Some thoughts on this hammie hoard.

[MetalSmithy]

Diagram showing the spread of coins at the hoard site. The main concentration is approximately 8ft radius from its centre. 19 coins were found here and a further three further afield.

I’ve spent the last three exciting days on the hammie hoard site again and had some success having found another three coins to add to the collection. But having said that there are some strange anomalies over the main area of the finds, or at least I think there is. Maybe some of you can explain what’s going on.

The main concentration of coins is roughly within a radius of 8ft from it’s centre. On the day of its discovery I was finding more than one coin in a single sweep. The three outlying coins are between 15 and 20ft away from the main site. How they got there remains a mystery to me since the main concentration of coins are pretty much cheek to jowl. I might be wrong but the evidence for the main cache, if there is one, suggests it would lie within that 8ft radius. The farmer has told me that the field is very rarely ploughed, so if that is the case the coins won’t have traveled far.

Having set up the detector with the NEL 15”X17” coil, selected high sensitivity, all metal mode and no discrimination I spent much of the time searching that small area. The last three coins I found came from this area and gave a relatively weak and fluctuating signal. They gave a depth of about 10” which might account for the weak signal. Continuing the search I began getting the same signal on at least eight occasions but with a depth of 15”plus. But no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t locate the targets. I’ve come to the conclusion that they were possibly ghost signals but I’m not convinced because there were no similar signals outside that area.

I’ve mentioned before that the site is basically devoid of any other finds which is not entirely true because I am finding a lot of small rusty nails. I wonder if they are related to the hoard in some way.

So am I missing good targets or is there something else going on. Am I right in thinking the cache is somewhere close to the main concentration or am I assuming too much.

[rex123]

Were there any signs of a pot? Or were they all loose?

[Hauptmann aD]

Small rusty nails could have been part of a building, although nails in old age where not that small.

Here is also a medieval hoard without any sign of a pot. The plough had many years for distribution:

Hortverteilung.jpg

The furthest coins were found 100 m from each other.
The coins are light (approximately 0.5 gramm each) and the ground can be sticky in the right conditions, so the plough or even the tyre tread can transport them over some distance.

Best greetings from Germany
Olaf

[MetalSmithy]

No nothing found to indicate how it was deposited. All the coins were found in a small scattered random area. The evidence suggests that however it was contained the plough did its job to disperse them.

[Stubble trouble]

Have you considered asking the farmer if he could scrape away the top layer of soil around the epicentre of your hoard to see if there’s any evidence of possibly more coins or a pot etc further to the depth your attaining with a detector?
Work in cohesion with your local FLO though first .

[pasttarg]

What machine and TID?

[MetalSmithy]

Although the farmer is overjoyed with the discovery he’s not going to scrape anything unless I can convince him there’s definitely a pot of coins waiting to be discovered. I hinted a while ago that it would b great if he could plough a small area but I’m afraid it fell on deaf ears. I could try again though.

I’m using the Garrett AT Gold. Now I know there are better detectors out there but honestly I’ve had no issues with this one. Even with the big coil I have I’ve found some great artefacts including a large number of hammies. Some of my finds have been over 2ft so depth isn’t an issue. Maybe one of you could advise on a more appropriate machine because I am due for an upgrade.

The coins coming out of the hoard site gave a positive signal at around 70 TID and slightly less with the smaller coins. The last three coins gave 60 with a wildly fluctuating curser. These coins were much deeper so wasn’t surprised. As I explained I had other targets giving the same signal but couldn’t locate them. They were either ghost signals or too deep to retrieve.

I’ve spoken with another experienced member on the site and he has said that the hoard could be many metres from the actual cache, if there is one. Although the field hasn’t been ploughed as often as an arable field it would be enough to relocate the hoard where exactly who knows. I assumed that because the coin find spots are close together and concentrated the cache would be associated with it.

[redwulf500]

see if he is alright with you digging the top off with a spade , in the main area ..

[MetalSmithy]

Yes that is the next step. Since the rest of the signals are coming from the main concentration it makes sense to dig a larger hole, maybe 3’x3’. This will also allow me to get the coil down onto the top of the subsoil. If there’s nothing there then I can move onto plan B which will probably result in having to search the whole field. I’m pretty sure the farmer will go for that

[neilpw]

I agree with Stubble Trouble. First step is to contact FLO and seek their guidance.

[Rank81]

Your FLO will advise best course of action and must legally be informed in such cases. They will often advise to initially pause digging whilst they divise a plan

[MetalSmithy]

I’m not convinced the signals I’m getting represents the cache. The small hole is only to identify the signals I am getting. If it it turns out that there is a cache then obviously all digging would cease and then to contact the FLO. Isn’t that the normal process, when you find a hoard then you speak with FLO. I don’t want to waste their time on a whim. But of course I’ll do whatever is required by law.

[Rank81]

I’m not convinced the signals I’m getting represents the cache. The small hole is only to identify the signals I am getting. If it it turns out that there is a cache then obviously all digging would cease and then to contact the FLO. Isn’t that the normal process, when you find a hoard then you speak with FLO. I don’t want to waste their time on a whim. But of course I’ll do whatever is required by law.

It's safe to say the coins are what would be classes as 'related' and classed I'm sure as a scattered hoard so will need to inform the FLO. This is meant to be done within 2 weeks of discovery for any potential treasure item so ASAP really.
Excellent find, very envious!

[MetalSmithy]

I declared the hoard to the TTU early February this year. They requested the hoard a few weeks ago which they now have in their possession and today I handed over three additional coins. I just have to play the waiting now.