Metal Detectoring

Bad Bungle said:
Dug this on a local detecting trip on Sunday and I'm aware that partial lumps of lead leave most people underwhelmed, but this pilgrim ampulla has history. The top with the neck and suspensory loops have been cleanly cut off (ie not by plough) - I've mentioned in another post the "blessing of the fields" school of thought, suggesting that ampullae were opened and the sanctified oil or holy water contents poured out in a ritual to improve crops. Whatever, this ampulla has a W (or double V) under a crown and on a hatched background so most likely obtained (1350-1530) from Walsingham (Norfolk), some 150 miles away.

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Came across this little bit of extra info which may be of some ID use on your ampulla. . .
*from: Co-pilot (on Bing)

An ampulla was a small, round vessel used for sacred purposes in Ancient Rome. Typically made of glass and featuring two handles, it held holy water or other sacred substances1. Interestingly, during the medieval period, pilgrims’ ampullae were worn around the neck as protective amulets. These lead vials contained holy water from shrines and were believed to bring healing and blessings. One example, associated with the shrine of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury, featured a scallop shell symbol and a worn double V, representing Virgo Virginum (Virgin of Virgins) and indicating Mary, Mother of God1. The VV symbol was also used widely for house protection. Quite fascinating, isn’t it?
 
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Bad Bungle said:
Three inches under stubble, Buckinghamshire.
The Everlasting Mystery of Charabancs:

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That's just fine and really Dinky!
*Seems like it was known as/called a 'Hubbly Bus!' (Love it! :))

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https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/...t-iron_1_316ea2f1636bf3a90c44896b6185708d.jpg
 
Love's Labour's Lost

A 13th or 14th Century medieval brooch inscribed with words of love from the age of chivalry has been discovered in a field.

The "chunky wodge of gold" was unearthed by a metal detectorist in a field near Docking in north Norfolk. Its Anglo-Norman inscription was translated as "a token between a lover and beloved", and historian Helen Geake suspects it was given to a woman by a man playing the role of her champion under courtly love rules.

The brooch has been declared treasure and Lynn Museum in King's Lynn is hoping to acquire it.


Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council Three views of 13th or 14th Century brooch, made of a circular band of gold, showing the inscribed back, a side view and the plain curved front, with a pin, attached on one side of the band with a loop and swung across the middle to touch the opposite side of the band.
Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council
The "chunky wodge of gold" weighs 2.22g (0.005lb) and is 16.7mm (0.65in) round, said Helen Geake

"Inscribed jewellery like this was designed to remind the person you gave it to of you when they were not there, and you might think the item was not so different from an engagement ring," said Dr Geake, Norfolk's finds liaison officer. "But if you know a bit more about medieval period, there is the courtly love connection when a man could be a champion of a woman; he could shower her with gifts but not expect things from her in return."

Mottos such as "I desire to serve you" and "I wish to obey" were often used by men wishing to serve their ladies as part of this courtly love tradition, which swept across medieval Europe.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8ddl1pk58o
 
Ger said:
Love this and the music on it ! %
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Trouble is, they seem to show random ones (and usually on too late) instead of showing every episode from season one, right through, every Monday at 9pm (for example).

They do it all the time now.

I'll suddenly see an episode of something that I would have watched from the start, but is part 3/6 and next it'll be on a totally different day and time - if at all.
 
Floyd said:
Trouble is, they seem to show random ones (and usually on too late) instead of showing every episode from season one, right through, every Monday at 9pm (for example).

They do it all the time now.

I'll suddenly see an episode of something that I would have watched from the start, but is part 3/6 and next it'll be on a totally different day and time - if at all.
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It’s on iplayer - all episodes, all 3 series from start to finish. You can watch whenever you want.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b06l51nr/detectorists?seriesId=b04kf095
 
‘Unique and beautiful’ gold artifact found by metal detectorist in Sussex: Iron age fragments to be displayed in Lewes

Two fragments of an Iron Age gold torc discovered in Sussex are set to be displayed in Lewes.

b25lY21zOjJkZDg2NzI0LTliNDAtNDBhNS1iNjk2LTI5NjI3Zjc0MmJmZjoxM2JmZTJiZS01YzViLTRiNjItOTM0Yi01MjJlYTFjODQ2MDU=.jpg


Sussex Past said the pieces were found by a metal detectorist near Pulborough in 2019 and have undergone scientific analysis by the British Museum.

They said the museum confirmed the fragments are of a late prehistoric artefact of European significance, which dates back to Iron Age times.

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/her...ge-fragments-to-be-displayed-in-lewes-4796619

maximus otter
 
Found a blob this week on a field near a Roman site - didn't know what or whom or even the metal it was made of. It was covered in a concretion that took a lot of time in front of the telly to remove sufficiently to reveal an imperial nose and chin. Fairly certain it's a silver denarius of Vespasian (69-79 AD) as in the stock photo - my earliest Roman coin so far. Will continue with the reverse if anyone's interested.

Blob_538A.jpg Vespasian_310A.jpg Vespasian denarius 78ADA.jpg
 
Bad Bungle said:
Found a blob this week on a field near a Roman site - didn't know what or whom or even the metal it was made of. It was covered in a concretion that took a lot of time in front of the telly to remove sufficiently to reveal an imperial nose and chin. Fairly certain it's a silver denarius of Vespasian (69-79 AD) as in the stock photo - my earliest Roman coin so far. Will continue with the reverse if anyone's interested.
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I'm interested.
 
It's a good find.
No idea what the concretion might have been, but I suspect it was partly limescale after a prolonged period immersed in hard water.
Cleaned up well.
 
Mythopoeika said:
It's a good find.
No idea what the concretion might have been, but I suspect it was partly limescale after a prolonged period immersed in hard water.
Cleaned up well.
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Could it be (as it appears to be), a covering of grainy limestone? After checking online, apparently vinegar could break it down, (turning it into carbon dioxide), but I'd definitely check it out properly first before trying.
 
Very unusual (but NFN) pendant unearthed.

'Unusual' Anglo-Saxon replica of Roman coin found​


Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council Gold Anglo-Saxon Roman-style pendant, showing a fairly crude image of an Emperor with writing around it on the front and a back view of a figure holding a banner, also with writing around it
Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council

The early Anglo-Saxon creator was imitating a Roman coin called a solidus, showing the emperor Honorius on one side and a figure holding a banner on the other

A "very unusual" gold pendant made by an early Anglo-Saxon in imitation of a Roman coin has been discovered by a detectorist.

The replica is a copy of a solidus coin showing the emperor Honorius (AD393-423) on one side and a figure holding a banner with Christian symbols on the other.

The late 5th to early 6th Century pendant was created at a time when Anglo-Saxons were pagans, which was "slightly ironic", said coin expert Adrian Marsden.

The find was discovered in a field near Attleborough, Norfolk, in January 2023, and has been declared treasure by a coroner.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgxye0lrvjo
 
Silver coin find sells for £4.3 million

The once-in-a-lifetime hoard dating back 1,000 years was unearthed by seven metal detectorists in an unploughed field in 2019. The 2,584 silver coins are made up of King Harold II pennies from the end of Anglo-Saxon England and William the Conqueror coins, after the 1066 Norman conquest.

Many of the coins are in mint condition and experts say they belonged to an important, wealthy person who probably buried them for safekeeping. As Harold's reign only lasted nine months before he was famously struck in the eye by an arrow at the Battle of Hastings, coins from that period are incredibly rare.

The landowner, whose identity is not being revealed, is entitled to 50 per cent of the proceeds. The haul, found in the Chew Valley of Somerset, is the highest value treasure on record, beating the famous Staffordshire Hoard from 2009, which was worth £3.3m.

It has been acquired by the South West Heritage Trust after they received a £4.42m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund that also covers display costs. This was boosted by £150,000 from the Art Fund and other grants.

The Chew Valley Hoard will go on display at the British Museum on November 26 and will then tour several venues before the Museum of Somerset becomes its permanent home.
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Garnet garnered by detectorist.

A tiny Sutton Hoo-era gold and garnet mount for an Anglo-Saxon warrior's sword belt has been found during a metal detecting event.

Treasure expert Helen Geake described the find as one of "probably less than a dozen in the country" and "only the fifth" on the British Museum's Portable Antiquities database.

The late 6th to early 7th Century mount, or boss, was unearthed during an event organised by Digging History UK near King's Lynn, Norfolk.

Paul Mortimer, who has created replicas of weapons found at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk - where an Anglo-Saxon burial ship was discovered - said it probably attached a sword scabbard to a warrior's belt "with some form of very thin fabric or leather".

"Swords are usually detachable from the belts in some way and it [the boss] was probably used to help attach the belt to the sword - that's what I've done with the Sutton Hoo replica," said the retired teacher, who lives near Chelmsford in Essex.

Paul Mortimer A close-up of a replica of the scabbard found at Sutton Hoo. It includes two round sword studs or buttons, in gold with red stones, mounted on white bone or antler and attached to leather strap, tied on with twine
Paul Mortimer
Paul Mortimer said the only part of his replica not evidenced by Sutton Hoo's archaeology was the hemp string connecting the two ends of the scabbard loop holding the bosses (above)

The boss would have been mounted on to a thick rim of white organic material such as bone, ivory or antler, which has long since vanished.

Dr Geake, who is Norfolk's finds liaison officer, said there is little evidence of how they would have been used - which is why Mr Mortimer's research is helpful.

"They are never identical - even the two found on the Sutton Hoo sword are slightly different from each other," she added.

She speculated it might have been a peace band, which were referenced in the Norse Sagas. The sagas retell stories from the Viking era, but were written hundreds of years after the events, from 1200 onwards.

"Unfastening a peace band is something you had to do before taking a sword out of a scabbard... to make someone go through a step before taking out their sword, to stop violence erupting quickly," Dr Geake said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y74yyewxlo
 
Rained all day on Saturday (my BD) and that didn't bode well for the 92 mile round trip to a Dig near Bedford yesterday. Claggy mud and modern trash, things only came good in the last 20 mins. A Lizzie (Elisabeth I) silver penny, no rose and no minted date (~1560-90) and at 14mm and 0.53g the smallest hammered coin I can remember finding - no wonder it was lost.

Penny_059b.jpg
 
Steven said:
The Elizabethan coins which are in far worse condition than that often go for a hundred pounds and more on Ebay.
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The price you get for something on Ebay is dependent on what some-one is prepared to pay. The dedicated coin auction sites will ask ~£50 for a decent undated Lizzie penny but their clientele are interested in condition and rarity - having been buried in a field for 450 years does not count in a coin's favour. Well, it does in my mind and I don't sell finds, especially ones I had to really work for.
 
A handsome hoard.

Metal detectorists unearth 15th Century coin hoard
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Crown Copyright A collection of coins from the 15th Century in silver and gold with faces on some of them
Crown Copyright
The coins were found in the Cappercleuch area of the Borders

Two metal detectorists have unearthed a hoard of 15th Century coins in the Scottish Borders. Keith Young and Lisa Stephenson discovered 30 gold and silver coins in close proximity in the Cappercleuch area which is near St Mary's Loch.

The coins are a mix of Scottish and English coins, comprising English silver groats minted by Henry V (1413-1422) to Edward IV (1461-1483), and Scottish gold demy and half-demys of James I (1406-1437) and James II (1437-1460).

Lisa described the discovery - likely deposited at the site in the early to mid-1460s - as the "find of a lifetime".

Crown Copyright A muddy scene with a gold coin peaking out from in the ground
Crown Copyright
The metal detectorists who found the coins described them as the "find of a lifetime".

The discovery has been reported to the Treasure Trove Unit, which assesses all Scottish archaeological finds. It will then be referred to the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel (SAFAP), an independent panel, where it will be assigned a monetary value to be paid to the finders in the form of an ex-gratia reward.

Accredited museums who wish to acquire the find can apply to SAFAP and will be required to raise the funds for the ex-gratia award.

Keith said: "Lisa and I have been lucky enough to have found some wonderful artefacts while metal detecting, but nothing quite prepared us for a find like this. Hopefully the hoard will go on public display for others to enjoy."

Lisa added: "The hoard is the find of a lifetime and being part of the excavation with the National Museum and Treasure Trove team was an amazing experience, something we'll never forget."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y98w4leyqo
 
Bud Bangle said:
The price you get for something on Ebay is dependent on what some-one is prepared to pay. The dedicated coin auction sites will ask ~£50 for a decent undated Lizzie penny but their clientele are interested in condition and rarity - having been buried in a field for 450 years does not count in a coin's favour. Well, it does in my mind and I don't sell finds, especially ones I had to really work for.
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:nods:The price you get is always dependent on what is offered despite what others might say.

I don't have things that are really valuable, but sometimes you want to keep something that is one of a kind (even if it is only that, to you). Once you sell something like that, you probably will not see another.
 
Deified Empress on denarii. found by detector,

A hoard of 16 silver Roman coins spanning two centuries has been discovered in a field by a detectorist.

The denarii date from the late Roman Republic to the reign of Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina and were found at Barton Bendish, Norfolk.

Coin specialist Adrian Marsden said the loss might have been the equivalent of "a few hundred quid" to its owner.

The hoard is the subject of a treasure inquest and King's Lynn Museum is hoping to acquire it.


Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council The front showing the empress Faustina. She is in profile, with hair pulled into a bun at her neck. The coin shows signs of greening. It dates to AD161-75.
Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council
Empress Faustina accompanied her husband Marcus Aurelius on campaigns and after her death he ordered she should be deified

"There's 200 years-worth of coins in the hoard, which is what you get with a stable currency," Dr Marsden, from the Norfolk Historic Environment Service, said. "It's similar to the 1960s when you'd still get Victorian pennies in your change, although they were practically worn smooth."

The earliest coin in the hoard dates from 57BC and is also the most worn. It was made in the Roman Republic which lasted from 57BC, when a monarch was replaced by elected magistrates, until AD27, when the empire began.


Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council The front and back of two silver Roman coins. The one on the top is the oldest and has been worn almost smooth. A man's face wearing laurel leaves in profile can be seen, while facing it its back is so smooth the pattern lacks definition. The one below shows the emperor Hadrian in profile. Facing it is the reverse showing the god Mars, wearing a helmet and holding a spear.
Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council

The earliest coin shows Caius Serveilius (top row), while the lower denarii shows the emperor Hadrian, who ordered the building of the wall in northern Britain The rest of the coins show six emperors and two of their wives, with the most recent denarii dating to AD175-6.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20dzmnkd0yo
 
Bud Bangle said:
I regard Cunobelin as a local lad and would love to find just one of his coins.
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What machine are you currently using Bud?I have my trusty old sovereign (been worked on a few times,tuned) but I wouldn’t mind one of the old Tesoro machines.
 
I'm trying to master the Minelab Manticore Druk - it hasn't rained for 3 days so today's venture (Milton-under-Wychwood) wasn't a complete mudfest.
 
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