Awesome Matrix seal on new land!

Went out for a dig today with my friend, Paul (his second ever dig)  We were only there for two hours, but some nice finds came up!  Here's the video:



The Matrix seal:

Metal Detecting tip: Look for any dips in the ground.

Lookout for any obvious dips in the ground!

When I first started detecting, I always avoided these areas, because I always presumed that they were bomb craters from world war two.  The area where I live was heavily shelled in the war, and these holes and dips seem to be all over the place.

My friend Mick, who has tons of metal detecting experience told me that a lot of these dips were actually settlement areas from times gone by.  Places where people had dug in, and then settled themselves.  Mick gets about 20 hammered coins a months off his lands, and certainly knows his stuff.

Of course, in some instances it will be bomb holes.  But there is also a good chance that they are also settlement areas as well, so make sure you head for them if you have them on your land.  You'll soon know if a bomb hit, as you'll be digging loads of shrapnel!

Pay particular attention to the area around the hole as well, as this is where people may have sat, traded, fixed clothes etc.

There is a good example of a settlement area we found in this video:

  

An Impromptu permission brings us some great finds!

Saw the farmers harvesting, and went and asked...

Great day Metal Detecting.  Got my own little digging buddy as well.  Watch to the end to see why fortune favours the bold!

Gold at the end of the rainbow!?

Metal detecting very, very close to where the Romans first landed.  Also chase a rainbow, looking for treasure.

Get some nice finds out there...

Nearly hit by a Golf ball on my new land!

Wow, that was close.

I still can't figure out where the hell it came from, though?  I'm in Narnia out there.  The nearest houses are very very far away....

Who knew metal detecting could be so dangerous?

Anyway, I love this bit of land.  Some great little finds!

Metal Detecting exciting new land!

So I managed to get some new land.  Brilliant!  Loads of history surrounding these fields as well, so I was really looking forward to seeing what comes up.  Here's the video:

Metal Detecting Castles and Tokens!

Off out with Greg Metal Detecting today, and thought I'd stop to take a look at Dover Castle before I went.  Found some nice little bits as well!

Unfortunately, since filming this I've had death threats from the archeology community and its friends.  Because of the TV show I'm in.

Because of that, and having to tighten up my personal security, I'll have to take back the 'come and dig with me' statement.  So, so sorry :(

Join a Metal detecting club! They don't smell as bad as you think!

I love my Metal Detecting Club.

 I'll be honest. When I first joined my club, I expected a lot of very funny smelling old men who had no personality, and were overly geeky concerning anything to do with frequencies and what-not.

 I was apprehensive. I'll admit that.

But, I had fallen in love with Metal detecting, and had found a passion for the hobby. I told my friends, but they just laughed at me. My girlfriend rolled her eyes. My Daughter, thought I was trying to be Indiana Jones, so the time came to be round other people that shared a passion along with myself.  I needed to find people that understood me.  I heard of a local club that had just started up, rang the Chairman, got a date to go visit, and prepared myself...

I'd like to point out at this point, that It was very wrong of me to make a presumption about Metal detecting like I did before I met my fellow club members.  I'd done everything that everybody else does when they talk about Metal Detecting or Metal Detectors.  Images of sad, lonely old men wandering around fields finding nothing but nails day after day still holds strong with people from outside the hobby.  And with people in the hobby as well, like myself.  I presumed I was different.  I presumed that I didn't hold the typical cliched values of that man wandering around a field.

And thats what people don't understand.  This is what they miss about what we do.

If they knew the truth, they'd actually see that the man actually still has a great sense of adventure for a start.  They'd see that he has a sincere, and passionate interest in our history.  They'd see he understands the magic of not knowing what the next bleep is, and what is under the coil.  They'd see that from all the walking around and digging, he's actually very fit for his age.  They'd see that he'd chosen a lifestyle that wasn't rotting in front of a TV, or computer, watching mind numbing programmes that dumb him down.  He's an adventurer.  He's happy, and by God he has a cracking sense of humour...


...And as soon as I walked through the door of my Metal Detecting club, I realised the mistake I had made, in being so presumptuous..  In front of me were all sorts of people, from all sorts of backgrounds, and of all sorts of ages.

And slowly, I began to make friends.  Friends that I honestly think, and hope, will become life-long friends.  You can learn a lot about Metal detecting these days.  With Internet forums, social media, and websites.  But the majority of what I've learnt is from real people, that have had more experience than you can shake a stick at.  Ideas that I'd never have thought of.  Lessons that I'd never have learnt off a website.  Real experience.

I'd been offered to go out on peoples permission.  I'd learnt of potential permissions I should go for, and lots lots more.  Now we have our own club land.  We pay to a charity every time we go on it, and share experiences together.  We laugh a lot.  We dig up a lot of horrible things (See 'Sense of humour') and we dig up a lot of very, very cool things.

So if you're into the hobby, and have no-one else to  share your passion with, consider a club.  You'll never regret it.

They don't smell that bad, either...

Invicta Seekers club meet # 8 Silver Hammered (Loads of!), Silver Romans, Celtic coins + more!

Invicta Seekers club meet # 7 Lots of hammered coins!

Seems to be a lot of hammered coins coming up at the moment!

Invicta Seekers club meet # 2 Finds + Find of the month!

A great meeting for our metal detecting club, with lots of new members!

Featured in this video is a Gold stater, LOTS of Roman coins, old rings, lots and lots of other coins, a bronze age axe head, cannonballs, medieval objects such as spoon figures and buckles, Roman Brooches, some amazing buttons, and lots, lots more!

Oh, and the sound of my heartbreaking as the FLO tells me my Roman sea serpent is actually a bit of waste, ha ha!

Invicta Seekers club meet. Finds + Find of the month!

Love tokens, Victorian florins, hammered Henry 6th coin, 1900 Victorian penny, medieval seal, lead seals, popes seal, Snake head clasp, Belgian coin from first world war, plus more!

Where's the path? - Great resource!

Here is another great resource, called 'Where's the path?'.

Basically, you have a split screen. The one on the left is a map (out of copyright maps that go back to the thirties!) and the screen on the right is a sattelite view on google maps.  Enter your location or postcode into the top left of the screen...

As you scroll around on either map, it does the same on the other. This is very handy, as you can study any unusual quirks in either the map or the satellite view in real time.

Of course, you can zoom in to take a better look, and everything is marked as it should be.

All in all, a brilliant resource for detectorists!

Where's the Path?

Alongside Where's the Path, I also use Old-maps.co.uk.  Another brilliant resource!