While raking my front lawn I came across this metal stake in the ground, wrapped in a thick metal wire/cord. I could not pull the stake up. I dug around and found the wire, pulling up on it and it seems to go quite a ways, so I stopped before messing up more of the lawn. It is obviously not a live wire, as I touched it albeit through gloves.
I am a new owner, and I spoke with a neighbor to see if previous owners had a dog as I though it could be part of an invisible fence, and they said there has not been a dog in the house for at least 30 years. The stake is within 5 feet of the house, and is close to some utility boxes including electricity, old phone, and cable. However, I previously had the utility lines marked and nothing was in this specific area (though could be old, or they could have incorrectly marked it). The main wire running away from the stake is going in the opposite direction of the utility boxes.
Any thoughts? My concern is that it is protruding close to a half inch above the surface
EDIT: I was able to push the rod further into the ground after a good rain and persistent hammering.
Best Answer
It's a grounding rod, probably 8 or 10 feet long, such as is required for any residential installation. They're usually proximal to the breaker panel or fuse box in the home or outbuilding. You may have encountered an obsolete one that's been disconnected. You'll need to trace the bare copper wire to be sure.
You can drive it down below the surface if you like. Try not to damage the wire, which can also be buried a bit deeper without causing problems.