These fields in particular are fields I roamed about on growing up shooting etc my best friend lived in the cottage there and I virtually lived there as his mum was the most amazing cook I'll add ,so detecting these fields just adds that something a bit more special to it for me.
Originally I started detecting the area thinking it would give me some Roman goodies. I was detecting with my CTX 3030 using the tadpole 4 and ghost 4 mode which is perfect for where I live. Detecting around the lower parts of the permission I have there which is made up of three farms which I'm lucky to say I have the permission on all.
Herefordshire's landscape where I live is made up of hilly and flat areas which can give you a great diversity in where you would like to detect. Doing these lower areas I quickly realised I wasn't seeing anything Roman. I was finding quite a lot of Hammered's mind you all going from Edward I to Elizabeth I so I wasn't displeased I can assure you. In fact my finds rate just started going crazy my CTX 3030 was just hoovering up the Hammered's.
So harvest came, I headed up one of the sloped areas which I'd been looking at using lidar mapping showing up with something slightly interesting. After consulting two other dedicated detecting friends both all so users of the CTX 3030 and finders of Roman hoards Martin Merilaht and Mike Bowers, we thought I should give it ago.
As I started detecting I started noticing bits of pottery, I picked a few bits up and started thinking this could well be Roman. I'm no pottery expert so it was that detectorist instinct we sometimes have, then within about half hour of detecting I pulled from the ground a stunning radiate of Claudius II I was so happy I can't even try to explain but my fellow detectorists will understand what I mean.
That wasn't the end of the session. I still had a hour or so of light what else could this area give me. I carried on for another 20 minutes then I had a lovely sweet signal. My CTX was almost singing to me dig me, dig me, dig me so I dug down about 5" swung my machine back over the hole it was out ...Located it on the top, picked it up! I could see what it was, it sat there green as green in the clod looking back at me...now I was even happier there sat for me was a lovely Roman fibula. Overjoyed with emotion I gasped a few times and just shouted "I love metal detecting " I hope no one heard me thinking about it now but I didn't care at the time.
So the hunch proved out right In the end, which just shows that you don't know unless you give it ago. So hopefully I can get time to get back up there to see what else that slope has to reveal....Happy Hunting
Lead Man Dan - England, UK.
