Helping the Archies with another Dig...

[CRUSADER]

As we have detected this field for about 5 years & plotted many finds, we were asked to help with the detecting when the Archies started their Archaeological evaluation trenches. This is in readiness for a big development project. It's actually our first project with this group who won the contract but are not local.
The Archies were surprised at the number of GPSed items we had from this 1 field but we had to explain to them that although we have most periods represented the only period we think had any occupation was the Early-Middle Saxon, circa 6th-8th C.
They are doing 40 trenches in 1 week with 5 Archies, plus 2 digger drivers. We hope to return on Friday, although Cru'Dad may pop back before.

These are the finds we gave up to the dig;

Roman Military Buckle
18th C sword Belt Hanger
Saxon Cruxiform Brooch Bit
Spec. Buckle
Blank Shilling
1 Scrappy
Tudor Button
Tudor Clothes Fastener
Tudor Scabbard Chape
14th C Medieval Buckle
Henry III Cut Hammered Halfpenny

We were actually very surprised with how much we found in the spoil, one of our best ever 4.5 hr sessions for the Archies.

 

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[CRUSADER]

These are the bits we kept because they were outside the trench area;

Nice Gold & Silver Plated Dandy Button (Never seen a combo before)
Hunts Button - Lions Head
Rose Farthing
Leather Mount
Tudor Knife Terminal

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Excellent work Cru. It's always very gratifying when you can contribute your experience and skills to the archaeological community. Well done!

 

[CRUSADER]

Excellent work Cru. It's always very gratifying when you can contribute your experience and skills to the archaeological community. Well done!

Yeap, They had a detector but admitted they were not trained in it!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

great story. Thanx for sharing it.

Do they let you (or do they personally) dig the beeps right then and there ? Because the archie digs I've helped on, they just flag the beep, and come back later with tweezers and brushes to dig it up. And spend copious time digging it, making notes, etc.... Totally boring . Hopefully in England it normal detecting we're all accustomed to !

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Excellent story, thank you for sharing!

I have done a lot of historical work and work very close with the Archaeologists . They know me and my work, so I can recover the artifact, then BAG, TAG and FLAG. They do all the paperwork needed for artifact preservation. When I work alone on a historical project I have to do everything from finding, recovering, all paperwork, proper preservation and present my findings to a town/city historical commissions.

 

[villagenut]

Nice to see a good example of how to work with the archaeological community for the good of preservation and records.I too have worked with both local and state archives and in most cases it has been beneficial to me, them and the community. Great story and a great example to follow.

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on the finds and thanks for sharing

 

[sutphin]

DANG WHAT FINDS..

 

[joeyfresh]

Did the archaeologists ask you to help? It's rare that you show us site photos so it's cool to get a glimpse at your world

 

[CRUSADER]

great story. Thanx for sharing it.

Do they let you (or do they personally) dig the beeps right then and there ? Because the archie digs I've helped on, they just flag the beep, and come back later with tweezers and brushes to dig it up. And spend copious time digging it, making notes, etc.... Totally boring . Hopefully in England it normal detecting we're all accustomed to !

We only did the spoil & the flatten edge of the trench, so yes we dug it ourselves, as all finds were already out of context. If it were in the trench, that would be a different matter.

 

[CRUSADER]

Did the archaeologists ask you to help? It's rare that you show us site photos so it's cool to get a glimpse at your world

Yes, because the previous Land-owner & developers had told them about us detecting & the detailed records we had kept. It won't be the first time that our surveys have entered their reports. It's one of the reasons we keep records.

 

[CRUSADER]

UPDATE;
Today Cru'dad helped with another 5.5 hrs & had the following report, sorry no pictures!

''Individual finds were a C17/18[SUP]th[/SUP] Buckle without pin, 1837 Silver Helvetia 20 Centimes, Pewter Caddy Lid Handle, Part of a Roman Trumpet brooch, a hammered long cross Farthing/halfpenny, a Buckle plate section with the 2 holding lugs, pieces of medieval buckles and a small horse harness D buckle.

According to [BLANK] they have found a SHED LOAD of Archaeology – I saw 6-7 bones piled by one trench, a burnt Post-hole, ditches, couple larger area soil cuts, more Post holes and apparently Trench [] has a lot going on in it (that is near the corner where we found Roman Coins etc) as well as Trench [] (by []). All the key developers etc & [Blank] Archie players are inspecting the Trenches tomorrow from 1430 to decide what would be required before any development – [Blank] reckons that they would require a full scale Archaeological dig and recording. So chances are that NO development will go ahead in his view.

Once inspection held they will start back filling the Trenches and for Friday [Blank] would like us to check over them once soil returned etc.

I have 1 Tombac & 1 4-Hole button plus a couple bits of lead.''

 

[DirtyPockects]

Congratulations

 

[Westfront]

Great to see you had a dig with the Archies too. Sometimes it's fun with them especially when YOU can tell them where the best place to start is. With about 40 trenches it's a really big project! Our have less money every year so it's like playing Battleships. Thats why they're happy to have help with placing the trenches.
Working with them sounds almost the same. Detecting what we call "moved soil". The layer which is moved by the plow and finds are not in context.

 

[Relicific]

Looks like a lot of fun

 

[CRUSADER]

Great to see you had a dig with the Archies too. Sometimes it's fun with them especially when YOU can tell them where the best place to start is. With about 40 trenches it's a really big project! Our have less money every year so it's like playing Battleships. Thats why they're happy to have help with placing the trenches.
Working with them sounds almost the same. Detecting what we call "moved soil". The layer which is moved by the plow and finds are not in context.

It's a big project paid for by a potential developer. They may have lost on this one, as it may cost more to go to full excavation than the profits they get. Maybe a right off based on too larger risk.
Our Laws mean any developer must pay the cost of any Archie dig. Which is why there is plenty of digs & money.

 

[tinpan]

It's a big project paid for by a potential developer. They many have lost on this one, as it may cost more to go to full excavation than the profits they get. Maybe a right off based on too larger risk.
Our Laws mean any developer must pay the cost of any Archie dig. Which is why there is plenty of digs & money.

Hi, Does the developer pass this expense onto the purchaser while claiming a tax deduction ? TP

 

[Peyton Manning]

so when you dig with them do they provide coffee and donuts in the morning and beer in the afternoon?

 

[Kray Gelder]

Extraordinary Indeed!