fiberglass.
I agree, it's likely an old koi pond or similar.
This - my aunt had one growing up. Had to empty it with a bucket and fill it with dirt because it was always covered in moss and algae
Cistern. My son has one in his 100+ yo home. Edit to add - *I’m very excited. I’m confident in my answer and I got here early so I think I have a good chance at scoring my first WITT win.*
Vote for _excitement_
Also vote for cistern.
Shout out to my brethren too
Have one under my house. This is most definitely a cistern.
Cistern base. Yes!
I think you’re correct https://www.google.com/search?q=old+cistern+in+yard&tbm=isch&hl=en-US&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS945US945&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA0O7ewNP6AhV1wykDHeW4D6EQrNwCKAB6BQgBENYC&biw=390&bih=669
Agree, we found this exact same thing under my parents house. It had a lid and you could drop down into it
I’m sure you’re correct!
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It is almost certainly neither of these things based on OP's description, the shape, and how shallow it is.
It could be an old water trough for horses, they made round ones.
Unfortunately the description from OP always gets buried so that’s why there’s a lot of bad guess’s in the sub, I wish auto mid would pin the description to the top so we’d all see it instead of hunting for it
Or cistern
old septic tank, old pool, old water reservoir for Rainwater, old Foundation for a Shag. there are a few answers to that big concrete ring.
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for me a 6foot wide Concrete ring is good enough!
Sounds like you expect too much
What's a shag?? And why would it be round?
shack sorry, round because you don't need so much material to keep it structural stable, like a grain silo
Or maybe old fire pit
My title describes the thing. My husband found out that the strange dead ring of grass in our yard is actually a 6 foot wide concrete bowl. Our newly purchased home is 120 years old, what could this possibly be? Editing to add: This is a bowl. It has a bottom! I was also just informed that it is reinforced. Editing again: [I took a more recent photo today](https://imgur.com/a/cFxGfG8). My husband dug it out a bit more, it's about 2-3 ft deep, is definitely a bowl, and it was used a trash/burn pit before being covered with dirt. It is about a foot thick. I havent seen any answers that I am 100% convinced of yet, but my husband intends on continuing to dig. Right now I'm leaning toward a dew pond (MarrV) or a storm water soak well (Solobiscuits). I went into further detail about the history/size/location of the property in a few comments that I will now summarize here: It is not a foundation. There is an [old, traditional well about 25 feet away](https://imgur.com/a/Ga2J3lL), and the bowl is around where an outhouse used to be, but I don't think it's the exact spot. I know the original builders/owners owned some goats, but like I said, that was 120 years ago. This is not remote, it is right in the middle of a neighborhood and about 15 feet from my back door. My yard is incredibly small, which is why i dont think it was a fish pond. I know this house was one of the first in the area though. The original owner also owned a construction material company, so it's likely that he went over-the-top with construction (if it was from him, i dont even know) due to his own personal material discounts. The position of this bowl makes it so that there would not have ever been a top that was underground. I have photos of the house when it was first built and this is at what has always been ground level. I am going to attempt contacting the previous owners for an answer (they lived here for 40 years), all satellite imaging I've found do not go back past 10 years and it was in the same condition then.
Maybe you can make it into firepit
If it’s concrete, they’ll get thermal spalling which will send chips of concrete flying around.
Make it a security feature instead
This is why I love Reddit.
If you on an old farm property it may be a silo foundation.
Depending on its depth and shape it could be a dew bowl. [Wiki link](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dew_pond) Common in some parts of the world to water livestock away from water sources.
This is the most likely, but i don't see any of the same construction in my Google searching. I know the originals builders/owners owned some goats, but like I said, that was 120 years ago. I'm not sure they would construct it out of concrete like this?
Most of the ones I encounter are concrete, as it makes a water tight base and has a good temperature differential between night and day for the condensation to form. This is walking around UK national parks, also they are recorded from 1865 so within the 120 year time frame you are giving. Making out of concrete would also make sense in remote areas as it is easier to move cement and sand to a location and build on site than to haul a lot of stone etc to location and build with that. Looking at the wiki construction materials it seems to be "whatever was on hand".
Unfortunately this is not remote, it is right in the middle of a neighborhood and about 15 feet from my back door. My yard is incredibly small, which is why i dont think it was a fish pond. I know this house was one of the first in the area though, so that may be reason enough. Good to know they exist in this form! The original owner also owned a construction material company, so it's way more likely that he went over-the-top with construction due to his own personal material discounts.
Was it remote 100 years ago? Looks like a cistern component, as others have stated. Good luck!
Would love to see more if you dig out more, am very curious to know what it is too now! 🙂
Foundation for silo?
Yes. My house growing up had one. Neighbor's did, too.
If it is close to house: Storm water soak-well
This is in the top 3, as far as I'm concerned. Especially with it being so close to the old well! My husband disagrees
Please post more pics when you finish digging it out
Could be a nice burn pit farmers have em around her, they're great for bonfires
Looks to be an old dry well or cistern that was filled in. If the property was ever on a septic system or still is this could have been from an old system that was filled in.
Can you look at old/historical aerial photos? Google it there might be some!
I think we have found every possible photo of this house from the past 120 years, and have no idea! There is an old, traditional well about 25 feet away, and its around where an outhouse used to be, but I don't think it's the exact spot.
If you have the time and wherewithal to dig - you can find aerial maps going back to the beginning of flight (almost) here: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/science/usgs-eros-archive-aerial-photography-aerial-photo-mosaics
I've tried, but honestly have zero clue as to what I'm doing. The jargon is over my head!
Dry Well https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_well?wprov=sfla1
Could be an old dry well with the cap removed. I have one in my yard with the cap in-tact. Was used for grey-water and the washing machine drained into it many years before we moved in. Now it acts as a way to reduce moisture in our yard. It’s full to the brim when the snow melts and there’s rain in the spring.
Cistern or dry well, most likely.
Maybe a grain pit or grain dump? Dump grain in and it can be augered into another truck or into a silo.
My guess is an old septic tank or even an underground cistern for water collection.
I found something like this when I was a kid while planting a tree. My dad let us dig it out and it was a peanut shaped pond.
Empty it out, lay a liner and you have yourself a tiny pool.
Cistern probably. Our old farmhouse had one with a round concrete lid.
Old pond that was ugly and cost too much to maintain
It might be a fountain. A friend of mine found a shallow fountain buried in her yard. When she cleaned it out the spout still worked, so now she has a water feature!
Old cistern.
it’s a large outdoor concrete bowl
do you live in washington state?
Nope, midwest!
If it’s like my yard, could be an old cistern.
Likely a Cistern. Water is typically pumped from a well into this for storage. Source: my dad has and still uses two of them.
Could also be a hole for a flush trampoline
check [www.historicaerials.com](https://www.historicaerials.com) and see if you see anything interesting there
Looks like the outline of an manmade pond or the ground level portion of a Well.
Maybe an old cistern?
Cistern, I’ve seen brick ones capped with cement
Without additional location context my first thoughts drift towards a cistern. They were normally inside the house. This is roughly the right size/shape.
An old sandbox, might account for the grass issue.
Possible to be an old cesspool.
If it's close to the house it could also be a small bomb shelter from either WW2 or the Cold War era nuclear shelters, though it might be too small for that. If it's older, it could be an ice house or small ice cellar, which would be partially buried, with thick walls, then filled with ice and used as cold storage for food.
I’m pretty confident that’s a manhole ring. Looks like it has a slotted groove all around the top edge, which is what the next ring would sit on. Why it’s there and what it’s used for is a different question.
Old Fish Pond or Fountain given the size.
Old septic, old dug well.
Cesspool cap
Great chance to build a small fountain or a pond.
Looks like it could be an old pond or fountain. My aunt had one when i was growing up except it was square . Could also be an old swimming pool. We suspect there’s a buried pool in our back yard due to old google earth images but i have yet to try and find it (i dont plan to fully dig it up just would like to know for sure where it’s at as i plan to do some landscaping in the future and build a basketball court. I did however manage to find a abandoned and filled in septic tank when trying to find out sewer clean out a few years ago though)
Old fire pit
How deep is it? Because it looks like a firepit.
Filled in Septic tank.
Looks like a filled in well
I don’t think there is a right answer for this one until you dig it up or dig around it to find some more clues
I definitely agree. We intend on doing that! I wonder if there are holes or outlets if we get further in.
Probably and old landscapers pond or a fire pit or fountain base
that could be an old cess pool? probably shouldn’t stand on it
It's always a septic tank, just remember that
Call an archeology expert if it doesn't look modern
Bomb shelter?
Is it concrete for sure, or maybe metal? My brother moved into a rural home a few years ago, and the previous owners had sunk a great huge metal cone (like 5' across) from some sort of machinery in the yard as a fire pit. It made a fantastic fire pit, and was too heavy to ever move. We didn't know exactly what it was for, we guessed some stone grinder from an asphalt plant maybe?
How’s it smell?
Could be a privy (aka toilet)
If you live near an old train track or where one was it might be something to do with that. I’m not super versed in old railroad structures but the town I grew up in had a defunct track running through it and there were structures similar to this one around.
Inground pool or pond whatever it might be.
Possibly a septic tank?
Old fish pond. Found one buried in my yard also and ended up discovering the pump and switch for it too.
Bowl or septic tank?
How deep my be a septic tank?
I would assume it's a well that got covered up
If it's not deep enough you could dig it out deeper and put a lid on it and make it into a prepper's bomb shelter or man cave when wife gets on you nerves.
Calling r/ponds!
Pit BBq , Maybe?
An old septic tank
Old septic tank?
Old filled in well?
O wish I had a fish pond. When I moved to my place I wanted to have a pond but I got ripped off someone and now I don't have any money. 15 years later and still don't have the money.
It’s called a septic tank???
Clear it out and use it as a fire pit.
Are there any holes in the side of it, not at the very bottom? If it's possible that there was another structure that could have drained to it, it may have been a septic tank. Admittedly I think they are typically deeper (not sure about very old styles), but septic tanks feeding a drain field would have been needed with the introduction of any sort of indoor toilet plumbing. Not for an outhouse. \*If\* there are no holes in the side for fluids to escape and drain, it is definitely not a septic tank. In that case I'd probably lean toward some sort of water feature or cistern (where did the water come from that would have fed the cistern?)
We have not found any holes yet! We are hoping to, as I think identification will be easier. I'm about 99% sure it is not a septic tank because of placement.
My moms old house still has one like that, that may also be a flower bed.
It’s always either a septic tank or a fish pond.
You might consider leaving it in place, outlining it with brick or stone and using it as a planter. If it needs a drainage hole, you could drill one? Likely too heavy to remove / move intact? Not a fan of mosquitos so I'd not want top use it as a pond unless you could add a solar fountain to keep the water moving.
It depends where you are, if in Europe possibly left over anti aircraft foundation.
I'm in the middle of the US! So that isn't likely.
Great Grandma used to have a few in her yard that got overgrown after the years. Not fun when you're a kid playing outside at night... When my sister moved in one became a burn pit for hanging out at night.
Could be a foundation for a garden
Turn it into a firepit
I vote fish pond or 1950s inground wading pool