just back

[Nick150]

Just back from scanning a field running next to an old Roman road. I was very hopeful but unfortunately no finds except for a few rusty nails and a piece of lead. Feeling defeated but maybe next time 😝

 

[CRUSADER]

Welcome to Tnet.

We used to think that detecting next to a Roman Road was a good choice. We soon learnt that you find very little.

Good news is that as long as you keep getting lots more pieces of old lead then you are on to something (every site must have lead, although this icludes Medieval as well). Are the rusty nails Roman?

What you need to do is look at the landscape. Look for high ground off to the sides of the Road, normally several hundred metres away, next to the Roads are normally blank.
Look for water sources.
Most importantly look for Pottery pieces/roof tiles & changes in the soil colour. Activity involves burning which blackens the soil.
Check Googlearth for cropmarks, making sure you have looked at every timeline.
Lots of other things to look for, but start with these.

 

[Nick150]

Thanks for the info....interesting points and there is a river approx 200-300 metres off to the side of the road and I found lots of fragments of what looked like old china with painted patterns on more towards that. Its ploughed so is quite hard work scanning low. Guess I will keep looking 😊

 

[CRUSADER]

Think about flooding & look for the high ground near the river. Close to rivers is one golden rule, if you can detect close to a Church all the better (for Saxon-Medieval stuff). The old China is probably Victorian, but it does mean there maybe something interesting from that period nearby.

It depends what your looking for...

 

[Nick150]

Im happy locating anything. There could be war related items as on the other side of the road is an airfield which was used by the raf during ww1. Im loving it.

 

[CRUSADER]

Im happy locating anything. There could be war related items as on the other side of the road is an airfield which was used by the raf during ww1. Im loving it.

Good, just get happier about that crap.

 

[mihmar79]

Welcome to Tnet.

Good news is that as long as you keep getting lots more pieces of old lead then you are on to something (every site must have lead, although this icludes Medieval as well). Are the rusty nails Roman?

Crusader can u pls link some picture with most comon roman nails u found?

 

[Nick150]

I will stop being lazy and dig everything. Would love a garrett pinpointed to speed things up but money's tight. Wondering if a strong magnet on a stick would pick out the dirty iron quicker.

 

[mihmar79]

good idea with magnet Nick150, think its good thing to try it out, and see how it working with litle iron trash

 

[CRUSADER]

Crusader can u pls link some picture with most comon roman nails u found?

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/313686-roman-brooch-field-day-1-a.html

 

[CRUSADER]

I will stop being lazy and dig everything. Would love a garrett pinpointed to speed things up but money's tight. Wondering if a strong magnet on a stick would pick out the dirty iron quicker.

I should however point out 1 thing. It is good when you start to dig as much as you can & start to understand the sounds. Things make different sounds at different depths & also if they are next to other objects or on there side. So it's good to learn what the crap sounds like & when you are sure you know what iron is, you can begin to leave it in infected areas. Because its not practical to dig EVERYTHING in very iron rich patches, it is however the sort of place you want to concentrate.

 

[Nick150]

I found loads of similar nails and a washer with the hole through it. Looked a bit fat to be from a tractor or similar. Great.

 

[CRUSADER]

I found loads of similar nails and a washer with the hole through it. Looked a bit fat to be from a tractor or similar. Great.

General rule; Roman Nails are square profile, not round. (all sizes from hob nail to 25cms)

 

[Nick150]

They are all square so result then.

 

[mihmar79]

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/313686-roman-brooch-field-day-1-a.html

aaa, thanks, now if i found them i will know