Our latest permission led us to a region we rarely get the chance to explore, making this return outing all the more exciting.
We’d marked out seven fields on our map, hoping our new landowner might own at least one. His reply surprised us: “I own all but number three.” That meant we could roam two pastures and four arable fields—ample ground for investigation.
With near-perfect weather beckoning, we opted to begin with one of the pasture fields, partly because of its proximity to a historic building rumoured to have endured a siege. Before long, our detectors began uncovering sizeable pieces of lead—some clearly melted down several times over, others intact sheets, likely all scavenged from the local village and church during times of unrest. Evidence of conflict was further confirmed by four musket balls, possibly fired from an arquebus, the 15th-century hand-held cannon that changed the face of European warfare.
In addition to a few modern coins, we made more thrilling discoveries: two groats—one of Edward IV, the other from the old reign of Henry VIII.
The second day took us to field number seven, all 28 acres under a mixed crop. Fortunately, some of it was still low enough for us to survey parts of the field and sample what history might lie beneath.
The first signal was particularly rewarding: a damaged, hammered coin, almost certainly an Edward I penny. The third signal wasn’t far behind—a cut-half, likely of Henry III. By the end, we had another eight Medieval coins for identification. Curiously, only a small shard of Medieval pottery surfaced, which we suspect was due to our inability to see much of the land amid the cover of growing crops.
After three hours, as rain finally caught up with us, we retreated to a nearby barn to shed our gear and prepare for the journey home—grateful for dry clothes after a day well spent.
We’re already looking ahead to returning, both to this field and the many others still waiting to share whatever clues remain about the people who once called these lands home.
We’d marked out seven fields on our map, hoping our new landowner might own at least one. His reply surprised us: “I own all but number three.” That meant we could roam two pastures and four arable fields—ample ground for investigation.
With near-perfect weather beckoning, we opted to begin with one of the pasture fields, partly because of its proximity to a historic building rumoured to have endured a siege. Before long, our detectors began uncovering sizeable pieces of lead—some clearly melted down several times over, others intact sheets, likely all scavenged from the local village and church during times of unrest. Evidence of conflict was further confirmed by four musket balls, possibly fired from an arquebus, the 15th-century hand-held cannon that changed the face of European warfare.
In addition to a few modern coins, we made more thrilling discoveries: two groats—one of Edward IV, the other from the old reign of Henry VIII.
The second day took us to field number seven, all 28 acres under a mixed crop. Fortunately, some of it was still low enough for us to survey parts of the field and sample what history might lie beneath.
The first signal was particularly rewarding: a damaged, hammered coin, almost certainly an Edward I penny. The third signal wasn’t far behind—a cut-half, likely of Henry III. By the end, we had another eight Medieval coins for identification. Curiously, only a small shard of Medieval pottery surfaced, which we suspect was due to our inability to see much of the land amid the cover of growing crops.
After three hours, as rain finally caught up with us, we retreated to a nearby barn to shed our gear and prepare for the journey home—grateful for dry clothes after a day well spent.
We’re already looking ahead to returning, both to this field and the many others still waiting to share whatever clues remain about the people who once called these lands home.
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