Forty Years To Find You!

As we drove to one of our favourite sites Dave and I discussed the usual detecting based topics, including those dream finds that we still want to make.

- Julian Evan-Hart

Into this conversation curiously came the subject of shotgun cartridge caps. It was not that we want to find them – it was more about how annoying they can be!

As we headed down the winding lanes I mentioned again that I had never found a full Celtic stater as I’m sure Dave knew full well, but repeating ourselves is one of those privileges we can do at our age. Of all the staters I wanted to find, my dream one would be one of those big flan Gallo-Belgic varieties, especially the one with the head of Apollo on it.

Anyway, the varied conversation was halted by arrival at the gateway we usually park in. The search wasn’t particularly successful, we just found a few bits of lead dross and yes, of course, a liberal sprinkling of shotgun cartridge caps. However, I gave Dave a call the very next day to see if he was free. He was, so we returned to the same site as we know its potential is very good, despite the previous day’s results.

Some recent earth moving for drainage ditches was, to say the least, worthy of another examination. However, a measly small piece of oxidised lead was our only reward. To be fair most of the dugout soil was a mix of blue clay and gravel far preceding the time zones of any manufactured metallic items. But it was still worth a search as nothing in the past would have stopped people from penetrating these deep layers had they wished to bury something not intended to be found.

Dave then had a cracking signal that sounded quite deep. We both carefully cut away a circular turf and dug down. At around 2 feet depth we both stopped for a break as we were exhausted. What could it be – a buried pipeline or as we were into heavy sub clay, possibly even a Bronze Age hoard?