Club members thought a club site searched for over 25 years was not worth turning out for the next Sunday dig. Our club has over 40 sites in the local area and some have been visited since the early seventies, probably at least once a year. Just how wrong can members be about any site that is ploughed every year changing the detection possibilities of coins and artefacts within reach of my Minelab X-TERRA 50. I headed up a track to a stubble field known among club members for yielding up Roman coins from the chalky soil. I set about my random search, listening intently and at the same time letting my mind relax and forgetting all about my day to day problems. This is an attraction for me relaxation combined with a surprise waiting at every positive signal from my trusty machine. A dog walker came along and we passed pleasantries about it being a lovely day. She went on to make the point that she had seen detectorists in the field many times over the years and wandered why we were back again. I explained that every time the ground is ploughed coins and artefact are moved and might be found by detectorists covering the ground once more. We parted company and went our separate ways. I carried on my search getting an occasional positive signal and dug up a 303 casing and a lump of lead. The I heard a high tone in my earphones and I was sure this would not be rubbish. I pinpointed the exact spot with the X-TERRA 50 and looked more carefully at the spot and there was an object which looked like a black ‘beetle’s back’ peeping out of the top soil. I carefully removed the object from the soil and it became clear that it was a brooch and still had a working sprung pin and clasp to hold it on an ancient garment. I then called over all my fellow club members to come and see my find. It’s a great feeling to not only find a great object but share it with club members who congratulated me on the find. At the next club meeting it was recorded on the club finds register and then handed over to the visiting Sussex FLO Stephanie Smith. She took it away and it was returned later with a formal identification and record number on the Heritage Data Base. It was identified as La Tene brooch dated 200-400 BC and is now the oldest artefact in my collection. Derek Page - East Sussex, UK