Castle and Ghost Town hunts...

Bavaria Mike

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Feb 7, 2005
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Bavaria Germany
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Went to the castle on the 4th as I remembered my last visit the workers said they will be moving dirt around all summer. They were working today as well. Good guys, they even showed me where they had found some cross bow bolt tips although, I already knew the area. One guy said here comes the Digger guy as I walked up with my gear, LOL. These guys are from another Historical Society and want me to help them with their museum finds, a slight conflict of interest but I said I would consider it. One guy said he went to look at my museum display and he really liked it. I showed him a cross bow bolt tip I just found and had a hard time convincing him to let me keep it but he knew it would go into my museum display, that’s when he asked me to help them. Here’s the area where the finds came from, the base of the castle and also where it was attacked the hardest in the 1400’s. All the loose dirt will be removed to the bedrock and spread out and there is a lot of dirt here. Found a bolt tip near the base of the tower.
4Jul11FindArea.jpg

The backhoe and the reason I am allowed to detect here.
4Jul11Backhoe.jpg

Found this large cannon ball fragment my last visit, gave it to the castle club as they also have a larger piece of it I found 10 years ago and reburied. It would have been very large, bigger than a basketball, fused with a charge inside and I understand it was launched via catapult. The piece I found here has part of the fuse hole. A little research on this confused me. They recently found two intact balls at a castle site here in Germany from the early 1600s. Check it out if you want.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,769016,00.html
4Jul11CBall2.jpg

The guys working on the castle had found this relic just before I got there and they asked me what it was. We all thought it might be a sickle but the blade is not sharp, round on the end and it seems too small to be a sickle.
4Jul11Relic.jpg

The castle finds. A small lead spindle whorl in nice condition. I already put it in the museum.
4Jul11SpinWirt.jpg

One of two crossbow bolt tips from the 1400s. They are soaking in distilled water to loosen the rust, I’ll conserve them and put them in the museum in a month or so.
4Jul11BowTip1.jpg

The other bolt tip. I have several different bolt tips now and wonder if they are from different battles or just different blacksmiths?
4Jul11BowTip2.jpg

Obverse of a tiny silver coin. Not sure what it is and hope to get some forum help.
4Jul11CoinO.jpg

Obverse of coin, different angle.
4Jul11CoinO2.jpg

Reverse of the coin, has a thick patina however, I can’t seem to make out any details and think it is a unifaced coin.
4Jul11CoinR.jpg

My cockerel valve taps from the 1500s displayed in the museum. The maker’s marks are clear and they are traced to the blacksmith’s that made them. These are from Nuremberg.
2Jul11ZapfHahn.jpg

This is where the town of LangenBreucke (Long Bridge) once stood. Dates to the late 1200s and before. It was eradicated during WWII to expand the military training area. I actually know two people that were born there. This Ghost Town is just a few minutes from my office so I have been doing lunch hunts here. It was sad to realize the area has been completely scraped, just a few ruins remain and unfortunately, thousands of brass ammo casings everywhere. Here’s a good info link of the town, in German but lots of pictures, you will be surprised.
http://www.weber-rudolf.de/langenbruck
18Jun11LBField.jpg

One of the ruins, I believe this was the church.
18Jun11LBRuin.jpg

An old well.
18Jun11LBWell.jpg

A pile of trash and prevalent finds, LOL. I tried to clean out an area between two ruins on the southerly side and dug everything hoping to get to the deeper relics however, the relics aren’t there.
18Jun11LBTrash.jpg

The only keepers so far. Not sure what the upper left is, a pewter button and a piece of furniture décor. Bottom are three pieces of stone. It looks glassy, feels waxy, is green in color. Jade crossed my mind but I really have no idea. HH, Mike
18Jun11LBFinds.jpg
 

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Bavaria Mike

Bavaria Mike

Gold Member
Feb 7, 2005
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Bavaria Germany
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Minelab XT70, Fisher 1280, Garrett Ace 250 and MH5
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Thanks all! I think the tip is a crossbow bolt tip as it was found inside the castle wall, I did find caltrops outside the castle wall along with a few other bolt tips. It has been suggested the sickle looking relic is a Ballista trigger. I have no info on the coin yet but it does have a double coat of arms on it. HH, Mike

hikeinmts said:
Great finds, and super hunting area. I was stationed at Baumholder before I knew about metal detectors. Darn!!!
Looking forward to some more nice finds. And, IT SURPRISES ME that the Germans are letting you hunt near one of their
castles.....but, you mentioned a museum. Is the museum in your home, or do you have a display at a local museum?
In the city I live in, there is no museum.....except for the back room of my home. I have often thought about contacting
someone with a bit more funds available than I, and asking for some help to begin one. :thumbsup:
I worked in Baumholder for a year and detected, have a permit. Found some interesting relics and coins but nothing too special until my last official day there. In a down pour of rain in a muddy sticky plowed field I started finding Roman bronze coins, ended up with 9 from the Constantine era around 330 AD. Ironically, I had just went to the Trier museum a few weeks before to see an elaborate exhibit from Constantine. I have a display case I just set up in our local weapons museum. Here's my museum post.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,407962.msg2903247.html#msg2903247
 

nuggy

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Aug 22, 2010
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3 rocks are unlikely to be jade - as above post said more likely to be melted glass, look for tiny bubbles inside this will confirm as glass. Nuggy
 

civilman1

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Nov 29, 2005
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Great find's Mike as alway's :thumbsup: One of these day's you're going to have to make a "virtual tour" so to speak of the Museum,I'd Love to see it.The Bolt's are awesome!!! HH
 

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Bavaria Mike

Bavaria Mike

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Feb 7, 2005
8,340
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Bavaria Germany
Detector(s) used
Minelab XT70, Fisher 1280, Garrett Ace 250 and MH5
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The coin was IDed as a pfennig, 1605 GĂĽnther XLII. 1593-1643 Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. HH, Mike
 

steelheadwill

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Jan 2, 2010
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Super finds and great working with the museum to let these items be seen.,
My Hat's off to you Sir :notworthy:
 

TXPIRATE

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Aug 21, 2003
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That is some cool finds if that bolt could talk
 

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