Swinging in the UK

BioProfessor · Sep 27, 2007

Well I'm back from a 2 week MD tour in the UK. Damn near killed me. We were in plowed fields for about 10 hours a day for 14 days straight. It was beep/dig/beep/dig all day long. We were hunting around Colchester, Essex UK which is the oldest town in England. It has been occupied since Roman times. Cool place to hunt.

Interesting fact about hunting the fields there is that you find more gold than pull tabs. Sounds good but there are more buttons in the fields than we have pull tabs. Just trading one for the other. They think they used to plow old clothes into the soil to help condition it. Some of the buttons are nice ones but most are just common 4 hole ones or slick pewter ones. It is tough digging a 10" hole to get a 4 hole button 50 times a day.

Here is a sample of what I was able to find. Since you can't bring anything back with you, I only have some photos of some of the stuff. Hopefully I can eventually get all of it sent to me but the museums have to grant an export license. So here is a sample of things from "across the pond." The "best" find may be the small Domino. Dominoes were not known to exist in the UK until the mid 1800's. This one seems to be much older. If it is an older one, it could get interesting.

Hope you find the items interesting.

Daryl

RON (PA) · Sep 30, 2007

Daryl,

Glad to have you back here in the US. I have heard that the finds in the UK are awesome, but I never imagined they were that good. Sounds like you had a blast across the pond. I need to take one of those trips someday. Great finds. I hope you get them all back.

uriykir · Sep 30, 2007

only like us coins, but russian gold, nothing like gold in eastern europe

grogmug · Oct 1, 2007

GREAT FINDS! Do you have any links I could go to, to find out information on trips like these?! I would love to go on one sometime soon!

BioProfessor · Oct 1, 2007

http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/home.htm

BioProfessor · Oct 1, 2007

It was AWESOME. I'm hooked. I HAVE to go back. You have no idea of the rush when finding Roman, Celtic, Saxon, Medieval all in the same day.

Chris has a weird sense of humor. Anything you show him at lunch he thinks is junk, he tosses in the bushes. It's a hoot to see people go in after it because they think it is neat. I think one of the reasons he tossed the .50cal was that there is some rule against exporting ammunition/bullets. May not be illegal just a hassle he doesn't want to deal with.

You've got to go on one of these trips. It is tough to swing 10 hours a day for 7 days straight but holy crap what a hunt.

Daryl

CRUSADER · Oct 1, 2007

rtde3 said:
WOW Bio Professor! What an adventure! That seems like a really cool trip to take. Like you said, not knowing if your next target is an old roman coin... that had to be exciting. And then to come home & try to get excited about the tot lot! LOL! That's got to be hard. The France trip sounds like a good one also. Hey why did Chris throw your bullet in the bushes?
Thanks for sharing your story & let us know when you get your stuff from over there.

P.S. I think & hope Mike meant to say "Duck"

If they are live bullets, you are meant to cordon off the area & call in the bomb disposal Squad. I would be very unpopular if I followed the guidance on that one!

pgill · Oct 1, 2007

Prof, I would loved to have seen your face when your bullet was thrown into the hedge

I think that would of been a treasure on it's own.

God bless
Peter

Baggins · Oct 1, 2007

That hunting looks AMAZING!! I would love to go and hunt something with that much history behind it!!
WTG!
Baggins

Colchesterhunter · Dec 6, 2007

Hi Guys, Great post Daryl but you ain't read the treasure act page first ::)

Just so you know the law here guys here is some info on the system over here.

The museum cannot keep any normal finds. I record them with the National databases but it is a voluntary system here.

Only those items that fall under the Treasure Act can be bought by a museum at fair market price if they go through a Coroners court and are declared offically treasure or hoard by a judge.

Hoard - 2 or more coins of the same type found in an area of land and over 300 years old

Treasure - Relic over 10% gold or silver by weight and over 300 years old

None of your finds are in that category so you get them all back once the export license is approved.

http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/treasureact.htm

Jason's (staydetuned) Celtic silver find could have been the rarest ever found in Britain and it will always be his as it does not fall under the Treasure Act as it is a single coin find. The only thing that might happen is it does not get an approved export license so he cannot take it out of the country. In his case luckily there are other examples found so it is NOT a Nationally important find. Hence the export license was approved and he got it home. It has got to a one off like NS Andy's Saxon european strapend that was the only one of it's type ever found in Britain. It is still his as it was made of bronze but cannot be taken out of the country. In his case he donated it to the museum.

How's your back by the way Daryl

Still in traction

By the way you cannot take out any munitions except musket ball ::)

BioProfessor · Dec 6, 2007

I did read the Treasure Act. Long sucker. I know nothing I have is treasure so I should get it all back but it still has to go to the coroner and get the license. I just worry they will get a "wildhair" or something.

My back WAS doing pretty good until a week or so ago. Went out again. It responded well to a handful of Tylenol Arthritis so all may be good. I think I may go back in March and see if I can put it back out again. Worth every pain. The day I couldn't get up from digging a hole and had to lay in the field and it started raining wasn't too good though.

Daryl

EDDE · Dec 6, 2007

BioProfessor said:
My back WAS doing pretty good until a week or so ago. Went out again. It responded well to a handful of Tylenol Arthritis so all may be good. I think I may go back in March and see if I can put it back out again. Worth every pain. The day I couldn't get up from digging a hole and had to lay in the field and it started raining wasn't too good though.

thats hardcore 8)

Colchesterhunter · Dec 7, 2007

Getting there slowly mate

The Coroner has nothing to do with exporting and your finds. He is only there to rule on Treasure cases reported to him via the British Museum.

None of your finds were reported as treasure.

All export license applications go the MLA export duty in London after I complete all the export license forms. They approve it.

Museums and Export duty are totally seperate units.

Luckily I know what I am doing

Hope your back is up for another session of pain

BioProfessor · Dec 7, 2007

Yeah, somebody needs to know what it going on. It sure ain't me. I guess I read too much, sent out too many emails, got conflicting information, and couldn't keep the definition of treasure and non-treasure completely straight with regard to the Coroner's office, the FLO, the PAS, and the MLA. Just love the alphabet soup. My concern is that I am going back to the UK to do another Colchester hunt in October but I will be hunting on my own for a week in Saffron Walden, Essex, 10 days in Hertford, Hertfordshire, a week in Great Canfield, Essex, and a week in Dereham, Norfolk. I was trying to figure out what I needed to do with my finds. Not having an expert on hand, as in the case of the Colchester hunts, I didn't want to break the law. I still haven't figured out what I do with the finds before I leave the UK and have no "keep site." I figured depositing them with the Coroner's office was the best bet. Couldn't think of a "Plan B." Then there was the how to get them identified, listed, recorded with the PAS, etc. I'll be gone and I won't have a clue where my finds are. Maybe the farmer "bushed" them like someone else I know. >:(

My back is up to another session. Word is the beginning of March is good. Looking for airfares and schedules but I'm in Savannah, GA and hardly any planes from here that I can afford a ticket on get to the UK or leave at the right times. Arrgghhh.

With all the places, definitions, forms, requirements, going and coming from the UK by yourself isn't an easy thing to figure out. I guess this may explain why a large number of people who go there just post their finds to their home address before they leave.

I may kill my back but hunting there but it is ADDICTING. Just can't do the clad thing anymore.

Thanks for all the input to help me keep things straight. I REALLY need it.

Daryl

castle keep · Dec 7, 2007

Awesome finds 8)

The strange thing is you put more swinging hours into 2 weeks than some of us English do in a whole year

14 x 10 = 140 hours

wwwtimmcp · Dec 7, 2007

very impressive indeed.

CRUSADER · Dec 7, 2007

castle keep said:
Awesome finds 8)

The strange thing is you put more swinging hours into 2 weeks than some of us English do in a whole year

14 x 10 = 140 hours

Not me

Born Free · Dec 7, 2007

Since it appears you will get all your finds back, hopefully you can use any proceeds to fund the next trip!
Detecting 10 hours a day for 14 days in England is practically suicide-by-metal-detecting, something any of us on treasure net forum would not hesitate to do if we had the chance!
I am going to check out that website for these English MD trips.