It's not unusual for eggshells to last a really long time. But I'm a little surprised about the potato peels, unless they were recently added.

It sounds like you let it get too wet and didn't mix it enough. It may have gone anaerobic, but since you say it smells good, maybe not.

Are you trying to hot compost, or are you cold composting? If you're not trying to hot compost, then you don't need to turn the compost and try to mix it up. You can just let it sit and rot, but it can take a long time. It sounds like you're willing to wait.

If you want it to be uniform in consistency, I think you'll probably want to monitor it more closely to make sure it doesn;t get too wet and also mix it more often.

If you want to try to screen this batch, you could mix it up a bit, then spread it out to let it dry.

I was actually doing hot compost and at one point it got up to 175. It took forever for it to cool down.

I did have a hard time mixing the bottom because it wasn't set up to move to a new pile. I need to get one of those compost aerator things for the next batch so I keep it mixing better.

"I need to get one of those compost aerator things for the next batch so I keep it mixing better."

I use a bulb auger on a cordless drill.

If you were hot composting, I think you need to monitor the water and mixing a little more.

I had a mud/dirt blob at the bottom of my overwintered pile this year before I turned it and fired it up this spring. I think the dirt from old sod and recycled potting mix filtered down, coalesced and was plotting an escape before I got to it ;-).

tj

If your compost pile is smaller than 6 feet by 6 feet you do not need an "aerator" since air will infiltrate fine into material in piles up to that size. Water flows downhill and all that happened in your compost pile is the water you applied flowed down and what was under the pile did not allow good drainage so the water stayed there. That your compost smells good indicates there was no anaerobic digestion, it does not take long for anyone to notice their compost is anaerobically digesting. Since wood does not digest as quickly as softer vegetative waste many of us find sticks in out compost piles, there is a size that simply runs through my shredder.
You done good.