[johnmac]

Hi all.

Had a thought last night.

As well as being a keeper of chickens and grower of veggies, and a fish farmer. On the weekends and evenings after harvest I'm also a metal detectorist! sad? Maybe, but it's good exercise and an easy way of finding some history!

I have permission to search various farms and fields in Perthshire and fife, bit always on the look out for more. Then I realised, smallholder = fields!

I've been doing it for about 12 years. A lot of farmers are keen to learn a bit of history about their land, and several have a framed collection of finds I've dug from their fields displayed on their walls. Add to that I've also found a wedding ring for a woman. A mobile phone for a farmer, who dropped it whilst planting tatties, and an irrigation fitting for another farmer.

So..... Do any forum members have a field or two, either pasture or ploughed that isn't totally overgrown that they would like searched? Maybe even a large garden?? If the house is over 100yrs old, there may have been people on that site for centuries! I'd happily give it a try, and if I find a gold torc it's halfers!!!

Below will hopefully appear a few of my finds to date, most from fields with no known written history! If there's no takers, maybe some folks will just find it interesting!

PS. I'm near Blairgowrie. Happy to travel through Perthshire, Fife, maybe even Stirling if the land is a plenty! ;-)

And I'm very responsible!!!

[johnmac]

Forgot to attach pictures!!



This is a copper turner (2p) of Charles the second, around 1640

[johnmac]

This is the tip of a bronze age axe head, roughly 800BC. Found near Blairgowrie.



This is a silver denarius of Diva Faustina, dates to 145ad



This is a silver Victorian key fob or watch fob

This is a silver sixpence of Queen Victoria the first 1581ad

[Rosemary]

We haven't lost anything (except perhaps our sanity  )but we'd love to have you come here to Dalmore. This house was built in 1887 but there has been a settlement here for much longer than that. I was intending to do some local history research over the winter, so this would fit beautifully.

We're near Carnoustie - you can email me direct on rosemary@accidentalsmallholder.net

[johnmac]

Hi Rosemary.

I've sent you an email. Any questions ask away. I forgot to ask you how big your holding is and what type of field(s) you have and whether they are ploughed or pasture?

Look forward to sorting something out!

John.

[pikilily]

Me too, John!

Our place is over 400yrs old..... the parish folk would get out of their carts, pony traps etc at the end of our house to go to the Kirk. This is old bandit country, the smugglers used to use the Kirk on the inch to shelter from the sherrifs as they made their way through the bogs and marshes ....or so the story goes.
Emma T

[johnmac]

Emma, sounds great!

It was actually whilst driving away from yours past the old kirk that it came to me, then promptly left my head only to return today! And better still you are only a few moles away!

Look forward to it! I shall do my research!

[pikilily]

*moles*   Is that detecterist secret speak..
..'yeh, Sarge she's 25 clicks away to the north, and 4 moles to the east'   
Emma T

[johnmac]

Moles and miles! Doh!

[pikilily]

I was begining to think you did your stuff  'mole fashion'. Random images of John burrowing his way round the fields...head popping up every so often   
ET x

[princesspiggy]

we usually find clydesdale shoes every year 

[johnmac]

Always handy for painting and hanging on the fence! I've had a few over the years.... The signal is that loud it can make your ears bleed! 

[doganjo]

Tony Robinson eat your heart out!  Time Team has a rival!  I look forward to seeing what you find, John.

[Sandy]

We are in Robbie Bruce Land, the center of Clackmannan and soooo many people come to the tower with metal detectors, this house is only 300 years old but there must have been houses on this site since dear old Robert the Bruce, his tower is 300 yards away!!! The area surrounding was a hunting ground for royalty so some of them MUST have dropped a few £££££....I would love to find something other than a Buckfast bottle!!

[Fleecewife]

Hi John.  I love the things you have found esp the copper axe head piece.  We are a bit south for you in S Lanarks, but anyway a friend has already 'done' our place and found absolutely zilch     The only exciting (to me) thing we have ever dug up was a mediaeval lead spindle whorl.  Loads of old bottles, crockery, horseshoes, bits of broken agricultural implements too but nothing to get the heart racing.
Looking forward to seeing more of your finds