tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85137198519816145522024-03-20T10:22:31.889-07:00Dig RegardlessJeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-83779715857219053192024-03-20T06:43:00.000-07:002024-03-20T09:59:47.402-07:00Medieval Censer — Close Focus<p style="text-align: justify;">My customary trawl through PAS records of similar finds to those I'm currently researching, turned up a surprisingly small quantity of actual censers or fragments thereof. There are a handful of fragments of them recorded and just the one complete hemisphere. </p><div style="text-align: justify;">Mostly, those items I viewed in these searches were items dubbed 'lamp hangers' and as backup, possibly 'censer hangers'. All possessed three suspension points for chains.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Censers of the middle Ages usually have four attachment points for chains but rarely three. However, as mentioned, there is an example of a complete lid from Shropshire, England and this does indeed possess a complement of just three suspension lugs, and the British Museum keeps a complete Scandinavian example with the same arrangement, and so I suppose that 'censer hanger' may be correct in some cases.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a pretty fruitless search until I discovered the one intriguing item — certainly part of a censer — that did indeed seem to share some features with my own ~</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8ICJANM76XDmNkdhfNgA-bwixEA8_jgFqMPIQrjVF7tgh8RXcQIDnoaAETRQayFW-f8vRJWDfo5LDIAvtusp8bTBADRuVKMIGQnDeThJWKzLVHV8_7j94MNPXg0GCoZaIx5n0MFR3ra2iSzEMbwkIJcyIRC-4iM5Zuaz1rHnfEfb-ZcajNbMwx0xEXPE/s16000/E13952%2007.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>Even extreme magnification does not help much here... </h3></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This rim fragment from Mundham, Norfolk, has what looks to be a very similar style of incised decoration. Alas, there is not much information here to work with. Regretfully, it is in a parlous state, and I cannot work out much from what I can see of it. There is a band of running sinuous decoration at bottom for sure and what look to be the starting points of two semi-circular lines that may have formed complete semi-circular fields. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Between these and above the suspension lug are four vertical lines that may have formed plant fronds or similar. To the right is geometrical decoration that is just too incomplete and unclear to comment on. The broken edges are so corroded and abraded that any traces of perforations are quite impossible to spot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It's a shame that it is so badly preserved, but still, it is the closest English parallel I have yet found and it hails from a place not remotely distant from Mid-Essex...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This piece also shows me exactly what one of the suspension lugs of an 'English' censer would have looked like. This is of some use because my fragment does not possess one. It shows that it was cast integrally and not soldered or riveted on afterwards, as with many continental examples. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">As I am making a reconstruction of what may actually be an English production (its vigorous and unusual 'regional' decorative style is very suggestive of this possibility) rather than a French, German, or even Scandinavian import — I will certainly incorporate this detail.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Condition and its importance ~</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I'd rather work a slow field that yields occasional finds in copper alloys but in excellent condition, than a fast and furious one where everything copper-based is shot through with corrosion. On such fields as those, you are going to have to be content with precious metal items, if there are enough there to make the exercise worthwhile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Luckily, this piece (from a dead slow field) arrived in my hand in such great condition that really close investigation reveals all kinds of tiny but crucial clues about its making... </div><div><br /></div><div>A worthwhile exercise indeed!</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Gwn94CnF5iFVl6SQOdwHX3o9zY6ZCCvAfI7fz3yC8tyzplZihKUJkoCkmFskBDNLxWPh5BmUPndwvkK362NmlxapYs74TQ8-0J76jc9YrsIs25aGlbfCzCXNH_cqrSrEdAJcaPh7r-6Gag5QnmtFGjXp8lXGKxokmhPOF8GayPkhyphenhyphen2m5o-gDER196rmd/s2987/IMG_8869%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2987" data-original-width="2721" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Gwn94CnF5iFVl6SQOdwHX3o9zY6ZCCvAfI7fz3yC8tyzplZihKUJkoCkmFskBDNLxWPh5BmUPndwvkK362NmlxapYs74TQ8-0J76jc9YrsIs25aGlbfCzCXNH_cqrSrEdAJcaPh7r-6Gag5QnmtFGjXp8lXGKxokmhPOF8GayPkhyphenhyphen2m5o-gDER196rmd/w584-h640/IMG_8869%202.JPG" width="584" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The incised decoration is so very sharp and clear. So much so, that I can see that the tool required to create it was a certain shape at the tip and was polished. I can be almost certain that the process employed was 'lost wax' because the incisions shine in a way that just would not occur by working into damp clay. The surface shows fine horizontal striations, which say that at one point in the process of the making of the object, it was either turned on a lathe or was gently coaxed into shape (likely, before decoration commenced) by turning in the hand. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiESkhAB0KkQ2JTs20TU0nTFvcpsRqbTgT8xTEcbNfh7FUcCYJA9_HhLkQFBNErjH0ALne4IBMWCiik1lxJGlRMG85eZkS53Sf_L8MxW0FHEmB-4I5VTU0mty_xJYhVaTT30KStBeUcpCBWNGqkxTZxIvvVrBuYEK3AuF5qe9Q0-eVw6us7lFffWf-Ph5Q/s2987/IMG_8875.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2987" data-original-width="2885" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiESkhAB0KkQ2JTs20TU0nTFvcpsRqbTgT8xTEcbNfh7FUcCYJA9_HhLkQFBNErjH0ALne4IBMWCiik1lxJGlRMG85eZkS53Sf_L8MxW0FHEmB-4I5VTU0mty_xJYhVaTT30KStBeUcpCBWNGqkxTZxIvvVrBuYEK3AuF5qe9Q0-eVw6us7lFffWf-Ph5Q/w618-h640/IMG_8875.JPG" width="618" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The reverse is also a real treat. It is simply packed full of information about manufacturing methods ~</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. You can see that wax was laid or painted to a thickness of around 2mm, onto a fairly roughly finished core — probably of traditional loam, (pronounced. 'loom') which is clay and sand mixed with horse dung and/or straw. There are both incuse and relief traces of plant fibre (now in metal, of course) preserved in the casting. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. The windows were cast 'blind' so that a thin film of metal remained that was later punched through and the rough edges were folded backwards into the interior. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div>3. There's many tiny incuse triangular tool marks which all align upwards. This really foxed me for a long time. They could not feasibly have been cast in unless the maker had applied tiny triangles of clay to the core and if they all face one direction then there is clear reason for this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eventually I tumbled that these have to be the sign of breaking out and removing the final remains of the fire-hardened core with an iron tool because these marks had been punched directly into cold metal. And the reason for the single direction is also clear. The maker probably held the cast in his lap and worked the tool around the interior to clear what remained stuck fast, hammering away as he went. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Until I had studied and gained a little useful knowledge of the lost-wax method, I just could not see this! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div>Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-85388586112229621132024-03-19T06:37:00.000-07:002024-03-19T18:02:59.046-07:00Medieval Censer — Drawing Early Conclusions<div style="text-align: justify;">My work on a reconstruction effort commenced with very detailed examinations of the piece (utilising two pairs of reading glasses at once!) and then attempts at sketching out what I had theorised from the many clues I'd had at my disposal ~</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was laid upon a sheet of paper and then by carefully tracing around the perimeter with a sharp pencil I created an outline. The central keyhole-shaped window perforation was made by the same means, and then the curved line below it, imagined.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was thought to have once been a complete semi-circle ~</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The full semi-circle was made, a base line drawn across at bottom to represent the base of the upper cup and the basket-hatching within this drawn to entirely fill it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The remains of a small circular perforation seen at bottom right was also drawn but this made no sense to me because it was off-centre. That it was indeed a hole and not merely a rather regular fracture was confirmed with my powerful eyeglass combination. It had been cast and possessed clear tooling marks that made this certain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This apparently odd feature completely foxed me at the time...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next, I drew in the rest of the decoration and as accurately as possible extended the fronds of the plant at left to the baseline. This exercise in such quick sketches was repeated many times until some genuine clarity began to emerge. Eventually, I decided to create a flat plan of the piece as best I could.</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I had something of a clearer picture…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xfaL-1GuQkHDam7ZSllGJR1MxgTaazH5sx1b9VaD9Rx9xxGiTH-iVtGWhFre_LAd9trh5dgwsYNQgs5S6u1VOH37VX3d62f5xzJedYc1qusy_Dkdc4gzo6P9WG3TSl0-3D98sTajL-42Uzr36P4RFNvLDWulLfXWJ2vV8gU5fd-OvfKMoyGKu6MUbraD/s3675/IMG_8854.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2013" data-original-width="3675" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xfaL-1GuQkHDam7ZSllGJR1MxgTaazH5sx1b9VaD9Rx9xxGiTH-iVtGWhFre_LAd9trh5dgwsYNQgs5S6u1VOH37VX3d62f5xzJedYc1qusy_Dkdc4gzo6P9WG3TSl0-3D98sTajL-42Uzr36P4RFNvLDWulLfXWJ2vV8gU5fd-OvfKMoyGKu6MUbraD/w640-h350/IMG_8854.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3 style="text-align: justify;">At middle and to the middle of right is what information I actually have and to the left what I imagine to have been the case. A band of zig-zags (or continuous sinuous line) at the base of the upper cup (and also top of lower cup) are motifs common to many such censers. The fragment possesses zig-zags between the stories of windows and I see no reason why this should not have been repeated below. </h3></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The various perforations were thought to be repeating elements that would have continued around the entire circumference as too were the incised decorative elements.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reference to other complete censers confirmed this could be the case. Many of the 'globular' type — which by now I suspected this example to have been — are decorated with semi-circular fields on the upper cup and whenever they are, without exception these repeat four times around the entire circumference and meet at the points of the four suspension lugs</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, in some cases (though not all) the number of 'windows' may be regular because a few of these globular 'pear-shaped' censers seemed in photographs of them, to possess the same quantity...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At least, it was true that there were most often two stories of windows, one above the other. The lower story usually possessing keyhole-shaped perforations, the upper always circular ones. And, when viewed as a photograph it was only possible to see five or six lower windows and four upper windows. I reckoned that perhaps this could mean a total of twelve lower story windows and ten top story windows. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Without attempting an actual physical reconstruction, I could not tell if this fragment when repeated around a circumference, that as yet I could only guess but not confirm with accuracy, would show such numbers. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-39847480069460972252024-03-12T10:40:00.000-07:002024-03-20T01:44:50.228-07:00Medieval Censer — The Complete FragmentFragments of Medieval bronze vessels were fairly frequent finds during my metal-detecting forays into central Essex. Most fields held one or two pieces if there had been activity there during the Medieval period, which in the areas that I was searching meant absolutely because I cannot remember anywhere that had not. <div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Broken up cooking pots of various shapes and sizes — not decorated in any way but identifiable as chunks of cauldrons or skillets by their regular wall thickness and curvature. Occasionally a cauldron foot would be found. I thought that the most exciting thing to discover in this class of find would have been the anthropomorphic or zoomorphic handle ear from a chafing dish or the spout from a ewer but I never did find either one of those. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAmFopSR_dCyst9IXQjDHU3sQy8h9Xzzte5x4WnAvNgRLK6xvGrvWA3SaZLKGRLkp59-5yCCW9mP3XVZaKJ1Ps0_u_Wts_yzTWDd4fyhnv5IWj6-0d8q7GlRmaKdo5kQEjXmYHFmpckRHxbNpPfu1RYLLlLvvot5xyEGOhj_B7CCytB41PEwJ6Khly9cP/s3305/IMG_8828.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2447" data-original-width="3305" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAmFopSR_dCyst9IXQjDHU3sQy8h9Xzzte5x4WnAvNgRLK6xvGrvWA3SaZLKGRLkp59-5yCCW9mP3XVZaKJ1Ps0_u_Wts_yzTWDd4fyhnv5IWj6-0d8q7GlRmaKdo5kQEjXmYHFmpckRHxbNpPfu1RYLLlLvvot5xyEGOhj_B7CCytB41PEwJ6Khly9cP/w640-h472/IMG_8828.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Typical bronze vessel finds — a foot and a large body fragment found in close proximity </span><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">to one another but probably not from the same cauldron. </span></b></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I always liked to find these mundane items. Not because they held any great value as objects in their own right but because other more interesting things would surely follow them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also wondered ~ </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Why were there were so many of them?" </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Why never was a second fragment of the same pot ever found?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I concluded that such pieces of scrap metal were destined eventually to join the Medieval non-ferrous metal pool, but in the meantime were in circulation and likely used as currency in sub-farthing level exchanges. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They were valuable. Maybe a loaf of bread valuable?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They were also exactly as commonplace as were finds of medieval coinage...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0hdkQPjyRWsayla2S2urmdq5wLNPPNHgvrJG4qEta478MIXXf3yCOwr5XTjh7UUKCc2PWw6CrSfItLT_E-j94PBt651eINlnKfdXsWA0bFUejXwxCzyJgRBp5ODcA4agwwK2edJScJOI1bSrudT8snn81FPli3w4qcmGEFwdPuNbYREkd-3jrN15w3UN/s2920/IMG_8823.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2920" data-original-width="2382" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0hdkQPjyRWsayla2S2urmdq5wLNPPNHgvrJG4qEta478MIXXf3yCOwr5XTjh7UUKCc2PWw6CrSfItLT_E-j94PBt651eINlnKfdXsWA0bFUejXwxCzyJgRBp5ODcA4agwwK2edJScJOI1bSrudT8snn81FPli3w4qcmGEFwdPuNbYREkd-3jrN15w3UN/w259-h320/IMG_8823.jpeg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3><i>Actual size = 57.5 x 39.5mm</i></h3></td></tr></tbody></table>Then, one day, I was out and about on what had always proven to be a quiet and quite dull field. However, it was one that I thought held some promise — even though it never seemed to want to fulfil it! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once again, I turned up yet another boring bronze vessel fragment. However, on closer inspection I could make out decorations of odd sorts and when the clods of earth were broken away the centre fell out revealing a rather familiar looking keyhole-shaped hole. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">This incised decor — when I began to appreciate it — was truly fascinating! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had never seen anything like it before — have seen nothing quite like it since! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All kinds of strange squiggles, zig-zags and hatchings and even plant fronds with neat little leaves. I just thought it a strange, strangle thing, and sat there in the dirt for a long time trying to fathom it ~ </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a while I came to my senses and firmly decided there and then, that this was indeed a piece of something very interesting, and probably a very rare discovery… </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Medieval censer, no less!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKycn9nwYpJWBlbaTCSQgo1Rlitsoq7EXU4bKrPF_kccttM8CRHFE_kmem1DmTil2tnWdgbkzClJ7Z_8ujnzRlquosF5MWsu2jy4cg_4DE64pIiwOORqmZ0Y6pGxXJhdcjM_znttVLJAliPJJygAfSxYLbaHzyRCh3WqZdI6pocRBiDILNBG_u4SHoow3/s347/Screenshot%202023-05-14%20at%2011.13.17%20copy.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="288" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKycn9nwYpJWBlbaTCSQgo1Rlitsoq7EXU4bKrPF_kccttM8CRHFE_kmem1DmTil2tnWdgbkzClJ7Z_8ujnzRlquosF5MWsu2jy4cg_4DE64pIiwOORqmZ0Y6pGxXJhdcjM_znttVLJAliPJJygAfSxYLbaHzyRCh3WqZdI6pocRBiDILNBG_u4SHoow3/w333-h400/Screenshot%202023-05-14%20at%2011.13.17%20copy.png" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>Enamelled censer from Limoges, France. </h3></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The piece lay in my small collection of ‘Top Drawer Medieval’ for many years until just recently when I decided to reconstruct as best I could, a few of my incomplete or damaged finds. I've made a start with some easier projects which have turned out well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This will not be easy — I know it. However, it will be a treat because what I think is remarkable about this fragment is its completeness! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Little seems to be missing in the way of information...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I reckon that by closely studying the sheer wealth of invaluable clues contained in its shapes and forms, that it would be that rare fragment that perhaps I could possibly reconstruct as almost an entire object. </div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It would take a great deal of homework and graft, but… </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'd set out to try! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-5845210988650139972023-09-24T04:00:00.050-07:002024-03-14T07:40:41.489-07:00Medieval Roundel — A Narrowing Down of Possibilities<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpgI5pmjIagBzzSoO9RYSdB_K8FtF2mIsDH3Al8Zmshc85Fh1mECSHeEgh-c0x482ah4dy8TbrnjbtEo7vhaYPy1YBtjQaCei6bsley0aJUQN0Quk2CP7tpCNwVWn2I3SZlWaoKV0vI652lGCA1WUMHN47u0isXEKM-nayVjLOfQ1cch9_VY_rQ1Er3RL0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="843" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpgI5pmjIagBzzSoO9RYSdB_K8FtF2mIsDH3Al8Zmshc85Fh1mECSHeEgh-c0x482ah4dy8TbrnjbtEo7vhaYPy1YBtjQaCei6bsley0aJUQN0Quk2CP7tpCNwVWn2I3SZlWaoKV0vI652lGCA1WUMHN47u0isXEKM-nayVjLOfQ1cch9_VY_rQ1Er3RL0=w493-h640" width="493" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/199854/shaffron">https://www.artic.edu/artworks/199854/shaffron</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJoECx1pB_Eqv-1C1-MOays6ZAuZ8mpYGwbhpZ9inC6IoiyH70NodbDkIchvp045XuSiDzYuiFQVetLO5w48EsJQ9AJ6j6LulryoUF1fgqBA03J6RKtTLcjjFB83d1_OREbUMZpULBn6Zp280X1HcFb042dlFHTW7uZDUDkbDwVzTZulgnNZepMTapMZ8z" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">My hunt for parallels for this tricky to identify object, and especially those that were indeed horse trappings, led to period pony armour and strap fitments. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">The little spikes that I'd seen depicted on the heads of horses in illustrations of medieval jousters turned out to be part of the chanfron (or also spelled <i>chaffron, chamfron, champion, chamfron, chamfrein, champron</i>, and <i>shaffron</i>)<i style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </i>— the armour that protected the head of the horse from the blow of the lance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJoECx1pB_Eqv-1C1-MOays6ZAuZ8mpYGwbhpZ9inC6IoiyH70NodbDkIchvp045XuSiDzYuiFQVetLO5w48EsJQ9AJ6j6LulryoUF1fgqBA03J6RKtTLcjjFB83d1_OREbUMZpULBn6Zp280X1HcFb042dlFHTW7uZDUDkbDwVzTZulgnNZepMTapMZ8z" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2304" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlYVQkxh5Df0qdT5TD0JBkWcIiJgM9H0dirN-z_QZZ_HfCAnQvLGKk6FPA7W1Zu8kkkiiXvOiRhJ8-_jhn6Be4PuzF9JuECFsKaL0YWUa_rD2Yp1leHClnPS7V8fSHgRf2uuvjZtj_hpSyUUdgo_VtJ3bggeY-GjYvnKTeFCACrEl3j77w-z7f9rsKlSF/w640-h400/17904.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/856910">https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/856910</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJoECx1pB_Eqv-1C1-MOays6ZAuZ8mpYGwbhpZ9inC6IoiyH70NodbDkIchvp045XuSiDzYuiFQVetLO5w48EsJQ9AJ6j6LulryoUF1fgqBA03J6RKtTLcjjFB83d1_OREbUMZpULBn6Zp280X1HcFb042dlFHTW7uZDUDkbDwVzTZulgnNZepMTapMZ8z" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Then an extensive search of the Portable Antiquities Scheme Database threw up a number of period British roundels of similar large size. Almost all candidates were composite specimens with separate assembled parts but often with differing means of attachment to the host object. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>However, only a few examples shared many features in common with my own.</div><div><br /></div><div>Above is an example that does. It hails from Surrey, and is very similar to the example from Essex mentioned in my previous post on this subject. It too is of three part construction—the faceplate and integral frame, backplate and single central rivet. All components are of copper alloy excepting the rivet which is iron.</div><div><br /></div><div>The rest are listed here.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/143295" target="_blank">Wanborough</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1030370" target="_blank">Chickerell</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/433769" target="_blank">Heckfield</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/153996" target="_blank">North Dalton</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/984315" target="_blank">Wellow</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/794436" target="_blank">Great Waltham</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/770304" target="_blank">Mixbury</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1000635" target="_blank">Colyton</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think that these examples could all be separated into two classes by the means of attachment alone. Some have three or four rivet points arranged around the circumference, and others just the one at centre.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewrD-uzavmIiav5aJhIgl_9wVjDEov-eXoV_-e_sYXO3V5InnhttvmkYhEOhAOk5GMMKmOcqAcKbHpFkX2vFU-i5t7P0AvRHZzqscJk5Ct2nlHE2RGeOJDNq-nNCuduOwvhj6Ljl-FPKUxvKLM2f90FgG0l70w4mJzk-PfN_rnzI3IaHwrKM48r0tbcji/s1280/Rene%CC%81_d'Anjou_Livre_des_tournois_France_Provence_XVe_sie%CC%80cle_Barthe%CC%81lemy_d'Eyck.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewrD-uzavmIiav5aJhIgl_9wVjDEov-eXoV_-e_sYXO3V5InnhttvmkYhEOhAOk5GMMKmOcqAcKbHpFkX2vFU-i5t7P0AvRHZzqscJk5Ct2nlHE2RGeOJDNq-nNCuduOwvhj6Ljl-FPKUxvKLM2f90FgG0l70w4mJzk-PfN_rnzI3IaHwrKM48r0tbcji/w640-h420/Rene%CC%81_d'Anjou_Livre_des_tournois_France_Provence_XVe_sie%CC%80cle_Barthe%CC%81lemy_d'Eyck.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">'Host objects'? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What they might have been is a matter for conjecture...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That they were attached is certain — but to what is not!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But means of attachment always helps somewhat. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Egan and Pritchard in 'Medieval Dress Accessories' view these as either part of sword belts or as martingale brasses. A huge gap of confidence here and they cannot make their minds up and for unsurprising reasons...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No doubt, that in their narrowing down of possibilities, they had also viewed such confounding things as the period illustration above that shows us a number of alternative uses for our roundels. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have here the shaffron, the bridle bit, and the right arm and hand of the knight shown at right. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All could have possessed roundels!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My instinct is that that those roundels we have seen here with multiple rivets (and often roves) were attached to flexible leather straps or belts, whilst those with a long single central rivet were attached through a solid metal plate or even a wooden plank.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>In conclusion</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">My hunt for answers to the "what exactly is this" question has lead so far toward roundels that could be from various parts of horse or human armour or were a dress accessory — a knight's belt mount to be precise. However, that it was once 'attached' to a sentient being and not to a wooden object of some sort — a chest perhaps, or even a vehicle...?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Not even that is certain</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> — as yet!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have come across only the one British find of an unequivocal 'chamfrein'. and it argues with all the other candidates here for the title. This definitely was from the horses head. It is really large — 8cm or so. My roundel is quite a large item and so are the others discussed here but this is simply huge by comparison with all of them and this fact must be taken into account.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQqJ8AbyqgDdiMi9Nf6fWr-7YRHsaihTtuStv66JgUd-wEvRtVC06rZzRylqSq7TfhYvFKoMQNMlf83DTRklr1W5LDQa2wi7aI8Uf5U_qqCmsDEYqB-n2HkzwY8TOoe6jy9SPA2QpmSYj3rrbpNBlPM0ogYWn1xw66-2-aRIJP4ppxaexsfaY0C7VqrDi/s508/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2009.31.23.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="508" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQqJ8AbyqgDdiMi9Nf6fWr-7YRHsaihTtuStv66JgUd-wEvRtVC06rZzRylqSq7TfhYvFKoMQNMlf83DTRklr1W5LDQa2wi7aI8Uf5U_qqCmsDEYqB-n2HkzwY8TOoe6jy9SPA2QpmSYj3rrbpNBlPM0ogYWn1xw66-2-aRIJP4ppxaexsfaY0C7VqrDi/w400-h331/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2009.31.23.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/157026">Widworthy</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="text-align: left;" /><div>Also, its construction is quite unlike the roundels discussed so far in this series. It is not nearly so elaborate or as fine as those. They are all jewellers work — but this is armourer or even blacksmith work. </div><div><br /></div><div>There's a piece of thin sheet metal that has been worked to form a circular plate with an octagonal decorative scheme of ridge and furrow — just like a partially folded umbrella.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a central conical boss, which, from the illustration above, seems to be soldered to two lengths of wire — though it may be one length bent double. And at reverse, a rove to securely fasten the piece to the head armour.</div><p>This British example (from <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/157026" style="text-align: center;">Widworthy</a>) is identical in form and construction to many continental examples, and especially those made in Italy. However, this particular form was not the only one in use. Other types, smaller and more compact, have been seen in my image trawling...</p><p>And so the search continues!</p><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzJ4KoH8wWlBrNTPbuzCMRaOVqgIMAz8VSD5dpgp3xvNK3rqlnUd9kfcPF0OndPfq8zm_cD2C0hf4_hxxqmr0F598OJyJA4gkVH6sISg6bS7MHwDRsvyAAbJkGhuEGlJ5iwOS-rnD7PndV0td1mZnfn5qF-KO9lZuacpQsXE93OnmG0XXptYRttvlJlIP/s546/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2010.09.01.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="354" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzJ4KoH8wWlBrNTPbuzCMRaOVqgIMAz8VSD5dpgp3xvNK3rqlnUd9kfcPF0OndPfq8zm_cD2C0hf4_hxxqmr0F598OJyJA4gkVH6sISg6bS7MHwDRsvyAAbJkGhuEGlJ5iwOS-rnD7PndV0td1mZnfn5qF-KO9lZuacpQsXE93OnmG0XXptYRttvlJlIP/w414-h640/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2010.09.01.png" width="414" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Walters Art Museum <a href="https://art.thewalters.org/detail/34572/chamfron/" style="text-align: justify;">Italian example</a> <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div></div><p></p>Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-60330815429719549502023-09-05T08:27:00.021-07:002024-03-13T02:20:45.821-07:00Medieval Roundel — A Thames Foreshore Surprise.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL363MVreD25VPr0X1_Gt2xZaC8911Ok50_fxH0CmZhk2M8ktVjhF5fs_9LOYqVmEWd10t-DIiVo3XAaKWR7k-M_9iE-8r08Fi4hQV7ve2uebXKJaz2ViNs2OE7V6_zZHv33qlV8wAeRfxJYQAYhDf1m_yyOWMZ2OWEHb4qycxx5WFqvFdXBS8R21jiLfb/s4288/P2010476.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3216" data-original-width="4288" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL363MVreD25VPr0X1_Gt2xZaC8911Ok50_fxH0CmZhk2M8ktVjhF5fs_9LOYqVmEWd10t-DIiVo3XAaKWR7k-M_9iE-8r08Fi4hQV7ve2uebXKJaz2ViNs2OE7V6_zZHv33qlV8wAeRfxJYQAYhDf1m_yyOWMZ2OWEHb4qycxx5WFqvFdXBS8R21jiLfb/w640-h480/P2010476.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Queenhithe Dock, City of London</b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some years ago, I lived in London and in addition to being a hopeless detecting addict, I was also an avid Thames Mudlark. I specialised in searching the City stretches, and on these the most scoured areas of all, I never used a metal detector once. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My sport there was strictly 'eyes only'. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I guess I just loved beating tide, time and waiting for no man.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhz7Bpe_DaPJNbSppIaBU2uPrlh7JL5IgvQI46JK3IqGSIUnG-GCzayim2S23cpmk5dl2dikzi5VUUug688ct0lWJC7AOa0NZKIjiPezIZ07URux-ro526ON1pEg0oszHshsiKffmlMWGOYkbg5Q84sdfqgv27mv7JmOp8G5xdcM78myc5tVmz0XOoK_O-/s4288/P2010473.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3216" data-original-width="4288" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhz7Bpe_DaPJNbSppIaBU2uPrlh7JL5IgvQI46JK3IqGSIUnG-GCzayim2S23cpmk5dl2dikzi5VUUug688ct0lWJC7AOa0NZKIjiPezIZ07URux-ro526ON1pEg0oszHshsiKffmlMWGOYkbg5Q84sdfqgv27mv7JmOp8G5xdcM78myc5tVmz0XOoK_O-/w640-h480/P2010473.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Everything but the seashells there were the ruined works of mankind. And that included my swanky West-End boots...</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the key rules of 'eyes-only' searching is that you must investigate anything remotely interesting... </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, I was at Queenhithe Dock one day, and was chasing the tideline down as the water fell....</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When,...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I saw in the mud and shingle, what looked like a unusually large iron washer! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">And of course, it was remotely interesting. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">And so I flipped it over... </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0zunsXlMtjrbkz-G9GaPW4DElCv2ispseL0RQpfTcbHMaVfOyVv1C2rB0nsHNb-lKZ-hpj-mzXgE8-IzhtCsBEGzzckUbqGq8bj4b7ahfpuWAO6Dbn1pF4SDCf-mOejle0teJcOADxjhLrNLlGqZ7NudFotYV9uTqY24IzAwxQvZVd1-INqa2R7n9Jfm/s6048/comp.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2932" data-original-width="6048" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0zunsXlMtjrbkz-G9GaPW4DElCv2ispseL0RQpfTcbHMaVfOyVv1C2rB0nsHNb-lKZ-hpj-mzXgE8-IzhtCsBEGzzckUbqGq8bj4b7ahfpuWAO6Dbn1pF4SDCf-mOejle0teJcOADxjhLrNLlGqZ7NudFotYV9uTqY24IzAwxQvZVd1-INqa2R7n9Jfm/w640-h310/comp.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Diameter 53.7mm — thickness 7mm. The bright colour of the brass is known as 'Thames gilding'. It is not gilt though. The appearance is formed during a very long period of burial within a sealed matrix of oxygen free mud. Without oxygen (quickly used up entirely by microbes) oxidation, and therefore corrosion, cannot occur.</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Mother! This was no washer!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was pretty sizeable and quite heavy too. The metals were in an excellent state of preservation but unfortunately was crushed and mangled. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of Late-Medieval edging into early Post-Medieval date, no doubt.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="text-align: justify;">Henry VIII... </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="text-align: justify;">However, when I'd given it a tideline wash and examined the piece more closely I could see that it was work of the highest quality imaginable, was made by a very skilled craftsman indeed and would have cost a pretty penny to its long deceased owner.</span><b style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></b><br />The face of the piece is formed from a single sheet of extremely thin brass. So very thin is it that I cannot accurately measure — but it is around the 0.2 mm mark and certainly no thicker. </span><span>The backplate is a comparatively thick piece of slightly dished iron. 2mm thick perhaps. </span><span>The techniques </span><span>used</span><span> </span><span>in its creation were repoussé, chasing and embossing. Repoussé is the hammering of metal up from behind — chasing and embossing hammering down from the front. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Expertly done the results can be astonishing. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The design is not a Tudor rose, though it has some similarities to one of those. It reminds me of church windows of the earlier Medieval years. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Let's call it a quatrefoil. </span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgUsd_YsVs_IGo3yHOoMNgcvKWOmrMI5Cx9QE2fDaw10m9dRCIErVSbX4JTritSfSMEtYCWD0yyqJurMu-5hGga4-ie1CUGcxv0YMb93Y_PCI___EmXSTcilJG1jzIgm8PbRqf78F8rzk5Zy8j85fqxjhNzEOar9tvwKIfGxZPKmjha53e1mUMsL1Q-gM/s500/226Savoy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="436" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgUsd_YsVs_IGo3yHOoMNgcvKWOmrMI5Cx9QE2fDaw10m9dRCIErVSbX4JTritSfSMEtYCWD0yyqJurMu-5hGga4-ie1CUGcxv0YMb93Y_PCI___EmXSTcilJG1jzIgm8PbRqf78F8rzk5Zy8j85fqxjhNzEOar9tvwKIfGxZPKmjha53e1mUMsL1Q-gM/w558-h640/226Savoy.jpg" width="558" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PAS record <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/250697" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Fingringhoe</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">My first thoughts were, "horse". I haver never doubted this. I thought that it may have fallen from harness and had been crushed by a cartwheel. Though the damage looks to be really severe, the forces required to damage such thin metal would not have been so very great, would they? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">As always, I went on a research bender...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The closest parallel that I found was another Medieval roundel from my home turf of Essex and near to my childhood Mersea Island paradise. The overall size is very similar and the technique of wrapping the edge of the brass over a backplate of iron identical. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Also the backplate looks be dished and there's a long rivet like projection on the reverse. This does not however pass through the front plate as it does with the piece under scrutiny here.</div><p><span style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, all I found at the time of discovery was the photo of it above which contained some useful information but not nearly enough. I could could not trace more. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu73kMtPrK7ltwN2L_cafmsOFtdCvsJ3L9VcVeYWmyuMHZ95_VDs-l1MyQ_N7zadVbLuJpfFv5_pEvDJy9fttRe8A75LLPi9GPoHXdU8K00UC40oyIoGRCuZgGy6oiGKc2ZkRc9AG-i4XlrDTlLfa-ULr_YUA14JcWFZUCf_TxnpG-t5NQdofdFIqOjpzq/s1184/Screenshot%202023-07-08%20at%2002.53.29.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1184" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu73kMtPrK7ltwN2L_cafmsOFtdCvsJ3L9VcVeYWmyuMHZ95_VDs-l1MyQ_N7zadVbLuJpfFv5_pEvDJy9fttRe8A75LLPi9GPoHXdU8K00UC40oyIoGRCuZgGy6oiGKc2ZkRc9AG-i4XlrDTlLfa-ULr_YUA14JcWFZUCf_TxnpG-t5NQdofdFIqOjpzq/w640-h451/Screenshot%202023-07-08%20at%2002.53.29.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Jousters to the max! 1546 date. That's the ballpark...</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="text-align: justify;">It did look to be, perhaps, an item of armour. </span></p><p>I went on a long, long hunt for an answer, trawling through entire manuals, manuscripts and pictorial accounts of knights and jousters and their armour. Nothing similar was seen in many moons but then I spied something that threw me sideways... </p><p>What are those little spikes on the horse's brows? </p><p>And... Should I be looking at horse armour too?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-44715544255343705202020-07-22T05:48:00.001-07:002022-04-26T05:21:31.598-07:00Polly's Parlour — Running Around in my Own Footsteps<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My local fields are open again and so I have put in a few hours at Polly's Parlour. Three excursions on consecutive days, the first two with the XP ADX 150 and yesterday afternoon with the Laser B1. All were three hours in duration.</div>
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Of course, there were plenty of targets and last year's hard work seems to have not depleted the supply in any way. On each of the first two sessions, I dug about 80 targets in total and was pleased with that because it was established last year that the recovery rate would be around the 30 finds per hour mark.</div>
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Also, I was best pleased with locating both toys and shirt buttons, which are the most interesting items from this site in terms of their quantity and frequency. I have to say that both are more or less predictable finds on every occasion.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-2CasHGJdfSlwk-YxrjNkAPbHkN03r4J453IE-dPRu6PfwdAgo9keV9apsSPsRTcblEERwRIiq4wQ1s4ZuTFsE7w3c9Im7dQDudumKV0aYWcsFowiNH41_dQYsHAXXaPjD32UWafj6Fx/s1600/IMG_3923.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1600" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-2CasHGJdfSlwk-YxrjNkAPbHkN03r4J453IE-dPRu6PfwdAgo9keV9apsSPsRTcblEERwRIiq4wQ1s4ZuTFsE7w3c9Im7dQDudumKV0aYWcsFowiNH41_dQYsHAXXaPjD32UWafj6Fx/s640/IMG_3923.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>After the three sessions, the total thus far is 22 examples. Almost 30% of this tray and 55 to go...</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first session threw up a jaw harp (or jew's harp) which was once a popular boy's toy. This object was gripped in the jaw and a strip of steel (long gone) twanged with the index finger. When the brass frame was clamped or relaxed between the teeth the pitch would change. I also found two branded shirt buttons and an enamel button of the Coventry Cycling Clubs Association. Unfortunately, As with most enamelled objects, it is in dreadful condition because enamel seems to have been usually applied to pure copper, not a more durable alloy of it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCM_YjLPLx5kL0ZC-pATSc5A-lsETs8uaqqj7_aZXm4HTmDH2cMRL5QpJsVgKLFcwNNMsYGQ4J5AkA-cWRgNL5a-xtUCqtmno9vd4k9esbMNEQQzKyqf5v_mZFv-70qz5PILxYTknbr4M/s1600/IMG_3928.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1600" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCM_YjLPLx5kL0ZC-pATSc5A-lsETs8uaqqj7_aZXm4HTmDH2cMRL5QpJsVgKLFcwNNMsYGQ4J5AkA-cWRgNL5a-xtUCqtmno9vd4k9esbMNEQQzKyqf5v_mZFv-70qz5PILxYTknbr4M/s400/IMG_3928.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGTlME2dIHUoOdjhNrsh2kNfpIiVZWnlLVC_dIcljXyyv_9YBrj2K7vc6J1TLT0p0hnHr4K_2zJBG7E5x7GnHAHPfDIf44cFZtZe43-UTP8HdDYm5wpxTXb2va8Z7NZAB-AIiRAa5LeQu/s1600/IMG_3930.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGTlME2dIHUoOdjhNrsh2kNfpIiVZWnlLVC_dIcljXyyv_9YBrj2K7vc6J1TLT0p0hnHr4K_2zJBG7E5x7GnHAHPfDIf44cFZtZe43-UTP8HdDYm5wpxTXb2va8Z7NZAB-AIiRAa5LeQu/s400/IMG_3930.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The second session gave up another pair of shirt buttons, a gilt watch winder and two fragmentary hollow-cast toys. The best of these is (was!) a horse and rider and is marked on the belly of the horse with, ' COPYRIGHT -Wm BRITAIN Jr - ?? . 11 . 1902. It's such a shame that it is so damaged, because this would have been quite an impressive object at manufacture and it was made by the most famous toymaker of all, William Britain Junior. Perhaps there is the slight chance that one day I may find more pieces of it? You never know!</div>
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The watch winder is of local interest because it's inscribed with the following — F. HOUGH -21 - BURGES - COVENTRY and on the reverse with WATCHMAKER AND JEWELLER. Coventry was once renowned for its watchmaking until foreign competition drove the industry under. I think this object will require a trip to the Coventry Watch Museum when it reopens its door to the public...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNz2sMJsm-uBF9G6tslJaEx6tvHiKmaNgaRedI8-r9xRlYNoS5481CeMPHkmYNUb-Tv-cKKTg7y64AuvAycJ3mo8s1327QhPmG157kTbRAXxJasrmT6WQTvyv_9Ezubp88gG7JmFAsKkB9/s1600/IMG_3919.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNz2sMJsm-uBF9G6tslJaEx6tvHiKmaNgaRedI8-r9xRlYNoS5481CeMPHkmYNUb-Tv-cKKTg7y64AuvAycJ3mo8s1327QhPmG157kTbRAXxJasrmT6WQTvyv_9Ezubp88gG7JmFAsKkB9/s640/IMG_3919.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>All of the very smallest items located by the XP 150 in six hours. Nothing here is especially small in my terms.</b></td></tr>
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The third session would turn out to be something of an eye-opener. I decided to run the B1 through my own footsteps from the previous sessions and of course, I expected to have a tough time locating enough targets to keep me going. I needn't have worried. From the outset, I was kept very busy indeed! There were targets everywhere, and a few were located actually in a footstep in the soil!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvL_ZF_buD6bK5vECCUZdl5u-L9DVLZTT8IBrxTJuofNR7l_KlTvii3URueNoVbqB2q-dZTGbDY1HzVCRP0bcXC6TvlUSg17DeacOgIIIbaN8GV2Qfu3SXGMnlOyPUPtW_YNANlUeKezr/s1600/IMG_3921.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvL_ZF_buD6bK5vECCUZdl5u-L9DVLZTT8IBrxTJuofNR7l_KlTvii3URueNoVbqB2q-dZTGbDY1HzVCRP0bcXC6TvlUSg17DeacOgIIIbaN8GV2Qfu3SXGMnlOyPUPtW_YNANlUeKezr/s640/IMG_3921.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>These are all of the very smallest items located by the Laser B1 in just three hours. Some of the fragments are truly minuscule and yet the machine gave clear signals for almost every single one</b></td></tr>
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This was remarkable to me. What I was finding were the tiny items that the XP had rejected. I have always known that the B1 is a most capable machine but this was unexpected evidence of its great strength. What I believe had happened was this. The XP seeks deep, and on clean ground runs far deeper than the B1 is capable of. However, when fighting contaminated ground with lots of iron debris within it, it seems to switch into 'big' mode and runs shallow. So I had cleared many of the obvious targets with the XP and was now locating everything else that was not so obvious with the B1 which positively excels under such conditions.</div>
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Not a problem! Two machines that work complementary to each other!</div>
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If however, I had just the XP as my sole machine, I would have never have found these small items.</div>
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When the three hours were up I had located just over a hundred targets and had pocketed three branded shirt buttons (the best ever for the XP is two in the one session while the B1 always locates at least this) and yet another toy. This was a soldier and the first from the site. Unfortunately, he is both headless and legless.</div>
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Nevermind. These unexpected and delightful collections of mine ever grow!</div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-66074542753258632062019-11-04T03:30:00.004-08:002019-11-05T11:43:34.018-08:00Abbey Cottages — Over the Wire! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One sunny August morning I'd arrived on-site, leant my bike against the barbed wire fence, and then started detecting in the thicket.<br />
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Just as soon as I had, an ancient Land Rover turned up and out jumped an equally ancient, but sprightly and vivacious woman ...<br />
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Dressed in ragged skirts and apron, woolly jumpers, a tattered and torn waxed-jacket with a blue headscarf (that may indeed have been a tea towel!) tied by a kneck knot around her head, and for footwear, sporting wellington boots with the tops turned down ... she was the absolute spit of a Van Gogh peasant.<br />
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Quite a picture she was!<br />
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Opening the gate to the cattle field, she drove into ...</div>
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Was this the Queen of England? Or was she my landowner?! </div>
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I thought that, she must be the latter, and that I'd better introduce myself sharpish while I had the chance, explain what I was up to and then ask outright for permission to use my detector in the ground across the now hated barbed-wire fence ...<br />
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I called out to her in my best voice just as if she were the Queen of England, said my hello's, and then we started talking — and to my satisfaction — once I was convinced that she was indeed queen of this land and a generous one too, and I'd convinced her that I was indeed a madman but only a harmless one, she said that she'd give permission readily if only I would do her one small, tiny, tiny, incy, wincy little favour ...<br />
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I agreed! Without knowing quite what kind of favour it was that I was agreeing to ...</div>
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She beckoned me into the field, opened the tailgate of the old jaloppy, told me to get in the back, sit atop the pile of mangelwurzels there and pitch one out every five seconds as she drove around the bumpy hoof-pocked field.<br />
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I did as I was told!<br />
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And when we were done, the cattle, who had been absent all the while, began ambling back from an out-of-sight field down by the river and proceeded to chomp down on their breakfasts.</div>
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Having secured my permission, and with the cattle well away from the house site, I ambled back to the bike only to find that it was gone. I'd left my gear in the thicket but discovered, thankfully, that it was still where I'd left it. And so my new permission had cost me dearly — and to the tune of a sore backside, a mountain bike and a long walk back home! </div>
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I had not lost my precious C-Scope 770D (with radical modifications!) which had stood me in such good stead over the past few years, and so I took this all in good humour and set back to work. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px; text-align: justify;"><b> Hair ornaments? Silver-plated copper-alloy. 59mm x 44mm.</b></td></tr>
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I found that the soil in this new patch of mine had been somewhat modified by the hooves, the urine and the droppings of the cattle and to my initial dismay that copper-alloy items were often found broken, distorted, or in a corroded state. However, it was to prove worthwhile. Not everything was damaged but the chances were much higher than I had experienced previously when most everything had come out the ground in superb condition.<br />
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The womenfolk of the house had been noticeably absent from the finds record in the thicket and on the ramp, but as the days and weeks passed I began to find the evidence of them in the form of costume jewellery and other small trinkets. Two identical copper-alloy items, that I think are probably a pair of hair ornaments, were found nearby to each other but on separate occasions. They were in very different states of preservation (as you can see above) where one example is quite corroded whilst the second example is not at all and retains traces of silvering.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQUAV-_rOqqEVKeU4kU41FdrekWoAiSsAdmzSrNvuYobuSsuZHEeeUuFGIbMYBhIUmiF_bS365mlnwoiIW7JwnNlajGcarA5DZDv9nyf4YALWHCE7xEARrH7Qd9ELS82CPx5iSSE8q3nM/s1600/fullsizeoutput_14f5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="1600" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQUAV-_rOqqEVKeU4kU41FdrekWoAiSsAdmzSrNvuYobuSsuZHEeeUuFGIbMYBhIUmiF_bS365mlnwoiIW7JwnNlajGcarA5DZDv9nyf4YALWHCE7xEARrH7Qd9ELS82CPx5iSSE8q3nM/s640/fullsizeoutput_14f5.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The rings on my left pinky. These are rings are small.</b></td></tr>
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There were also three small finger rings of gilt-brass, two of which were broken and one complete and in good shape but missing its stone. These were as feminine a find that I could have made because they were certainly not made for men or boys.<br />
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Of course, I was to find more thimbles but thimbles were not necessarily the sole property of women, were they? I also found lots more buttons (I would eventually amass a collection of 40 specimens) which comprised of dandy buttons, military and service buttons but also small closed-back jacket buttons that did appear to be feminine.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_horSbOFPhBI7hSZzXOoDgosMz78kuJHGL3ASAGUwRwMHdkrsN2tDgEng6PZtdglWjedmQdj2enpnif54GDneodKmGYrF0sKbapfuiL4gx7lhKAVjP1Fr090b2RKFY_MqrHp5tYPdnL15/s1600/fullsizeoutput_14f3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1600" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_horSbOFPhBI7hSZzXOoDgosMz78kuJHGL3ASAGUwRwMHdkrsN2tDgEng6PZtdglWjedmQdj2enpnif54GDneodKmGYrF0sKbapfuiL4gx7lhKAVjP1Fr090b2RKFY_MqrHp5tYPdnL15/s640/fullsizeoutput_14f3.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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One morning I discovered an item that at the time I hoped might eventually lead me to the name of the man of the house. This was a rectangular brass from a leather horse harness, and better, it was engraved with the owners initials and later I also found a circular martingale brass but this was a straightforward fretted example in the form of the sun or a star.</div>
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Thereafter, I called my man of the house, 'Bill Cobb'!</div>
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I thought that to be a name suiting such a country gentleman as him. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdm6i7PDfOx4m0yqnC7gL3nIhSXpF7-d8ceRJ2KUjkfAf618kwKhg2K5BuRIzhGQEn3lcqEKvzV7LKN_N1hpt-IlIGjSmmB6GeQjYuO7W7JTDXItNaB9WznH4TrlCZhn84SaKUpU7me9us/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1505.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdm6i7PDfOx4m0yqnC7gL3nIhSXpF7-d8ceRJ2KUjkfAf618kwKhg2K5BuRIzhGQEn3lcqEKvzV7LKN_N1hpt-IlIGjSmmB6GeQjYuO7W7JTDXItNaB9WznH4TrlCZhn84SaKUpU7me9us/s640/fullsizeoutput_1505.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-83235071819390606872019-10-31T07:07:00.004-07:002019-11-02T03:11:00.461-07:00End of Month Round Up — October 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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October has been an exciting but frustrating month for me. Finds wise, it has not been anywhere near so productive as September was, and I guess that is only because I have not been out so very much.</div>
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Other concerns have taken over!</div>
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However, let's look at what finds I have made this month and try to make some sort of sense out of them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJsfAQmbmsQZZoyK3RKN1pxw5TWKaZsHeXZpxAJZj6-wFFCZ8IMTojtlEKqd_p0RHi_OqBhSDJkln6CleOE1OW0l1UFvBcqkDMeipmd4QxpbeqtOAsxSEy1rFkgaqxYIi6xLlHdoQmCtu/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1422.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJsfAQmbmsQZZoyK3RKN1pxw5TWKaZsHeXZpxAJZj6-wFFCZ8IMTojtlEKqd_p0RHi_OqBhSDJkln6CleOE1OW0l1UFvBcqkDMeipmd4QxpbeqtOAsxSEy1rFkgaqxYIi6xLlHdoQmCtu/s640/fullsizeoutput_1422.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The toy production of Polly's Parlour has slowed down somewhat. Actually, it's not that the finds of toys have slowed down, but rather that the size of them has diminished. I am still finding them but except for a brass teetotum (shown above alongside a very early example in ivory), all the rest have been small fragments of hollow-cast Victorian pewter equestrian examples. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I have found another horses' arse since the picture below was taken...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY64C4RjVrAIiWQgaN68Qh6UALszyC48A88hhg9Oir3ZaspCWB_s0nCw1ypKFKOLTmwu2qDtCZhPy81M6QouG3MMKQDAqIsZoqo2OkiFg4G198rsSvLPHJ3bsPPMlA_XM_UM4Zcub9gYjI/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1450.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY64C4RjVrAIiWQgaN68Qh6UALszyC48A88hhg9Oir3ZaspCWB_s0nCw1ypKFKOLTmwu2qDtCZhPy81M6QouG3MMKQDAqIsZoqo2OkiFg4G198rsSvLPHJ3bsPPMlA_XM_UM4Zcub9gYjI/s640/fullsizeoutput_1450.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I have to say that the production of shirt buttons from Polly's Parlour has fallen hugely as has the production of silver items. This is cause for concern. I have used the XP ADX130 there throughout the month but not once the Laser B1. What this might mean is that the XP is just not such a good machine when it comes to sites that are laced with iron debris. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQ_X2rx2munAProlOUsMFFXC8Aw8YcwmBGrcm1I8oSRzO2D5ls_IxsbwYqtvg2lUMRi-z8lzCW5KmV56DWE1XdF2SshgKJ0gQGKof8jp0Mas0RIJ9Z414mLPbbm74NyzTNMyPOuB72UUx/s1600/IMG_1909.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="1600" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQ_X2rx2munAProlOUsMFFXC8Aw8YcwmBGrcm1I8oSRzO2D5ls_IxsbwYqtvg2lUMRi-z8lzCW5KmV56DWE1XdF2SshgKJ0gQGKof8jp0Mas0RIJ9Z414mLPbbm74NyzTNMyPOuB72UUx/s640/IMG_1909.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The two examples at the bottom were found elsewhere. </b></td></tr>
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I cannot blame the machine for not finding silver — except for the find of a Sterling silver watch casing, maybe I just failed to walk over other items made from it? However, when using the Laser B1 during September I was finding shirt buttons each and every visit and in number. By the end of September, I had amassed an 'accidental' collection of thirteen examples and saw no reason why the trend should peter out. The XP, by comparison, has only given me another on every other visit throughout the month and so I have added only another three to what I once thought would be an ever-growing collection.</div>
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These buttons are about the same size as Medieval pennies are ... </div>
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I once had a site that over time produced eleven short cross pennies in total and a few cut coins also. I had to work hard for them but was always completely confident that if one of these coins was in range then the B1 would find it even if it was on edge. It's so very important to trust your detector to do this for you ...</div>
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This is not a good sign! </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I think, therefore, that the Laser B1 lives up to its reputation as a formidable machine. It is one that excels with very small items and is also one that is still capable of beating modern detectors on busy and trashy sites. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">No fool would ever sell one, and I am not one of those! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvX6BxHQuAsZF_Z1sbnnmvAxdUfOLKtK0QG8U5_Iq_5xq5b-hbeYWJ5VlWa20sRonBGp8dAFYodiD0iHcEqMZEBe3VKxDWbcaZ5Os30XLXCXcuVM3dNbwTDTpg6xrlExIiaz-ZCwm-XzrV/s1600/fullsizeoutput_144a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvX6BxHQuAsZF_Z1sbnnmvAxdUfOLKtK0QG8U5_Iq_5xq5b-hbeYWJ5VlWa20sRonBGp8dAFYodiD0iHcEqMZEBe3VKxDWbcaZ5Os30XLXCXcuVM3dNbwTDTpg6xrlExIiaz-ZCwm-XzrV/s640/fullsizeoutput_144a.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdPWwgS_tU_QTU8OIZAvhTJ-dDzb565NzNRBzWgaxQIZzBKC-hUIIU6dfq3IbVpXsgxLo-uY2Pvz6epEs9blRmepmypk-6hLBxqb25xuut2WrMf6siOC9kxyoJsRU7MOhAYcN9XmCgnIJ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1447.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdPWwgS_tU_QTU8OIZAvhTJ-dDzb565NzNRBzWgaxQIZzBKC-hUIIU6dfq3IbVpXsgxLo-uY2Pvz6epEs9blRmepmypk-6hLBxqb25xuut2WrMf6siOC9kxyoJsRU7MOhAYcN9XmCgnIJ/s640/fullsizeoutput_1447.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I did find a number of odd artefacts. Above is a fragment of something that I cannot quite imagine. It's in bronze or brass or latten or bell metal, or something. It is too clean to be ancient — however it looks to be so, does it not?</div>
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Length - 37mm.</div>
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It can keep. The truth will out!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhOxuUOtQy4Pza74jVxttpF1-cj3aQx8y0BnhI0v5Ec0_m-4QKkAs8O_dx1znkK7CVUydC_F7CqUA-Jc5w3AGC0bHxwvfNVeW3gRi9XiGT0ZYnsK65BakLe8Ji8jehxwsnpvZQlC7RO5c/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1436.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhOxuUOtQy4Pza74jVxttpF1-cj3aQx8y0BnhI0v5Ec0_m-4QKkAs8O_dx1znkK7CVUydC_F7CqUA-Jc5w3AGC0bHxwvfNVeW3gRi9XiGT0ZYnsK65BakLe8Ji8jehxwsnpvZQlC7RO5c/s640/fullsizeoutput_1436.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Two items found within a few feet of each other (with the B1) would prove to be the most interesting things that I would discover on an organised dig down in Berkshire. One is a small base-silver mount (about the same size as a Saxon sceat) that could be Medieval — or anything really! It has no means of attachment on the reverse, which is simply hollow, and therefore it must have been inset into a recess in wood, maybe leather or even another metal and attached by a mastic.</div>
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The other item is an equally confusing thing. It is decorated with the same design on both sides, therefore it is almost certainly part of a handle that would be viewed from both sides.</div>
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But it is the handle from what? A mirror, a spoon, a ladle, a frying pan. Who knows?</div>
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I have no idea ...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmb5I-_YPFvnzVJZ05Rpvh8wKnSVWRvC1ZX63iGqJPPXJ1mE9P5fz6cBTQEC3kA5JlKYdHqa8n3LzMp-JBkxEhOu7oTbGZ_mLqCNsemQ6eNgnTbtjBKXUWV9IhrcHyeRjKwod2kgoWItPz/s1600/IMG_1720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmb5I-_YPFvnzVJZ05Rpvh8wKnSVWRvC1ZX63iGqJPPXJ1mE9P5fz6cBTQEC3kA5JlKYdHqa8n3LzMp-JBkxEhOu7oTbGZ_mLqCNsemQ6eNgnTbtjBKXUWV9IhrcHyeRjKwod2kgoWItPz/s640/IMG_1720.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QM8wOJeR-XQBDM2hl2Wu5xT5PUgO0Hu99-1tcf-2T-wxtcklKojIJoLoz3s13OYslP2M_oFOEWxFgUAv84sJy__uLwTu6aYJ-Z0u0v1yAR_cfXuneyjt8ZxLLywFt10RBUcL3asG4iof/s1600/IMG_1722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QM8wOJeR-XQBDM2hl2Wu5xT5PUgO0Hu99-1tcf-2T-wxtcklKojIJoLoz3s13OYslP2M_oFOEWxFgUAv84sJy__uLwTu6aYJ-Z0u0v1yAR_cfXuneyjt8ZxLLywFt10RBUcL3asG4iof/s640/IMG_1722.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Lastly was an inscrutable object that looked all the world like a Medieval folding mirror case when discovered covered in wet and sloppy mud on a rainy October day out and about in the deer park of a moated house. The XP proved itself capable on this old pasture field and I had no doubt that it would pull up items at great depths. </div>
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It was very quiet and signals few and far between, however, almost all were from worthwhile finds and only a few were from trash items. Most of these finds were coins once lost along an old footpath. Dating from the 18th till the early 20th century, they were all pretty deep down in the topsoil at between six and ten inches. The subsoil itself was found only twelve inches below the surface and so I doubt that it has ever been ploughed. </div>
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When I moved away from the footpath then signals became very thin on the ground indeed. But then I came to an area — a low but noticeable hump — when iron chatter began and here and there I got signals from larger iron objects. Clearly, I'd found a place where something had gone on in the past. That is where the mystery object came from. I went back to see if I could find the other half of it but failed to. It will be a shame if I never do because I think that it will provide a solution to the problem of identification. </div>
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What the hell it really is, I just don't know.</div>
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It's the right size and is in the form of a mirror case. However, it is not one of those, I think.</div>
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But it's a folding thingy of some kind ...</div>
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I reckon!</div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-48449351046023565812019-10-24T06:43:00.001-07:002019-10-24T07:47:35.062-07:00Abbey Cottages — Evidence Emerging!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After my initial exploration of the area available to search in front of the barbed wire fence, I wanted to see if finds would continue beyond it because I thought that they must. And so I pushed the search coil through the fence and scanned the surface in all-metal mode. Sure enough, the ground was alive with iron signals. However, I did not have permission to dig there! </div>
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On the subject of iron, the ground that I had worked thus far had been laced with it to the point of saturation. Quite how I'd managed to retrieve anything worthwhile seemed astonishing, but I had. I then decided that I must set to work cleaning the soil of objects of iron that were masking better finds. Up from the ground came chunk after chunk of cast iron drainpipe. </div>
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This may have been hard toil, but this iron junk was the clear evidence that once upon a time a house had stood there and what I'd dug up were objects lost and discarded in its gardens. Now the site had started to make some sense. No longer were these Georgian and Victorian objects just the random losses made by picnickers reclining idly beside a pretty pond, but were those periodic but continual losses of a family who had lived and most probably worked at this lake throughout the entirety of the 19th century. </div>
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I imagined a game-keeper who had once served as an officer during the Napoleonic wars as master of this house. The musket balls alone seemed evidence of him and the military button too, but when I found the trigger guard of his flintlock musket, I really began to feel his presence. </div>
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<b>This trigger guard lacks any means for attachment for the shoulder strap</b></div>
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<b>and therefore was probably not from a military 'Brown Bess' </b><b>musket </b><b>but</b></div>
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<b>rather a wildfowling gun. (</b><b>The </b><b>barrel to your left — stock to your right)</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Because I had yet to gain access to the cattle field, I soldiered on in the thicket for many weeks and in that time made many pleasant discoveries. I suppose the best thing was that items had lain in garden soil for over a century at the very least and for almost two centuries for the earliest finds. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: white;">This soil was basically river gravel but with a great deal of added organic material that I imagined got there by way of manuring over a very long period of time. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Whoever had lived there had certainly tended their gardens dutifully because t</span><span style="background-color: white;">he soil they'd created was friable, so rich that it was almost black in colour, and smelled so good that I swore that I could eat it! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Because of these admirable qualities, it had preserved most copper alloy items beautifully. Almost everything made in copper or bronze or brass possessed the same smooth dark green patina and very little of it was corroded or encrusted. In fact, sometimes it was so very good that just a quick rub between the fingers would expose a completely clean find and I never really had to scrub clean anything back at home.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">As for coinage, well, what I'd found of it had tied in with the artefacts very neatly indeed and ranged from George I till late in the reign of late Victoria. However, the earlier 18th-century coins were all very worn and</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"> so these were not proof of much. They could have been lost a century later than their striking, or even more. The latest coin found was a Victoria old-head penny of 1896 in quite worn condition and so this was an early 20th century loss — but not one single Edwardian coin had yet been discovered.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">I could not imagine origins much earlier than the turn of the 19th Century even if some of the objects found suggested otherwise. The best of the coins dated the site rather well. A George III 1807 halfpenny (above) and farthing of the same date were in such lightly circulated condition that both must have been lost shortly after their strike date. And so I thought that these two coins were the earliest clear evidence for dating purposes and showed that the cottages certainly stood there by 1810-15.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">However, digging up material evidence for dating a site is a nebulous thing. Who knows what has been missed? I thought gaining documentary evidence to be a more certain gambit, and I had the means ...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">I had access to a full-scale (and perhaps original) copy of the immensely useful and informative, John Chapman & Peter Andre 1777 map of Essex, which was held in a large cabinet in Romford Library and from which I'd derived a great deal of information in the past about my previous 'best site' and its surroundings. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">I went to town and took a fresh look at the map. Abbey Cottages did not appear upon it and so I believed that they could not have existed prior to its creation. And so, with map evidence backing up my initial findings, I concluded that these cottages were indeed built at around the turn of the 19th Century.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Having established a number of things to my satisfaction I found that I now had a new mission to accomplish — for I had seen the clear evidence of the master of the house emerge from the ground, and, by way of a single tiny, tiny thimble, also one of his daughters — but I had yet to find any clear evidence of the matriarch. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">At that point, this was the most interesting thing ...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DMH-IGmxZkPV0WsqIubEyhZqwKVr9LzNjiNHnXek9Mt6zH_OzXYN3JW3yL-B9D1NMPwoSLYsNG4s7mq6YQ01bjV_K5j59UMpvuL7ZMG67iKL2GVPAMlunI1v_4WlL9DCJ4WbEgPckFiK/s1600/64430b2dae3fa0fa10969101a09c44c2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DMH-IGmxZkPV0WsqIubEyhZqwKVr9LzNjiNHnXek9Mt6zH_OzXYN3JW3yL-B9D1NMPwoSLYsNG4s7mq6YQ01bjV_K5j59UMpvuL7ZMG67iKL2GVPAMlunI1v_4WlL9DCJ4WbEgPckFiK/s640/64430b2dae3fa0fa10969101a09c44c2.jpg" width="464" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://map-of-essex.uk/" target="_blank">John Chapman & Peter André map of Essex, 1777</a></span></div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-30505143332952488912019-10-18T06:22:00.000-07:002019-10-24T06:00:01.748-07:00Abbey Cottages — Discovery!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: justify;">It is my intention to write an account here of my discovery and subsequent exploration of a single period site located in Rainham, Essex, which dated from </span><span style="text-align: justify;">probably the</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> early 19th-century and which terminated at some time in the early 20th century. I will also endeavour to picture and catalogue all the finds made on the site over the time that I spent there because I hope that this will be a valuable resource for those interested in rural working class domestic life during the 19th Century. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The site was capped during landscaping work later on in the 1990's and now lays beneath a great deal of extra imported soil. This protects it, but at the time this meant that no further work could take place and so I did not manage to retrieve much in the way of pottery. Nevertheless, what I did discover in the way of metallic objects tells a story that I think is necessary to record. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkAzIuBvHKAuPb0gXOgjNDVE0ucDy1VDhjCwVvnI_b-8yiNJKw3_5nfdp6Pj0ZV7cEsvN8FhO2qDfnozZboyXHefLiZzdd-zPJW9O5lilMh-UtVdQxwlTc1ZB0qJ3qSi8WBzDPm7DCswz/s1600/Screenshot+2019-10-16+13.42.14.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="755" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkAzIuBvHKAuPb0gXOgjNDVE0ucDy1VDhjCwVvnI_b-8yiNJKw3_5nfdp6Pj0ZV7cEsvN8FhO2qDfnozZboyXHefLiZzdd-zPJW9O5lilMh-UtVdQxwlTc1ZB0qJ3qSi8WBzDPm7DCswz/s640/Screenshot+2019-10-16+13.42.14.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Abbey Cottages once stood at Abbey Wood by Berwick Pond and were built upon a low gravel hillock set in marshy land close to the River Ingrebourne. When I stumbled upon the plot one day in 1993 the cottages had been long demolished. There was nothing visible to suggest that they had ever existed and only by following a trail of finds along the trackway which once led to them did I discover the evidence of them.</div>
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I was out on my bike prospecting for a new site to work on. I came to what I knew was a very old lake, thought that it looked a good place to search, and so I asked the fishery bailiff if I might and he gave permission. There were a few small fields to go at, but firstly, I tried detecting on the wide grass verge of the trackway that led from the main road along which anglers parked their cars. To my surprise, I did not locate lead fishing weights as I had expected to, but immediately made finds of late 18th and 19th-century date and these were mostly thimbles and 'dandy' buttons.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPGcEvyWAnbWzVGX9W_VHDyQxtIA5vkVDP3Xp0VOsIzpG5QcK1DOJ5xueEGzCJCvIdLh16Fj-8yqXjH3f3yBp5zutRYR2oWmrd4NFOg8ZgVCH9S6_kIIT_8DqdGTBHI1x678a2JLAxStG/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1461.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPGcEvyWAnbWzVGX9W_VHDyQxtIA5vkVDP3Xp0VOsIzpG5QcK1DOJ5xueEGzCJCvIdLh16Fj-8yqXjH3f3yBp5zutRYR2oWmrd4NFOg8ZgVCH9S6_kIIT_8DqdGTBHI1x678a2JLAxStG/s640/fullsizeoutput_1461.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The trail of these finds petered out in the eastward direction but strengthened in the westward, and so I continued to follow it in that direction and eventually arrived at what appeared to be a gravel vehicle ramp ... </div>
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To the left of this 'ramp' was a dense thicket of thorn bushes and to the right-hand side was a steep drop-off with a small field that was full of cattle about five or six feet below. It terminated at a roughly made barbed-wire fence beyond which I beheld a positively lunar landscape. The ground had been churned up everywhere by the hooves of the cattle who clearly had free access to the area, and here and there were sorry looking spindly bushes nibbled to near extinction. </div>
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I concentrated upon the ramp for the remainder of the afternoon continuing to find buttons — but they were not at all easy to dig. The ground was highly compacted and it was a lot of effort recovering anything. It was time well spent, though. For their age, they were all preserved in truly excellent condition and when an 18th-century Sheffield plate military button came along I was best pleased.</div>
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At home, I pondered these novel discoveries and decided to return to the ramp the very next day. The recovery of finds dropped off fairly quickly, of course, and so I was forced into the thicket where I spent the rest of the morning struggling through it. However, the finds rate rose considerably when I found myself digging musket ball after musket ball and all spread across one small area. I must have found ten before I found anything else (eventually amassing a collection of at least fifty of them) but I thought it to be well worth all the effort expended. </div>
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I remember having to really struggle with one signal which was gotten at arm's length through a particularly prickly bramble bush. Finally, I got my trowel in, dug around through the thick leaf mould and managed to recover it from the topsoil. I expected yet another musket ball to be hiding inside the clod of hard-won soil clenched safely in my left hand but was surprised to see a truly lovely object fall into the palm of the right ...</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Here was a find to get the heart racing — a Georgian fob seal! It was in such lovely condition, with traces of gilding in every recess and where the gilt had rubbed through to brass, the most gorgeous, lush dark-green patina. And it was complete, too! It still held its white stone intaglio, which was carved with a little crouched rabbit or hare. I thought to myself, that without any inscription that would give away the name of the erstwhile owner, that this animal must be a hare after all, and the loser — a Mr or Mrs Hare ... </span></div>
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O'Hare, even! </div>
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I pocketed this find and continued on, only to be arrested in my tracks a short while later by the worrying sight of a pair of approaching police officers. I really thought that I was about to be chucked off-site. Fortunately, it turned out that they had had other business to attend to which had led them nowhere fast and now they'd found an interest in what I was up to. We talked for some time about the finds that I had made, and curiously one seemed to know something (if not much!) about them.</div>
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I could not work this out for some time; bemused to be in conversation at such a level of understanding with a member of the constabulary — but what I had failed to apprehend until an introduction was made, was that this knowledgeable officer was a detectorist too and was also a member of my local detecting club. We'd already met in civvies!</div>
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People can look so utterly 'other' when in uniform, can't they?</div>
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<b style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; text-align: start;"><i>1. Dixon Noonan Webb</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , "lucida" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Raised in March 1794 by Montague Burgoyne, of Harlow, the Essex Light Dragoons saw service in Ireland at the time of the French invasion in 1798. It was disembodied sometime in 1799 and, to mark the occasion each officer and man who had served throughout the regiment’s existence was presented with a medal by their Commanding Officer.</span></i></span><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , "lucida" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , "lucida" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"><i><b style="font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">2. History of the Essex Yeomanry</b><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">In 1794, six Troops of the ‘Loyal Essex Regiment of Fencible Cavalry’ were formed from the Harlow area, to be later renamed ‘The Essex Light Dragoons’, against threats of a French invasion with landings on the Essex Coast. In 1797 the 1st Essex Yeomanry Cavalry Troop was raised, in Coopersale, followed by the Chelmsford Hundred Yeomanry: by 1798 there were fifteen such Yeomanry Cavalry Troops throughout Essex named, in many cases, after the village, district or landowner where they raised</span></i></span></div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-84258198824036637272019-10-15T05:20:00.002-07:002019-10-17T19:20:08.251-07:00The Park — Yet Another Most Curious Object<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Yesterday was wet. Very wet. I had decided to go out early on the pasture once again but was delayed and so with rain predicted to arrive in Coventry around the two o'clock mark, I decided to dress up for the occasion and go out regardless. The field was mine for once with the sheep all congregated at the far end and the cattle making their way to the cattle shed. Super!</span></div>
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I decided to stick to the footpath that once ran along the border of the field. I'd found a button and a coin at some depth on my first trial dig there, had been forced off the second time around, but now I would be able to see if more of the same would be found. The answer was affirmative and I dug four coins, one after the other. All were at depths from six to ten inches and I was pleased to be able to convert some very faint and even scratchy signals into worthwhile recoveries. I was also pleased that a halfpenny found at around the eight-inch mark gave a very clear signal indeed.<br />
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And I have to say that I was also, also, pleased that these finds of coins from this field were following a logical pattern. A linear pattern. A footpath pattern. The kind of pattern that the annual ploughing of fields muddles with so much that nothing is ever so clear cut ...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw92acks3ZiBMo6wNtTwa1yjRqRCJNYTWkBSwTjta9f0bR-_cV0sIR-aadgbAchvHLk-kARTOKcNn0VTs_OD92je2VfTGV9Rp19t1koiHpXXzDl_ZG4G7m8goDZ5O1MhdyaP41vLzewdgq/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1451.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw92acks3ZiBMo6wNtTwa1yjRqRCJNYTWkBSwTjta9f0bR-_cV0sIR-aadgbAchvHLk-kARTOKcNn0VTs_OD92je2VfTGV9Rp19t1koiHpXXzDl_ZG4G7m8goDZ5O1MhdyaP41vLzewdgq/s640/fullsizeoutput_1451.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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One thing that I have noticed about the XP ADX150 is that signals do not improve much in either clarity or loudness when the first clod of earth is removed. This would be normal for the Laser <span style="background-color: white;">B1, whose signals always seem to improve by doing this. Nevertheless, the field is very quiet and when signals are encountered no matter how uncertain they may sound once the hole is deepened, I have found that I might as well continue digging just to see what happens. </span><span style="background-color: white;">I would not have recovered the deepest coin if I had not ...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">A few other old scraps were found amongst which was part of a broken 18th buckle, but there wasn't much modern trash to contend with — and that is a very good sign! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKaUMROpnh_6U2n7psPhyphenhyphenN1Xt8udLoiKQ83nKlVlS8_cs2yzaABSaplehJjDRyCAJu9ZKHZZZe3or8iYP_i6S99T7HLA0KkHVQ6AMBZwLcX77BzukMQtPUkfCvKY2JQ6shqDGR-5-QXDIt/s1600/IMG_1711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKaUMROpnh_6U2n7psPhyphenhyphenN1Xt8udLoiKQ83nKlVlS8_cs2yzaABSaplehJjDRyCAJu9ZKHZZZe3or8iYP_i6S99T7HLA0KkHVQ6AMBZwLcX77BzukMQtPUkfCvKY2JQ6shqDGR-5-QXDIt/s640/IMG_1711.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Only when I ventured out into the middle of the field did I turn up an interesting artefact. At first, I really thought that I'd found one half of a Medieval folding mirror case. It was just the right size and shape but even covered in wet sticky mud I could see that if it was one of those, then it was also a very unusual one indeed. Another addition to my growing collection of </span><span style="text-align: left;">Most Curious Object</span><span style="background-color: white;">s, perhaps?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrgjwGz0xBL60gNn_ibmXVGzbrF15ZfnIw-jidW5j961cM2CmWQd9yfTsHy8abw4GNyGavpgdkAyG_RZezBIh40rXU31vRYazeqz9kQk3s9oET5vWJTq8ch-8EadNB1o-Mc68Vvo4tapE/s1600/IMG_1715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrgjwGz0xBL60gNn_ibmXVGzbrF15ZfnIw-jidW5j961cM2CmWQd9yfTsHy8abw4GNyGavpgdkAyG_RZezBIh40rXU31vRYazeqz9kQk3s9oET5vWJTq8ch-8EadNB1o-Mc68Vvo4tapE/s640/IMG_1715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj61si7NvUqlTxAPMyq4NbfWKiMsZQVgp18wOy43JlxmwRC7ieuAoqgoKwrzyx3UB6H8Eh6Btvs8cSoM0wMsfQ8wO9vbXZrXeZNVIO-5fe3BHO-P54JJqBe2yFHbQpV33T7Jh5K7MQI6Ta/s1600/IMG_1721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj61si7NvUqlTxAPMyq4NbfWKiMsZQVgp18wOy43JlxmwRC7ieuAoqgoKwrzyx3UB6H8Eh6Btvs8cSoM0wMsfQ8wO9vbXZrXeZNVIO-5fe3BHO-P54JJqBe2yFHbQpV33T7Jh5K7MQI6Ta/s640/IMG_1721.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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At the moment I am confused about this object. It is the right size and is the right form for a folding mirror case of Medieval date and viewed from one direction is really looks like one. However, viewed from the reverse side it has the most curious 'attachments' riveted upon it. They look like claws! Also, it possesses one remaining lug and the remains of another which suggest that some kind of brooch pin once existed. That, or something similar.</div>
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Given the date of the other finds made, I am going with Post-Medieval and some kind of folding pocket thingy. That's my best shot at the moment, I'm afraid.</div>
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Now I'm going out to see if I can find the other half, which if it comes and I hope that it does, may clarify matters somewhat! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8szVECAAYASM8_h0dQKRqYjRNe2FJb7gYVJqtRILeagVYgJPF7WG-R9IIaXV1gynX26Qqf81TlZsYMvEODAynQN8wSxhr9uRMncCotbkeIvj3u6wZvNGr8cBWjNdoKApG7JG9C9Mxb47/s1600/IMG_1718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8szVECAAYASM8_h0dQKRqYjRNe2FJb7gYVJqtRILeagVYgJPF7WG-R9IIaXV1gynX26Qqf81TlZsYMvEODAynQN8wSxhr9uRMncCotbkeIvj3u6wZvNGr8cBWjNdoKApG7JG9C9Mxb47/s640/IMG_1718.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-90268336025609970622019-10-14T05:15:00.001-07:002019-10-15T05:50:48.449-07:00The Park — Pasture ... Oh, Lovely Pasture!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Oh, lovely pasture!</div>
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I'd forgotten just how lovely pasture land could be ...</div>
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I'd also forgotten about the very many frustrations that it might impose upon the detectorist!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSlnL9GOjtfxUivbByvcF8PnlkFDRY8As6GWWtr8_y5VNYJDW8dwUoGyI3m9rVU01fXCpwpaN-IV4ge_2eh16COWn8gRvUjZhQqDyoUziy0CoBGyrOfzTVlTZxPUwJ6bzXqDGoXAjjhgT/s1600/IMG_1651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSlnL9GOjtfxUivbByvcF8PnlkFDRY8As6GWWtr8_y5VNYJDW8dwUoGyI3m9rVU01fXCpwpaN-IV4ge_2eh16COWn8gRvUjZhQqDyoUziy0CoBGyrOfzTVlTZxPUwJ6bzXqDGoXAjjhgT/s640/IMG_1651.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The pasture land that we have, consists of two large fields one of which is poorly preserved ridge and furrow and the other was once part of the deer park surrounding a Medieval moated house. Promising, you might say, but just because both fields have Medieval usage written all over them, this means very little. They may still prove to contain not very much in the way of Medieval material.</div>
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There are also two smaller fields, one of which is tiny and was my first port of call. There I dug modern detritus at the full depth of the topsoil — and so I let it be! The second small field was quiet and when I dug a WW2 webbing buckle at eight-inches I thought that to be about right for an item of such a date. I then tried the deer park field which was quiet also, but then I spotted a lone sheep away from the flock and defending a feed trough. Of course, this was a ram, and a big boy he was! </div>
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I really don't mind being amongst ewes and lambs. I really don't mind being amongst cows, heifers and calves. I really do mind being anywhere near rams and bulls because they are territorial and will kill to defend what is rightfully theirs — which is the right to procreate!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0GxvTK4ohGZauaut3PF1V0oZPXtudD2WaBDweMGKorolQVuLddbymZa5eveAphHPiZApqfy0jF3LBBcNP-ij8Qq6aqpPfVVjwc8LtDu6HgnDF2_gg9mLa4IsPklgDyRDDbXlVjHqwNFNX/s1600/Screenshot+2019-10-14+13.30.04.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1188" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0GxvTK4ohGZauaut3PF1V0oZPXtudD2WaBDweMGKorolQVuLddbymZa5eveAphHPiZApqfy0jF3LBBcNP-ij8Qq6aqpPfVVjwc8LtDu6HgnDF2_gg9mLa4IsPklgDyRDDbXlVjHqwNFNX/s640/Screenshot+2019-10-14+13.30.04.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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The ram watched me and I watched the ram. I could not concentrate on detecting until I reached the other side of the field and the relative safety of a handy barbed-wire fence that I could dive over should things turn bad. This fence marked the route of an ancient footpath. And so I detected along it hoping to find evidence that the field would give up items of some age and at a reasonable depth. </div>
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It did. A Georgian tunic button at around seven inches depth and a Victoria penny at around nine inches. I was very pleased with this because it may mean that the field will provide ancient items that have not sunk so far down as to be out of range to a deepish-seeking machine such as the XP ADX150.</div>
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And then the cattle, who had been grazing in the ridge and furrow field returned to the deer park. This did not worry me unduly until one of them mounted another when I knew that a bull was on site! And so I departed the field for the one just across the handy barbed-wire fence ... </div>
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Immediately!</div>
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And so, my desired pasture experiment was over before it had really begun...</div>
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This 'safe' field was arable and one that I had detected a few times before. It had not provided much in the way of good finds but what finds it had provided seemed, on average, to be older than those from Polly's Parlour next door. Once again, it lived up to this trend with the occasional Georgian button, some old coinage and other odds and ends — but then, up from the earth came a very interesting fragment of a bronze — err — vessel?</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I'd never seen anything like this. However, I had seen many things that certain elements of its decoration reminded me of. For instance, the background stippling which consists of repetitively punched annulets made with the same tool ... </span></div>
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Punched annulets? What do they say? </div>
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I don't know about you ... but, Medieval and earlier is what they say to me!</div>
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What the 'anchor-shaped' element means I cannot imagine. That it was once part of a larger design is for certain, but what kind of design would that have been? All that I can say is that linear elements in Saxon and Romanesque art were often longitudinally divided by two lines into three parts.</div>
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Also, it is in remarkably good condition if it is indeed of such an age. The metal is so clean that it appears to have been in the ground for just a few tens of years. However, the nearby river was redirected in the late 19th century and once again in the nineteen-eighties when an arterial road was constructed across it. It may have been buried under river gravels for many centuries and then deposited in the field within a load of dredged spoil.<br />
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Bronze items from such a context can stay just as fresh and sharp as the day they were deposited, believe me. But of course, it may just be modern — but if so, then I cannot imagine just what kind of modern object it could be from.</div>
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However, it is whatever it is, and is from whenever it was made, and nothing whatsoever can change that fact!<br />
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But finding that fact?<br />
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We'll see ... </div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-44684194029002618932019-10-07T05:59:00.001-07:002019-10-07T13:01:42.536-07:00A Ploughsharing Upon the Berkshire Downs <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On Sunday morning we went along to an organised dig in Berkshire. This would be Judy's first taste of an extended period of time spent detecting and I was interested to see how she would cope with a full six-hour session. Mind you, having got back into the swing of things only recently, I was just as interested in seeing how I'd cope because a four-hour stint I find quite tiring at the moment. Though I am slowly building stamina, I cannot imagine how I used to cope with sessions lasting six, eight, nine, ten or even twelve hours in length!<br />
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"Youth" you might say?<br />
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Pah! I was already over the hill when I began!</div>
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We'd arrived at the predetermined destination only to find nobody there! We'd then scratched at our heads awhile and then we'd decided that the participants must have decided against detecting in such an exposed location on such a breezy day. They must have decamped to somewhere less unfriendly nearby, we'd thought. We'd then decided to backtrack up the main road whilst I kept a lookout for a hoard of figures winding their ways across a field. Luckily we'd found them in a set of fields at the next village along.</div>
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We chose to start in a field by the main road. Nobody else seemed to want to bother with it and were focussed upon the field right next to the village, for obvious reason. All the fields available were under wheat stubble and the stalks, though just three or four inches tall, were pretty stiff. This is not my idea of detecting heaven and in the past, I would never set foot on such a field unless there really were no better options available. There always were — I had three thousand acres of prime and very productive Essex farmland at my disposal back then.</div>
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It was tough going. I chose to work the tractor tracks so that I could more easily identify areas that might be worthwhile concentrating upon, but Judy proceeded to skim the stalks from the outset. Both of these approaches had their advantages and disadvantages. My approach meant that digging in such compacted stony ground would be a trial of patience while for Judy, digging in the uncompacted high stubble would be relatively easy by comparison. However, she would sacrifice her finds rate by doing so and limit herself to large and surface objects, but I would be able to locate even the tiniest items and find everything that lay in my path.</div>
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After spending four arduous hours in this field we'd had more than enough of it and so we decamped to <span style="background-color: white;">the village </span>pub for lunch and refreshment where we could share thoughts about our first proper plough experience together, when I could show my finds to Judy and most importantly, I could take a gander at the contents of her bulging finds pouch. </div>
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Although I knew full well that Judy's inexperience meant that under such tough conditions she would locate far fewer positive signals than I — I didn't realise that I would retrieve five times as many non-ferrous items as she ...</div>
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This was cause for concern but I really had no idea how to address the issue. I guess that wheat stubble is something that every British detectorist must learn how to cope with but I hadn't banked on such a great discrepancy between our performances. I thought that maybe it was her ADX150 at fault but having already established to my own satisfaction that it is capable of performing just as well (on<span style="background-color: white;"> an </span>average field) as my Laser B1, that thought was put aside. </div>
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I hadn't watched her at work but of course, she had been skimming the top of the stubble and not actually penetrating it very far. She also complained that pinpointing objects would cost her a great deal of time. I asked her how much time on average she thought she'd have to dig in order to locate each signal and she replied ~</div>
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"Maybe five, ten, even fifteen minutes ..." </div>
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She then asked what length of time I would typically spend on digging a target ~</div>
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"Uh, about one minute at most unless it's a tiny, tiny thing!"</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Two items found within a few feet of each other. On the right is a tiny, tiny thing. To my mind, if a detector fails to locate such items as this then it is useless because at just 11mm diameter this little decorated silver mount is the size of a Saxon sceat or tremissis. If you look at the picture of my finds from this day then you will see other items that are even smaller than this and one that is just a third of its size. The Laser B1 has no trouble with such scraps of metal. I don't yet know if the XP ADX150 is up to the job. The larger object is a mystery at this moment. It is decorated on both sides with the same design and so it must be part of the handle for something that would be viewed from either direction. Period? Roman or Georgian, I reckon ... </b></td></tr>
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Now, I had had some trouble with the ADX150 when pinpointing because it has a DD coil while the B1 has a concentric one. They perform very differently, but because I had absolutely no prior experience of using a DD coil, I believed it would work just like a concentric one. You know — it would be exactly on spot every time. It wasn't. Compared to the absolute precision with which the B1 pinpoints targets, the position of the target given by the 150 always seemed uncertain. I had to see a diagram of its search pattern in order to understand why so often I would begin to dig in the wrong place and waste a lot of time by doing so. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Aahh! The sweet, sweet smell of freedom from toil!</b></td></tr>
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After lunch, we moved to another field that had been released around mid-afternoon. People had already come, tried and gone. We met a fella on his way out who'd dug just two signals in an hour! However, this field was perfect because although it would prove to be almost completely devoid of finds it was almost completely clear of stubble and so I could watch Judy at work on a dead flat surface.</div>
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She began by swinging the coil upwards at the end of every pass — bad girl!<br />
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This was soon corrected and then she enjoyed a happy couple of hours under very little physical strain and actually outperformed me by finding three .303 bullets to my one shirt button (a Birmingham branded example no less!) which I thought odd, because earlier I'd found six spent .303 shell casings in the field just across the road ...<br />
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Had they fired at targets placed in this field and through passing traffic, I wondered?<br />
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She even seemed to have mastered pinpointing by close of play. By walking about the signal in all directions she managed to locate the true centre of the signal and thereby spent a great deal less time than she previously had in the necessary job of retrieving her targets quickly. This lesson taught me something important ...</div>
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But at the very last — I outclassed her when I found what I believe may be the first two objects from a significant hoard of the same because they were both located within just a few feet of each other ...</div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-36331444370771293222019-10-04T07:21:00.000-07:002019-10-04T07:33:36.213-07:00Gaming Pieces — When Playing At Teetotum <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.319999694824219px;">Pieter Bruegel the Elder, </span><i style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.319999694824219px;">Children’s Games - 1560 </i></b></td></tr>
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In Pieter Breugel's 1560 painting, <i>Children's Games,</i> wherever you may look there are vignettes of children playing the sorts of games that children played in the mid-16th Century. In the top left of the picture beneath the arches of a building, are a group of girls whipping spinning tops with lengths of cord attached to the ends of sticks and they are doing this in order to keep them spinning just as long as possible. </div>
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In the bottom left of the scene, there's a little girl holding up a spinning top — however, this kind of top had a different purpose. This type was designed to be held by its tip and spun through the torque provided by a sharp snap between thumb and forefinger, would spin only as long as this energy lasted, and would eventually slow down, wobble around the point of its spindle, and then topple on its side.</div>
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Her spinning top is actually a gaming piece for a 'put-and-take' game — a 'teetotum'. It has four sides each of which would have been marked with a character and each of these was a command. Whichever facet of the cube was face up when spinning finally stopped and the top fell, then that character told what you must do next ...</div>
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By sheer good fortune, I once found such a top laying upon the Thames Foreshore which because of its form and the style of its engraved characters may indeed be of similar date to the Bruegel painting. It is made of ivory (stained a mahogany-brown colour during long burial) and each of its four faces is engraved with a single character ~ </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px; text-align: center;"><b>Excuse my mucky fingers! The brass teetotum cleaned up well despite its heavy encrustations. </b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The teetotum is supposed to have originated in Ancient Rome (though I cannot find a picture of a surviving example) when the characters were the following and had these Latin meanings ~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">A. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Accipe unum</span><span style="background-color: white;"> [take from the pool] </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">D. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Donato alium</span><span style="background-color: white;"> [add to the pool] </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">N. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nihil</span><span style="background-color: white;"> [nothing] </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">T. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Totum</span><span style="background-color: white;"> [take the whole pool].</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">My </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">post-medieval </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">example with the characters</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">A-H-N-P had similar meanings ~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A. Take all</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">H. Take half</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">N. Take nothing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">P. Put stake</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are later depictions of such tops and the example spinning around on the table in Chardin's 'Boy with a Top' 1738, also looks similar in style to the Thames example and is probably also a teetotum ...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sim%C3%A9on_Chardin" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Jean Siméon Chardin"><span style="color: black;">Jean Siméon Chardin</span></a><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;">Boy with a Spinning-Top</i><span style="background-color: white;"> or </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;">Child with a Teetotum — </i></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">1738</span></b><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span></span></span></td></tr>
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It appears that the toy and its eponymous game enjoys periods when it becomes something of a craze. This was so during the 18th Century when 'teetotum' was a popular parlour game that had even the family of King George III hooked ...</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(83, 82, 51); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lord Mulgrave delivering important news to the King observed ~</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><span style="caret-color: rgb(83, 82, 51); text-align: start;">“Their majesties were playing at teetotum for the enormous stake of some pins. His majesty received his lordship with his accustomed affability, and said, “You see I am at last turned gambler, but I hope I have too much sense to risk a </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(83, 82, 51); text-align: start;">crown</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(83, 82, 51); text-align: start;"> upon the throw of a dice.”</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">As you can see, at this time there was a distinction between the teetotum, with which you might play for pins — and dice, with which you might play for hard cash. However, whilst playing a harmless game of chance with his wife and children the king freely admits that when 'playing at teetotum' — gambling is what it is and gambler is what he becomes — and quips that he only hopes that he'll never take the (political?) risk of losing his 'crown' by it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Early 20th Century brass example found at Polly's Parlour last week is hexagonal and carries six commands ~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Take all</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Take two</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Put one</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. All put</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Take one</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Put two</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">The teetotum enjoyed another period of popularity during those times. Although it appears that the device was still widely regarded then as a toy fit for children's play</span><span style="text-align: justify;">, in America, where the playing of 'put and take' again reached craze proportions, the teetotum was soon outlawed in many states and for good reason ... </span><br />
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Soon, <span style="font-family: inherit;">it was also deemed a fit tool for proper gambling — and of course, when that becomes the case, then cheats and swindlers will set to work. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The picture below is of two gentlemen playing for what is clearly cash money. However, this picture also explains that the top could be ingeniously made to weight outcomes in one's favour, or indeed in another's disfavour with a crafty push or pull of the spindle ... </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBYQDr3gc47DPx_KFwkILN8QjQAFO8-kYDjQ0l8a0CJL40LxZH34oqNP3NqKMahz61Vh55wCaPp-THu0wiHoRoajirR8xUDL1ZJUm1N0YNIWCBD2mtcvxzYLezklG_06v4VwFJuKsdJTu/s1600/ptBunco040412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="243" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBYQDr3gc47DPx_KFwkILN8QjQAFO8-kYDjQ0l8a0CJL40LxZH34oqNP3NqKMahz61Vh55wCaPp-THu0wiHoRoajirR8xUDL1ZJUm1N0YNIWCBD2mtcvxzYLezklG_06v4VwFJuKsdJTu/s400/ptBunco040412.jpg" width="325" /></a></div>
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And so I have a second teetotum in my collection and from a site that appears to have been a popular local venue in Edwardian times. Exactly what this place was popular for is unclear at the moment but the evidence continues to accumulate, however, I cannot seem to find any direct evidence of the presence of womenfolk. Unless I count the pair of toy deer as the evidence of girls at play then everything found at Polly's Parlour thus far shouts only 'men and boys' at play.</div>
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But playing at what and playing for what, exactly? </div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-27904806095818102722019-10-02T05:28:00.000-07:002019-10-02T05:36:02.757-07:00Polly's Parlour — XP ADX150 & Garret Pro-Pointer AT Field Test (Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSd1mOQaI49MxhTJhvfYhBwn7HRIs5bM8uwgpW29Cu2eNmuNh0-BywTkefWO8v3nNwI6zfeLgBvG3LU5u8_GBtce8iFh8RivjrIrMbM1qtP0wo-qc0YjakCvXJZJnh4jv0QcMzWmCdwa1/s1600/IMG_1498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSd1mOQaI49MxhTJhvfYhBwn7HRIs5bM8uwgpW29Cu2eNmuNh0-BywTkefWO8v3nNwI6zfeLgBvG3LU5u8_GBtce8iFh8RivjrIrMbM1qtP0wo-qc0YjakCvXJZJnh4jv0QcMzWmCdwa1/s640/IMG_1498.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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My testing of our new equipment continues, and I am thorough about these things. I have already passed the Garret Probe with flying colours because I can see nothing wrong with it, but only everything right about it. It's just bloody useful! It's really handy when the ground is wet when dividing clumps of soil by hand is just horribly filthy work. It's nice and loud. The beeping starts off slowly and gets faster and faster as you near the object until it is positively screaming at you, "here it is!". The side scanning is very useful for locating tiny objects that the tip cannot quite locate. What else? </div>
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Well, it's industrial! Maybe even, indestructible ...</div>
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Cash well spent!</div>
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The XP is proving itself too. I hate wearing headphones but with this machine, you really have to because running on loud-speaker, it is just not loud enough if you're near any source of background noise. I guess this lack of volume would be OK out in the middle of nowhere, but Coventry is not that. The headphones supplied with the machine are comfortable lightweight ones that clip over the ear — but the lead is very thin and gets tangled up in the coiled wire running up the detector's stem from time to time. It does have a volume control though, and this is proving a good thing.</div>
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Also, that they don't mask out background sounds, and my being afraid of approaching bulls that approach unheard from the rear — I do like!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC8DAte6xzwjfPIwvKDE_gFnSnkhIPItR1RkTYL18Zj8dfez4rrBLeDpJrASBccSpBBU8BFXazmFQqDiCpamAuzh3YtvsJdDtIPbaAmYLKstRGvLDr5J5hjFO1Rz5iyfYVnMzDGws95Wk/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1403.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC8DAte6xzwjfPIwvKDE_gFnSnkhIPItR1RkTYL18Zj8dfez4rrBLeDpJrASBccSpBBU8BFXazmFQqDiCpamAuzh3YtvsJdDtIPbaAmYLKstRGvLDr5J5hjFO1Rz5iyfYVnMzDGws95Wk/s640/fullsizeoutput_1403.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrsH-l_btA1oqScuFr9allXH7n8EvSGdGcGsYPJ1Ce7bIdUQp7ZeaAvh3CdkUDTrEvJ2HPP4WxHz1fts2CZ-lSNtzxik1GMUl5Z668rOF2Z_unp3JzWQb_N1cD3OF9AZ5rAJUf8MN782S/s1600/IMG_1515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrsH-l_btA1oqScuFr9allXH7n8EvSGdGcGsYPJ1Ce7bIdUQp7ZeaAvh3CdkUDTrEvJ2HPP4WxHz1fts2CZ-lSNtzxik1GMUl5Z668rOF2Z_unp3JzWQb_N1cD3OF9AZ5rAJUf8MN782S/s640/IMG_1515.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This was planned as a thorough 4-hour test session. I wanted to see what the machine could do right in the thick of the busiest part of the field which is polluted with iron. Actually, I didn't know quite how contaminated it was until I had found the first interesting item — an aluminium disc, that when covered in muck looked much like the many other pieces of modern aluminium trash that also pollute these fields. Only when I wiped it clean did I see a mass of numbers on the one side and some kind of design on the other. </div>
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It took a while, but with a bit of extra elbow grease I saw that it was a calendar of some sort and what was really great about this item was that it dated the activity on this site very accurately indeed. </div>
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To exactly 1902!</div>
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It's very rare to find anything quite as reliable for dating purposes as this because the object was valid for one year only and was neither of use nor ornament thereafter. Therefore, I conclude that it was chucked in the hay in celebration at the stroke of midnight, New Year's Eve, 1902 — and at a party!</div>
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And I didn't even know that aluminium was 'invented' by this date. Well, you will learn something new each and every day ...</div>
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Somehow, I had inadvertently switched into 'all-metal' mode in the process of retrieving this find but carried on regardless just to see what would come of it. I was immediately swamped with signals, all of which I dug. Most were of iron objects, of course. However, many were not and the next find proper was a large piece of silver in the form of a very crumpled Victorian fob watch casing. This was stamped with neither maker's marks nor hallmarks upon the interior. Just plain plain it was. Which I thought odd ...</div>
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... cause it should have been!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXSmHkCbEuZUmq6kcbaGUgV9RDXmoF3LMeg3UwKo830a6_uoonZFHS0I5T6L1e553VOm3oOo8xWGHT-HCqZtgoJ0UIdBDxqvlTNt9Iv219mwaUaaHBvBNKLhFrIQnDlUS9Fuc5NbCK2L3/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1407.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXSmHkCbEuZUmq6kcbaGUgV9RDXmoF3LMeg3UwKo830a6_uoonZFHS0I5T6L1e553VOm3oOo8xWGHT-HCqZtgoJ0UIdBDxqvlTNt9Iv219mwaUaaHBvBNKLhFrIQnDlUS9Fuc5NbCK2L3/s640/fullsizeoutput_1407.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On the first field test, I had asked the 150 to achieve a recovery rate of 30 non-ferrous targets per hour, scrap or good, and this was easily achieved. I had also asked if it would, <span style="font-family: inherit;">'<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">achieve the expected outcomes of at least one shirt button, at least one coin, perhaps a toy and a surprise item too?' and it almost had, and in just an hour and 20 minutes before the session was finally rained off. </span></span></div>
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Working with it today and within the busiest spot in the field it was soon clear that it would sail past the 30 per hour mark without any trouble. However t<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">his second test session was to be </span></span>three-times the length of the first, and so it would be desirable for it to also locate at least a couple of coins, at least a couple of shirt buttons, a surprise item and certainly one toy. </div>
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It had already provided the surprise find and in addition, one of precious metal (now added to the desirable outcomes list!) A little later it provided a branded shirt button too but unfortunately, I've discovered to my dismay that copper alloy items do not come up in good condition within the darker soil at the epicentre of activity, and this example was too rotten to decipher. Also, for some reason shirt buttons seem much rarer inside this area of business than they are outside ...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwXj8zGXqyi5xL7_J8cI8Vs79AdzxSVIuXNcACMIfP235m8ikFe7oLFDfA1Th84MJRRIX08EybE3knfAsNk8Xz4fS9HAIVCz_ppOuRzaGqtZatBjZqBFXJsHtV4a8ooQDSAZ7j3ydfiwo/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1425.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="1600" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwXj8zGXqyi5xL7_J8cI8Vs79AdzxSVIuXNcACMIfP235m8ikFe7oLFDfA1Th84MJRRIX08EybE3knfAsNk8Xz4fS9HAIVCz_ppOuRzaGqtZatBjZqBFXJsHtV4a8ooQDSAZ7j3ydfiwo/s640/fullsizeoutput_1425.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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OK, the toy and the coins were left to go at. The coins came along at a steady rate and I wound up pocketing five in the four hours — the earliest was a very worn George II halfpenny and is the oldest coin from the the whole set of fields thus far — a penny, halfpenny and farthing of Victorian to Edwardian dates — and a tiny copper coin (probably European) that was pierced for suspension which carries a shield on one side and a crown on the other. It's in poor condition but I will be able to identify it, somehow.<br />
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There was also an early nineteenth-century military button of probably, The <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Prince of Wales' own 10th Light Dragoons. It's very slight in detail, but I will find it out because I do adore early military buttons! </span></span></div>
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Between these items came other items of marginal interest value, but also came the now quite predictable finds of children's toys ...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhQzJl9vW-azMlD9dlRMy0JltJ2fBpzd4qwyvO3ZwpEm0r9RSortBAur9OeJms6XmogPOi9RqbXMoNOm9OEVfQ6a6PtAZMGIo0NkH4XFJOGAbSD_WSdEvCvq79gHj3QtQrwlbUlgKylWN/s1600/IMG_1519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhQzJl9vW-azMlD9dlRMy0JltJ2fBpzd4qwyvO3ZwpEm0r9RSortBAur9OeJms6XmogPOi9RqbXMoNOm9OEVfQ6a6PtAZMGIo0NkH4XFJOGAbSD_WSdEvCvq79gHj3QtQrwlbUlgKylWN/s640/IMG_1519.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The first of these was the most interesting find of the day. I think that many detectorists may have discarded this item as just another encrusted hexagonal nut from some piece of machinery, and at a glance, it really does look like such a thing. Without prior knowledge, I might well have consigned it to the scrap bucket too, but I knew better having already found an example (4-sided example) many years ago. Although the encrustation was really heavy and it obscured all detail below, I knew full well that there would be a command stamped upon each of the faces of this six-sided polygon.</div>
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These small brass items are known as, 'teetotums'. Spinning tops are what they are — but also they are gaming pieces and here at Polly's Parlour they were probably spun by small Edwardian boys playing against each other for nothing more costly than match sticks. However, they could also be used for more serious forms of hard-cash gambling and so the menfolk who certainly frequented this field may have used them here to fritter away the womenfolk's housekeeping money! </div>
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(Come to think of it, where are these womenfolk? I have found very little here to suggest their presence thus far ...)</div>
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After I have carefully cleaned this item, when hopefully I'll reveal its secret messages, I will publish here both examples in my ownership, and explain their usage and long, long history. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpFypdj75A4gjqk4YCF62viSDtt1w6oduyOPv04eqHzaVP48nhjw8JfjtTVEQyuShXdYUuHQlcLyQh4xSVsKoVFfHsJJopWD4HaGIBnPjO_EzezLoaTQBVK8SKQ0PO74e320uHTzd80eY/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1417.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpFypdj75A4gjqk4YCF62viSDtt1w6oduyOPv04eqHzaVP48nhjw8JfjtTVEQyuShXdYUuHQlcLyQh4xSVsKoVFfHsJJopWD4HaGIBnPjO_EzezLoaTQBVK8SKQ0PO74e320uHTzd80eY/s640/fullsizeoutput_1417.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Shortly after this first toy another two more came along, or at least what remains of them. At some distance apart I found a man's arse and then a horses arse! Unfortunately, these were fragile hollow-cast toys and so they had broken apart in the soil. Nevermind, the rest of them will be down there somewhere and in time, no doubt, I'll find all the tiny, tiny fragments ... </div>
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My arse will I! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDG0m9MrJiL2ZicyU7FMbcbSCO76XYtaDlM1AVDE5tazIPTg-VqkDea_8n0YojjI26cK7E8ZqOX-5SdBgDSoogjn2IpuJskjR3aGSMbkNfZIW5Oyay10f8PfOJl2LVx15tbnOXdUbsNVEw/s1600/IMG_1517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDG0m9MrJiL2ZicyU7FMbcbSCO76XYtaDlM1AVDE5tazIPTg-VqkDea_8n0YojjI26cK7E8ZqOX-5SdBgDSoogjn2IpuJskjR3aGSMbkNfZIW5Oyay10f8PfOJl2LVx15tbnOXdUbsNVEw/s640/IMG_1517.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Find of the day — and absolutely not a hex nut!</b></td></tr>
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In conclusion, despite never having bothered to use a probe before now, having used the Garret Pro-Pointer AT on two sessions I think it is now an essential item of my equipment. I really cannot fault it in any way and though it is pretty expensive, well, professional tools are never cheap, are they?</div>
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The XP ADX150 may be viewed as an 'entry-level detector' but really, it is clearly no such thing. By any standard, this is also a professional tool and appeal to me greatly because just as with the B1, you only need to learn how to set it up at whatever is optimum for the site, and just go. It is lightweight and the mounting of the control box behind the elbow provides counterbalance which makes the often gruelling task of swinging a coil about for many hours on end, almost effortless. This is an important consideration because detecting can cause long term joint problems of the wrist, elbow and shoulder should the balance be incorrect.</div>
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Also, I really like the way that the 150's stem collapses for storage and transport. Ergonomically, speaking it is ideal. In fact, I like the stem and the overall balance of the ADX150 so much that I am seriously considering upgrading my trusty old Laser B1 by buying a complete XP stem and mounting its control box and coil upon it! </div>
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But is it an able detector? And will I be able to trust it in Judy's entry-level hands?</div>
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Well, as you can see from the recent finds that I've made with it and the scores that it has achieved — it is and I can.</div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-51208580535112644972019-10-01T04:18:00.001-07:002019-10-13T13:10:31.633-07:00Map Research — Old Plots and Crossed Paths<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We have a couple of fields nearby that we'd searched just the once and briefly then, but which Judy had expressed an interest in searching again, and so, on Sunday afternoon we set out to give them both another try.<br />
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This session was just a couple of hours in length but it was enough to establish a few points ...</div>
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I had done a little map research by overlaying Victorian maps upon modern aerial photographs of the area. I then discovered a few points of interest that I felt would be worth exploring further. Firstly, that there used to be a building on a small plot of land which once lay at the junction of the boundaries of three fields and that these boundaries with their hedgerows and ditches were grubbed up at some time in the recent past and all three enclosures were incorporated into a single larger field.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvTz64VpGI-ATOC8jzVIFMAT4VRvo8ahAnXc8UbzM5KNo0dqijR3w1GnNjP9vCdPLRBILqplBYo5-3OdeBfuN1lRvqBYaLe96UU5CnP-NLotBiUkYIIjL0B4k7Jptko70fKZMPFS92-4L/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-30+08.47.16.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="914" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvTz64VpGI-ATOC8jzVIFMAT4VRvo8ahAnXc8UbzM5KNo0dqijR3w1GnNjP9vCdPLRBILqplBYo5-3OdeBfuN1lRvqBYaLe96UU5CnP-NLotBiUkYIIjL0B4k7Jptko70fKZMPFS92-4L/s640/Screenshot+2019-09-30+08.47.16.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Map of 1883. Our permission does not include the two rectangular fields immediately above the brickworks. </b><br />
<b>The house plot mentioned is at top-right and the crossed paths at bottom-right.</b></td></tr>
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Secondly, I found that a footpath once passed by the building, which turned left and then right and then met with a second footpath which crossed the first. So, we also had crossed paths to look at, which I thought might prove to be more interesting than a path alone.<br />
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On the modern aerial map, the house plot and the original field boundaries were all visible. Even the second footpath which seems to have never followed a field boundary has left a faint mark.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlkD6ElyQc2XLTrcvMorZITtWITeywH_B_CvYBECrERDf-kEGhWBOgC0hxAij7DPA7ENopfAQ_ZVEUjn2MD6-9re98r8VVVOTO1aRoQAqk3c4bkqU9bS7lLVywKTsREJ_iCv9BPtjTi8q5/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-30+08.49.39.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="785" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlkD6ElyQc2XLTrcvMorZITtWITeywH_B_CvYBECrERDf-kEGhWBOgC0hxAij7DPA7ENopfAQ_ZVEUjn2MD6-9re98r8VVVOTO1aRoQAqk3c4bkqU9bS7lLVywKTsREJ_iCv9BPtjTi8q5/s640/Screenshot+2019-09-30+08.49.39.png" width="640" /></a><br />
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Judy set out just to get used to what is to her, a newfangled sport. I had the house plot uppermost in mind. I set out to detect my way there from the field entrance at top-left and along the way found a couple of 20th Century coins and a Late Georgian period drawer handle. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Judy looking bedraggled in the constant drizzle — and the target seemed hard to locate</b></td></tr>
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Judy also discovered something that pricked her interest. Nearby to where I knew the house plot to be she'd turned up an apparently blank copper coin disk. However, I could just see something in the way of faint detail and we both agreed that there was a head on one side. Under raking light back at home the obverse seemed to carry a cypher or monogram. I thought it had to be an eighteenth-century farthing token — and it was.</div>
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Henry Hickman's Birmingham token of 1792. <span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Issued by Henry Hickman, a wholesale and retail dealer in sheet, bar and rod iron - at 3, Edgbaston Street, Birmingham.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A proper grot! But Judy is proud of it and I have never seen one before.</b></td></tr>
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Eventually, the plot was located by scanning the field surface by eye and searching for a limited but fairly dense spread of brick rubble, tile fragments and shards of glass and pottery in dark-coloured soil — and it was what I'd hoped for. The evidence found showed that it probably was a domestic habitation site and not some other type of building because the spread of debris included lots of pottery and also Victorian period clay pipe stem and bowl fragments. </div>
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Oddly, although this field supplied plenty of signals, the house plot itself did not seem to hold a great deal more in the way of metallic objects than the land surrounding it. This seemed somewhat unusual, but we will see what comes of it all in good time! </div>
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Later we set off for the crossed paths but never quite made it that far. The field in which they lay seemed unusually quiet for one that had a visible spread of pottery upon it and well-coloured soil too. Clearly, it had seen periods of manuring in the past if even it hadn't seen much in the way of on-site activity. Either that or others had detected it to near extinction in the recent past ...</div>
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But if so, then why not the top field also?</div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-59840885430968381602019-09-30T02:18:00.002-07:002019-09-30T03:02:29.304-07:00End of Month Round Up — September 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Stepping back onto a ploughed field for the first time in well over a decade was a special moment. All the memories that I'd accumulated during the many thousands of hours spent upon them in the past came flooding back. Those special finds that had kept me awake at night. Those thoughts that had accompanied the moments of their discoveries. And those journeys into the ancient history of England that they'd taken me on.</div>
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When I followed along in the footsteps of my wife as she crisscrossed the first field that she had ever stepped out upon metal-detector in hand, I realised that I was already following along in the footsteps of my own long-established routines. As her finds came along I was already constructing a framework to slot them into, was already establishing patterns of sense for them and was already predicting what might come soon — or even next.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>If Polly's Parlour keeps throwing a couple of these my way on every single trip, then I will fill this tray one day!</b></td></tr>
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When I ventured out alone I discovered that one particular field (now known as Polly's Parlour) was really promising. There wasn't a lot to go on at first but soon a pattern began to emerge. Shirt buttons were found but at a rate that I had never encountered before. I know that shirt buttons are not exactly the most exciting find in the world but the point is that they were there in some quantity. To my way of thinking, when anything turns up in an arable field 'in series' and in discreet areas or along certain lines of direction then it means that they were probably deposited there not through the rather uniform mechanics of muck spreading, but were lost or discarded on-site.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>And if one of these turns up on every other trip then I will amass a serious collection!</b></td></tr>
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When I began to find lead and pewter toys in addition to the shirt buttons, I thought this rather interesting. Shirt buttons alone would not have had the power to pull me back, let me tell you! These toys must be clear evidence of children at play within the field. I have never encountered any field that has ever produced so very many. In point of fact, I had found a few lead toys before and thinking back, these were all from a demolished 19th Century cottage site and its gardens, but I could not remember a single one that had come from any of my open fields. </div>
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There are two deer, a Native American warrior on horseback, the head of the Victorian jockey, 'Fred Archer' and Judy's first proper find — the wheel from a toy train. That they have absolutely zero monetary value in such states as they exist now, well that's really not the point to me — for they do possess a certain aesthetic value that I find really satisfying. They remind me of a collection of Roman figurines and votive objects in many ways. The missing limbs. The uniform colour of their cream-coloured patinas. All this binds them together really nicely as a collection and I do hope that I find more and more of them. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLswZu-S3riBs6QkBiRR81Hr_ZD0Iw0dvsFMTEXLDqivU-cg95JIgZ8806-VFG5A7mkmj3vV5gjnhbT0qXW61QkTF3BzfocYPHwE1KFJ1YaU0wjBk4ytDIys-iByVJKXuAtWXRGpUIE6N/s1600/fullsizeoutput_13d3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="1600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLswZu-S3riBs6QkBiRR81Hr_ZD0Iw0dvsFMTEXLDqivU-cg95JIgZ8806-VFG5A7mkmj3vV5gjnhbT0qXW61QkTF3BzfocYPHwE1KFJ1YaU0wjBk4ytDIys-iByVJKXuAtWXRGpUIE6N/s640/fullsizeoutput_13d3.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
But how about any older finds? Those kinds of finds that metal detectorists are supposed to obsess over when they step out onto the arable and the pasture? Well, I'm afraid that I found very few items to obsess about at any great length ...<br />
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There was the top of a trefoil spoon — 17th Century. A very corroded gilt-brass belt mount used as a suspension point for something — Medieval. The lead cloth seal carrying the Arms of Ausburg, Germany — 1500 or later.</div>
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I really don't think that this particular field is going to produce much in the way of truly ancient objects and I do not care overmuch about that, to be honest. Just being out and about in the fresh air, with my dogs frolicking about in the river whilst I occupy myself with the pleasant task of digging up lead toys and brass shirt buttons — well, that's quite enough ...</div>
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For now!</div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-63314820588037209932019-09-28T08:48:00.001-07:002019-10-18T06:36:41.004-07:00Garret Pro-Pointer AT Air Test<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81t1Wd3FEZeHzFOIWwwr_X7ajWjr2TUzoxBZ1oe4TsAPhtTIIrIEh3fKWjgcMW-wb1t-G4oi7lpgCzqucwee_73DIrZudCQuqMou8TBHhR3O7_BwkepD28pph4_G7ENR0Pxd6_U8LY2Sg/s1600/IMG_1411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81t1Wd3FEZeHzFOIWwwr_X7ajWjr2TUzoxBZ1oe4TsAPhtTIIrIEh3fKWjgcMW-wb1t-G4oi7lpgCzqucwee_73DIrZudCQuqMou8TBHhR3O7_BwkepD28pph4_G7ENR0Pxd6_U8LY2Sg/s640/IMG_1411.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Although I was a greenhorn handling two unfamiliar machines on my first attempt at a field test, I did learn how to use both pretty quickly and under increasingly uncomfortable <span style="background-color: white;">conditions. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I thought that something was wrong with the Garret probe when it located a large harness buckle at only an inch or so from the tip. Initially, I thought this to be a very poor performance but then I thought about the fact that the probe has three sensitivity settings and that I probably had it set on minimum. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I was right. It was set on minimum. And so I used a coin to check these three settings against. This coin was a 1690's William III halfpenny which is a good-sized target at 28mm diameter face-on, but with only a 1.5mm thick flan, a tricky one edge-on. The results were rather interesting ...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>William III halfpenny — 28 x 1.5mm, copper</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Sensitivity 1. Face-on — 31mm. Edge-on — 0mm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Sensitivity 2. Face-on — 53mm. Edge-on — 17mm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Sensitivity 3. Face-on — 71mm. Edge-on — 25mm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">And then I checked the three settings against the large harness buckle found in the bottom of a 9-inch hole which in the ground seemed to have been located by the probe at about 25-30mm from the tip. It is quite a large object at 43x30mm and as an open ring of solid metal I thought the probe would start beeping at a considerable distance. Also, with an edge profile of 5mm, I expected good results edge-on ...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Harness buckle — </b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><b>43 x 30 x 5mm, brass</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Sensitivity 1. Face-on — 45mm. Edge-on — 16mm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Sensitivity 2. Face-on — 82mm. Edge-on — 38mm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Sensitivity 3. Face-on — 102mm. Edge-on — 53mm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">All the results above were measured from the very tip of the probe only. However, the probe is also able to locate items along its side and all the way up to the on-off switch which is about 4.5 inches from the tip. The face-on distances achieved were somewhat better than those at the tip and seemed to be quite regular all along the length of the side. </span><span style="background-color: white;">However, though edge-on distances were also far improved compared to those at the tip, they were not quite regular along the whole length ... </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">As an example, when presented </span><span style="background-color: white;">edge-on to the tip of the probe, </span><span style="background-color: white;">the coin would not even register on '</span><span style="background-color: white;">Sensitivity 1'</span><span style="background-color: white;"> unless I </span>tilted<span style="background-color: white;"> it slightly. Along the side of the probe, it registered at a maximum of 20mm but this was only in the centre of the side of the probe with the detection distance trailing away from the centre toward the button and the tip. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">For 'Sensitivity 3' the improvement in the detection range for the coin presented edge-on to the side of the probe was simply enormous. It was seen at a range of 64mm compared to 25mm at the tip. However, the range that the probe detected the buckle both face-on and edge-on, was most interesting. It registered at 88mm for both! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">This probe really is a metal detector in its own right, and I'm really glad that we bought it! I can foresee that I'll find a number of other uses for it besides those of arable and pasture work...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It's quite expensive. No, it's very expensive! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">And as a detecting couple with just the one between us, of course, we will have to buy another! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-74682613296164416522019-09-25T00:00:00.000-07:002019-09-26T07:23:33.937-07:00Polly's Parlour — XP ADX150 & Garret Pro-Pointer AT Field Test (Part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgCHdAGPBsPFDswFhQSpTYe1jirC0yQA9PUT3QrtA_7fSECPiwtZQ-xxQjpS0-_H8Zq3LOuP0Hjw9jj23pSoIIpJLVRASBBR393dQUjupKWKKzaEscsPbI6M0K0d_DrfhHZrlHt39PZVy/s1600/IMG_1437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgCHdAGPBsPFDswFhQSpTYe1jirC0yQA9PUT3QrtA_7fSECPiwtZQ-xxQjpS0-_H8Zq3LOuP0Hjw9jj23pSoIIpJLVRASBBR393dQUjupKWKKzaEscsPbI6M0K0d_DrfhHZrlHt39PZVy/s640/IMG_1437.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Not so straight-out-of-the-box, slick, pristine and modern-looking now, eh?</b></td></tr>
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Either I had miscalculated or the weatherman had. The rain predicted to arrive in Coventry at around five in the afternoon came early and of course, I got caught out in the field. I had about half an hour of dry weather beforehand but then it started to spit continuously and carried on drizzling for the next fifty minutes after which I packed up and headed home.<br />
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And so my field test, which was to be two hours in length, was just 1 hour and 20 minutes in duration. No matter; it was enough time in which to get a feel for the field performances of both the XP ADX150 & Garret Pro-Pointer AT.<br />
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On the previous day, I had set the 150 up for Judy on full sensitivity and minimum discrimination but thought that that might have caused her a few problems. And so, today I set it up at the default sensitivity, which is marked with a red arrow on the dial, and notch 2 for discrimination.<br />
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The ADX150 had 5 targets to achieve.<br />
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1. It must get me to dig at least thirty signals per-hour that will result in non-ferrous objects.<br />
2. It will find large pieces of coke, though not small fragments unless on the surface.<br />
3. It must find small items in the top six-inches and very small items in the top three.<br />
4. It will knock out small ferrous scrap but should allow me to find and remove larger pieces.<br />
5. It will prove itself for good depth if a very faint non-ferrous signal would be encountered.<br />
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These requirements are only what I generally ask of the Laser B1 everywhere and more specifically, what it has proven itself capable of doing on this particular field — in essence, the two machines were going head-to-head upon a known environment where the XP ADX150 had to match up to to the Laser B1 on five scores already established there as desirable ones...<br />
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Or else!<br />
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Initially, I'd set out with the 150 on loud-speaker but within ten minutes I'd fished out the supplied headphones and plugged them in, because, competing against the background noise from the nearby busy road, I could hardly hear enough audio information to be certain of anything but the very sharpest, cleanest signal. The difference was remarkable. All of a sudden the machine was intelligible and signals were easy to read. The tone was a bit squelchy sounding to my B1 ears, but I could deal with that. The finds rate soared and it was clear that the target of 30 recoveries per-hour would be achieved and perhaps even surpassed. And yes, it did respond to large pieces of coke but ignored fragments, and so it hit target number 2 also.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2CL07wGjUGp9L1kdpz1J23ulbpjwiVJmvt9C72BHeJFVlsyVNWbKxLu4EvQoWbDhzg6VM6Nw5M_T34jw255Izs0gXjJNeO_Xf5e2z4jdGnD7kHNBmozfLeepcvYVlYrpjKLWSSx8BiZM/s1600/fullsizeoutput_13bc.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2CL07wGjUGp9L1kdpz1J23ulbpjwiVJmvt9C72BHeJFVlsyVNWbKxLu4EvQoWbDhzg6VM6Nw5M_T34jw255Izs0gXjJNeO_Xf5e2z4jdGnD7kHNBmozfLeepcvYVlYrpjKLWSSx8BiZM/s640/fullsizeoutput_13bc.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Unfortunately, not a Lizzie I shilling... But for just a sweet moment - it might have been!</b></td></tr>
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I began using the AT probe. Because the soil was fast becoming soppy it was a boon not having to divide it all by hand. It was fast and accurate but it seemed that I had to have the tip very close to the object before it would register. I thought that this may well be down to sensitivity settings and so I decided to experiment with those later. The way it was set up would just have to do for now because it was covered in mud and I needed to re-read the manual!<br />
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The bright orange colour is good, though. If it were dropped somewhere you could see it a mile off! The continual beeping alert should you stow the device back in its holster without turning it off first was great too and will avoid running batteries down needlessly.<br />
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Because it was performing well, I wondered if the 150 would uphold not only the overall recovery rate per-hour for this site, but also achieve the expected outcome of at least one shirt button, at least one coin, perhaps a toy and a surprise item too?<br />
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That's a big ask in a shortened session!<br />
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Well, the shirt button was duly located (unbranded...) and so it can find small items in the upper levels of the soil. However, I must say that it did not seem to be locating quite as many very small targets as the B1 would have — in fact, the shirt button was one of the smallest finds made during the session and though there were other finds as small as the button, nothing was found as diminutive as a cut half or quarter-penny. However, this is not yet alarming. I simply may not have passed over anything so very tiny as that.<br />
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So, target 3 was partially achieved.<br />
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Target 4 was hit when I dug a positive signal that I could not easily find in the hole until the probe located it in the side-wall. It was a piece of iron the size and shape of a Havana cigar. Top marks for the probe!<br />
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And as for target number 5?<br />
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Would I even come across a very faint, non-ferrous signal?<br />
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The answer was yes, I did. It was a soft sweet signal and good in every direction but just a whisper really. I expected iron as I dug down 4, 6 and 8 inches. The signal became a little louder as the soil was removed, but not by much. The probe could not find the object at 4 or 6 inches but at 8 inches it finally located the item which proved to be a large brass harness buckle laying on its side, plumb in the centre of the hole and at about 9 1/2 inches in depth.<br />
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Two 'coins' were also found, but one proved to be just a thin disc of brass and not a coin at all. No matter, it was coin-shaped. And then, with the 150 having hit almost all performance targets and having achieved some of the expected outcomes too, I was satisfied and so I began to wind my way back to the gate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpF1KfbjngM1LzXfO9FbuWu5VAXX4ifmr60cYzxNh8ci36Vv52Z1LSHn6kgYVHgTN6kLsafuFL4FoMNXreni5vtsAMiNIR8lLBuCX2g3J3Tni_Ojh9HF5mR4h25MVGIu_7nQTLP7gkIAQ/s1600/IMG_1432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpF1KfbjngM1LzXfO9FbuWu5VAXX4ifmr60cYzxNh8ci36Vv52Z1LSHn6kgYVHgTN6kLsafuFL4FoMNXreni5vtsAMiNIR8lLBuCX2g3J3Tni_Ojh9HF5mR4h25MVGIu_7nQTLP7gkIAQ/s640/IMG_1432.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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Along the way, I stopped and dug a loud positive signal and flipped up something that was felt by its weight alone to be just a lump of old lead...<br />
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But it was not just any old lump of lead. It was deer number two and yet another toy added to our growing collection from this interesting site.<br />
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As I said in the previous post — the numbers never lie!<br />
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-66916293613536706212019-09-24T15:07:00.000-07:002019-09-24T10:28:31.361-07:00Polly's Parlour — A Boy's Toy and The Most Peculiar Enamelified Thingy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Our first outing with the new gadgets was planned for Sunday morning. We expected our son, Ben, and his girlfriend, Sophie, to arrive at ours at some time in the afternoon. Plans change. Nothing came of the arranged arrival due to late at night partying activities on Ben's part — or something like that. I don't really know for sure what happened because I heard the news second-hand whilst earwigging Judy's phone conversations.<br />
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All that I knew was this; that Judy would use these new gadgets this very day, and I was determined for that to happen!<br />
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In the end, despite endless delays and dallyings, we finally got out to Polly's Parlour in the late afternoon and left the dogs at home at my request because I wanted to monitor the performance of both new gadgets and also my wife's progress in the field.<br />
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You may ask why go to Polly's Parlour and not to another of our fields?<br />
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That's because it now has an established track record that suggests no longer what is only possible on any given session, but what is actually probable. I have a set of firm statistics already and can measure unknown quantities such as Judy's current finds rate and the new machine's efficacy against them. Calculate odds, if you like.<br />
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OK. In advance, I had calculated that I would dig around 30 targets per hour over our allotted two hours and would certainly find at the very least, 1 shirt button — and this button had better than a half chance of being a branded example. I would also have a very good chance of finding a child's toy, would certainly find at least one coin and that coin might well be silver but most likely bronze, and that there might also be a surprise find in the offing. Something intriguing...<br />
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All of this almost came true for me. And that is why I love numbers, so.<br />
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The shirt button was secured within ten minutes of the off, was in very good condition for the site, and was branded — Richardson of Hockley, Birmingham. Later came a crumpled 'badge' inscribed with text that at the moment I cannot fully decipher but it contains the clear word 'LODGE'. Two coins were found also but alas, both were bronze. And then the surprise find duly turned up...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlexGqAWVmMv8akZvD1uFpDFaxWyFWnhVvGnqUmEBWV6KsIErJyF_HtQji6clleJnX3DLwcSYAD9XgZxwNOLz6LYrDt2IWb1OE5QR0DTp5W8_bUfLMRBUe0YSeuyBcrHKAXD1Vfc0wmAA/s1600/IMG_1415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlexGqAWVmMv8akZvD1uFpDFaxWyFWnhVvGnqUmEBWV6KsIErJyF_HtQji6clleJnX3DLwcSYAD9XgZxwNOLz6LYrDt2IWb1OE5QR0DTp5W8_bUfLMRBUe0YSeuyBcrHKAXD1Vfc0wmAA/s640/IMG_1415.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I hadn't any kind of a clue what it might be at the time of discovery and still have not. It's most peculiar and does not easily fit any categories that I am familiar with. A large irregular cabochon of variegated white, blue and purple enamel held captive within a circular copper-alloy 'mount'. A copper-alloy 'mount', I might add, that shows no sign whatsoever of having once been gilded. The reverse of the object is odd. It possesses six irregularly spaced drilled perforations around a larger central perforation which appears to have been tapped with a screw thread ...<br />
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At first glance, I thought it might well be a late Saxon enamelled brooch. However, with the presence of a screw thread as a means of affixment to its host object then it must be fairly modern, surely?<br />
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A little later Judy shouted across to me that she'd found something similar nearby. She had. Only it wasn't...<br />
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She had secured the one item missing from my list — a wheel from a boy's toy train!<br />
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That's four toys dug from this site now and more will surely come because the numbers say that they will. Mark my words — numbers never lie!<br />
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-9514643823228970282019-09-23T05:47:00.001-07:002019-09-30T02:08:02.122-07:00XP ADX150 & Garret Pro-Pointer AT — First Impressions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Having Judy start detecting was a matter of her swinging the machine with me tagging along behind helping out in whatever way I could. When she became proficient enough to go solo I realised that I would have to do my homework and find a suitable machine for her. And so I set out to find one that would suit myself...</div>
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I know that may sound mean spirited but really, I did not think about it that way. My thinking was logical. Because she does not want to cover large tracts of land (which is my preference until I find a concentration somewhere) and would prefer instead to concentrate diligently and thoroughly upon one area of choice, then I thought a deep-seeking detector would suit us best. We would then have a happy division of labour. I find the hotspots — she works them.</div>
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And of course, it would suit me too because I already own the best tool for the job of taking out surface finds — the Laser B1 — and so a machine that was deep-seeking and very adjustable would be a useful alternative that I could employ under conditions that would defeat the rather shallow-seeking B1. </div>
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The B1 may be a beast where rapid recovery of objects from the top six-inches is concerned and a peerless tool for extracting tiny objects from the top three-inches, but when I waved a cartwheel penny across the coil and it gave me a faint signal at just ten inches, I thought that a future problem. We have only about 70 acres of land at our disposal (so far as I know...) of which half is permanent pasture. The B1 will struggle to do well there once the surface finds are cleared and if older finds are way down in the ground then it's only going to be good for clearing modern trash...</div>
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My decision was to go to Regton in Birmingham and take a look at the Nokta Makro Multi Kruzer. I'd seen a few videos and the air and in-ground tests performed were impressive, with the machine picking up signals from various objects at almost twice the depth that the B1 could achieve. A cartwheel penny would have come in at probably fifteen inches or even more! This seemed suitable. </div>
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Unfortunately, Regton had none in stock and apparently, there are none in stock anywhere because of a fault with the machine. And so we came away with precisely what I did not want but exactly what a beginner really needs which is an ultra-simple, one-tone, switch-on-and-go detector — the XP ADX150.</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Of course, we also needed some extra kit. Judy liked the idea of using a probe and so we also bought a Garret Pro-pointer AT 'carrot' while we were there. I have never used a probe myself because it seems like an extra operation to perform when the speed of recovery is of the essence. I will just divide the clod by hand and wave each half over the coil until the find is located. But I can see why it would prove essential on pasture land. </span></div>
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I also purchased two bum bags and two neck pouches from Decathlon. These neck pouches are where valuable finds will be stashed and they hang inside clothing where they cannot be seen, snagged or lost. Finds are dropped in and never taken out again till I reach home. I have good reason to employ them because through bad storage (trouser pocket!) I once lost a 17th-century pendant crucifix from the Thames Foreshore that I had only picked up an hour before. I vowed to never lose a good find ever again. </div>
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We also needed another spade but my preferred tool was out of stock at the store nearby home and so we had to make do with a puny trowel in the meantime, or rather I had to!</div>
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In the house, her pristine new machine, made my old Laser look like some kind of antique! However, looks can be deceptive and out in the field, it was soon apparent that the Laser outperformed the XP on a number of scores, the first of which became apparent when I saw Judy creating an ever-wide<span style="background-color: white;">ning spread of soil. I went over to help her and she said that she'd lost the signal somewhere and could not </span>find it again with either the 150 or with the carrot. She swept both across the area and sure enough, neither registered a signal. </div>
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And so, I asked her to remove both the detector and the probe from the area while I swept the B1 over the same. The signal it gave was loud and clear and was certainly a 'digger'. Having located the item I then set to work with the 150 which utterly failed to locate it. And then I went to work with the probe which also failed until I had spotted the target by eye which was a tiny scrap of aluminium. I had to push the tip of the probe right on top of it before it beeped ...</div>
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The second problem was that when a target was located which was actually a large chunk of iron that it could not screen out completely then it would register as a perfectly positive signal no matter how close the coil got to the target. This is because of the way the 150 works. It seems that a signal is either a good one, or it does not sound at all. It's either there, or it's not. </div>
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Judy was having trouble digging such a target at depth. One pass of the B1 dismissed it as the junk that it certainly was by means of a cracked signal. Of course, there's no point in leaving such junk in the ground on your own fields and so it was removed. However, at a detecting rally, I would want to pass such junk by as quickly as possible, not have to dig for ten minutes and then cart it around with me! The 150 would demand that it be dug ...</div>
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The third problem was that I always run my detectors without headphones. This is because once I was using headphones with a threshold tone detector — the C Scope 770D — and could have easily lost my life to a very angry bull who I did not hear approaching me from behind. I have been averse to the use of them ever since. </div>
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The loudspeaker tone of the B1 is loud, high pitched and very insistent. When you get a signal you are aware of it even near busy roads and motorways. It says "Dig me!" The tone of the loudspeaker of the 150, by comparison, is mid-pitched, rather too quiet for my liking and somewhat vague to my ears. It says "You can dig me if you like...'</div>
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It's too early to dismiss the 150 and the carrot. I will have to use them myself and experiment with settings (and God forbid! headphones!) to establish how best to use them both. For Judy's first outing I had set up the 150 'wide-open' just as I would usually set up the B1 for my own use — maximum sensitivity and minimum discrimination. This may not be the best way with the 150 on this land and it may have cost her a few targets. </div>
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I don't know as yet and I am keeping an open mind, but I will report back after my own field test is completed.</div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-11726306865136693142019-09-19T08:34:00.001-07:002023-09-03T05:32:12.050-07:00Polly's Parlour — Victorian & Edwardian Branded Shirt Buttons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Some time ago I met a local man who I had never met before upon the modern bridge that spans the stream that runs through the bottom of our current fields of interest. We talked about fish — because I was then very interested in this stream and its fishes because it does hold good stocks of them these days due to its current state of rude health. According to this ancient fella — when he was a very small boy, he and his friends swam and paddled there and discovered that it held populations of 'stony loaches', which is a tale that would have been true, for it once did (and it even may now!) </div>
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And then the conversation moved along ...</div>
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He then told me that the general area of the stream that we now stood above was once known as 'Polly's Parlour' and was a place where people came 'to enjoy themselves' — which intrigued me no end... What on earth could 'Polly's Parlour' have been? What would have prompted such a name when there was nothing of a parlour nor anything like a parlour to be seen there?</div>
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The field that has been producing evidence of 'people enjoying themselves' directly abutts the area described, and given that it might have been part of Polly's Parlour or even Polly's Parlour' itself, then I have named it as such! </div>
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Every field needs a good name, don't you think? And 'Polly's Parlour' is a very evocative name indeed!</div>
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What I hadn't banked on was becoming a collector of old shirt buttons. It's not that I have a particular want to — it's just that they are frequent finds in Polly's Parlour and so a collection is forming of its own volition!</div>
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What is interesting about these shirt buttons is that some carry the names of the local drapers and outfitters who sewed them upon their shirts as a means of brand advertising. There's H J Nicoll of 39 New Street (Birmingham), Sadler of Birmingham, two that may carry brand names but are too corroded to decipher (yet!) and the star find, Goldie Brothers of Coventry. </div>
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Two others are inscribed with 'Best Ring Edge' and 'Our Own Make' and the rest are plain.</div>
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They remind me somewhat of 17th inn & traders tokens, in that they may carry evidence of merchants, some of whom may be obscure or even unknown at the present. I cannot yet discover anything about 'Goldie Brothers' and their company nor Sadler of Birmingham and theirs, but a little research may fulfil that need. However, H J Nicoll of 39 New Street was very easy because they were a large company with seven outlets in five cities including Paris. Very swanky!</div>
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What I am wondering is this; shirt buttons are detached from a man's shirt through exertions, and what else does a red-blooded male do in the parlour of a woman named Polly, besides exert himself?<br />
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Maybe I have too rich an imagination...</div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-6321744025821504202019-09-18T04:20:00.000-07:002019-09-30T02:12:00.785-07:00Polly's Parlour — Emerging Patterns and Encouraging Ratios <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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By spending a couple of two-hour sessions on one particular field I had begun to establish an idea about what activities had taken place there in the past and what could be expected of it in the future. The finds made thus far indicated that the land had not seen much activity prior to the end of the 19th Century. There was a conical lead loom-weight which could date to pretty much any period from Roman to Post Medieval, the top of a tinned brass trefoil spoon dating to the 17th Century and some kind of belt attachment which was once gilded which probably dates to the Medieval period. That's not a lot to draw conclusions from...</div>
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The material from late Victorian through Edwardian times till perhaps the 1950's — seems to be telling me that the land was then grassland, that sometimes people came there to relax by the river and that they also brought their children along. Many lost shirt buttons, two general service buttons, a few coins, a silver finger ring, a seaside souvenir and two toys. Just the kinds of things that people tend to lose when they're picnicking.</div>
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I thought that a third session might prove my theory — and I was not to be proven wrong!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><b>If you look closely then you will see that this coin has been struck with a decorative motif identical to that impressed upon the Tudor period lead cloth seal found just a few days before. Now there's a coincidence!</b></td></tr>
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The first find proper was a coin — a silver 'Gothic' florin of Victoria in very worn condition — and this would have been lost during exactly the period that I had imagined. It's a real shame about the condition of this coin because it is one of the most attractive ever minted, in my opinion. It's only the second example I have found in my career. Not at all common, and I was very pleased with finding the fourth silver item from the group of fields to date, because there's a very good ratio emerging (one silver item every two hours!) and if it keeps up then gold will surely follow.</div>
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Amazingly, the next good find was another toy! A little deer sitting on its haunches. More evidence of the presence of children and another addition to my now burgeoning lead toy collection. Also, there's another good pattern and ratio emerging here. Finding toys is one of the real joys of detecting in my book and finding fields that will provide them is not at all easy, is it? </div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The dogs really do enjoy detecting. They just love it! There's a field to explore, a river to swim about in and best of all —a pond to get really filthy dirty in. What more could a springer spaniel ask for?</span></b></span></div>
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The rest of the session's find were remarkably similar to those found before. The same mix of coins, shirt buttons and another general service button, along with a broken gilt wreath with red enamel inlay that probably once surrounded maybe a badge and lastly a very corroded wristwatch. </div>
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There's another small object that at first, I had down as a drawer handle. It is not — because, there are no signs of a screw hole. Maybe it's a collar stud and a cheap one at that? I do not know. </div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-54597603563985289142019-09-17T06:35:00.003-07:002019-09-24T07:03:14.751-07:00Polly's Parlour — Two Equestrian Keepers in the Same Day!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Another couple of hours out and about on the field that produced a brace of silver items last time around and within minutes of switching on and swinging about - up popped something which was clearly figural and in the round. These are the very best kinds of find in my book and I really do not care about which period they may hail from. If it's 'in the round' ...</div>
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Then give me these any day of the week. Sculpture is always the best! </div>
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It was a toy and an equestrian figure, clearly. Maybe a Native American, but covered in soil and somewhat distorted it was quite hard to be absolutely sure. With such a white patina and so very heavy for its size then it was obviously made of lead. It was also quite substantial at two-inches in length. I have never found a lead toy quite so large in my detecting career — those few that I have discovered have been half the size or less.</div>
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Pocketing the find and moving on, I found the field to be what I had come to expect - lots of aluminium trash but then the occasional find worth considering. That's enough, should the finds, prove interesting when and if they come. A field can be very sparse, as you know. Some fields can appear almost barren of worthwhile finds upon your first impression. What keeps me going through the lean times is 'finds rate'. Should that be high enough then the field is always worthwhile ...</div>
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But how to measure such a thing?</div>
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That's another article, for another time.</div>
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A little later, another article of 'sculpture' arose from the earth. Two in the one day! And again, an equestrian ...<br />
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What are the chances...?<br />
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Slim, and very!<br />
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Though I have always known about this particular find as a possibility — to this day I had never found an example for myself. It depicts the Victorian champion jockey, Fred Archer, "the greatest all-round jockey that the turf has ever seen". I cannot do full justice to this piece here — John Winter, Deputy Editor of 'The Searcher' magazine, has already covered the subject of the once very famous man who is depicted in this Victorian pewter pencil topper, and in detail.</div>
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Check it out here!</div>
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<a href="https://www.johnwinter.net/jw/2016/02/detectorists-jockeying-beyond-the-beep/" target="_blank">https://www.johnwinter.net/jw/2016/02/detectorists-jockeying-beyond-the-beep/</a></div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513719851981614552.post-47593160473474644582019-09-16T04:09:00.000-07:002019-09-16T14:03:07.690-07:00Thames Mudlarking — The Final Solution to a Finial Problem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>The cast-iron finial from a railing found on the Thames Foreshore at Queenhithe</b><br />
<b><b>many moons ago. An object that had defied my identification attempts ever since.</b></b></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">A few weeks ago we stayed overnight at a hotel in the area of St James Park, London, and the next morning we decided to go out and look for a local cafe where we could get ourselves breakfast. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Could we find anywhere local? </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">No, we could not! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8Y5FgGRgSdQL_d5I5JGgkBH7nyGBTIbtuJwfiV2KRkUW98ygM3dHuxR0xD1iHaNS1NeEBixPXIzDmHiqEG1p_y6nXKvS537TCB6mQLxmiANhOTrkDqqSAF5ejoR86SzWtFbs3LgvZKf-/s1600/IMG_1134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8Y5FgGRgSdQL_d5I5JGgkBH7nyGBTIbtuJwfiV2KRkUW98ygM3dHuxR0xD1iHaNS1NeEBixPXIzDmHiqEG1p_y6nXKvS537TCB6mQLxmiANhOTrkDqqSAF5ejoR86SzWtFbs3LgvZKf-/s400/IMG_1134.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;">We crossed the river via Westminster Bridge and eventually wound up in a cafe somewhere beyond Elephant & Castle and there we sat down. It was rather expensive — the menu </span>poncified<span style="text-align: justify;"> to an extreme. I do not need to know the names of both the pig and the man who reared the pig who made my bacon! But I have to say, it was very tasty... </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Afterwards, we wandered back through the streets of South London in the general direction of the river at Jubilee Gardens, when I was stopped in my tracks by the decorated stone capital of a church gate post.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I had seen something familiar!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsPeFca8St8bI4UilOSa01Oywg6JyaGnxbAxCdt0eueugKVVqrLZL-gIEKTO5iaFtkYACKhbEWv8vomaLO3lzzNTVQdpp-L0Uae3oVsThKhbWur6Wu6EHj-9X9fu8nPCRnBvKYWvgoRtO/s1600/IMG_1139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsPeFca8St8bI4UilOSa01Oywg6JyaGnxbAxCdt0eueugKVVqrLZL-gIEKTO5iaFtkYACKhbEWv8vomaLO3lzzNTVQdpp-L0Uae3oVsThKhbWur6Wu6EHj-9X9fu8nPCRnBvKYWvgoRtO/s400/IMG_1139.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;">It was decorated with an ornamental motif that bore a striking resemblance to something that I had once found on the Thames Foreshore and that had been knocking about the house for decades. I had always known that it was a cast-iron railhead finial - that much was obvious - but I had never seen anything similar to it upon any railing anywhere in the city. And London has a lot of railings to see...</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I was so preoccupied with the capital that it took <span style="background-color: white;">a while </span>before I dropped my eyes to the gate itself, and saw that its finials and those of the entire railing surrounding the church were of the same design — and so very similar that I now believe that they were cast from the same mould.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The only difference was that every finial had a longer point than mine and so it was clear that it had broken off at some point. I checked around and eventually found one that had also had its point broken away whilst in situ. A perfect match!</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The church is St Johns, Waterloo, which was built in 1822-24 </span><span style="text-align: justify;">to the designs of Francis Octavius Bedford. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">in the increasingly unfashionable Anglican Greek Revival style of architecture. During WW2 it was struck by a bomb, suffered considerable damage, and was left as an open wreck for a decade thereafter. It was finally restored in 1950.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I wonder if my finial was one that was blown away from the railing in the blast? </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">If so, then I very much doubt that it flew as a red-hot missile from Waterloo </span><span style="text-align: justify;">all the way</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">to the City of London. Surely must've got there by another means entirely! </span></div>
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Jeff Hatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164198326538064799noreply@blogger.com0