river crossings and fords ?

[deemann1]

just curious I was wondering if any one on here ever tried detecting old river crossings or fords there is a couple in the area im living in .are they worth trying out

[Maximuswarks]

Definitely worth checking out if they are old ones be aware tho you might also get a lot of tin cans, fishing weights and bits of foil but it could be very rewarding

[Owain 1405]

Worth a try, worth checking the 1st inside bend downstream from the crossing as well, as stuff washed downstream will be deposited where the river runs slower. Good luck with it & happy hunting

[alloverover]

Yes and yes

[lord lovell]

where do you live ?

[pasttarg]

depends on the traffic and flow rate of the river .i have done a few and found naff all ,not even a pipe bowl .but you never know your luck

[slowsweep]

get permission 1st, you cant just go willy nilly as someone somewhere will own the land & river xing. just a heads up, GL&HH

[alloverover]

Yes and yes

When I say yes and yes, I am talking about the land directly next to the crossing rather than in the water itself, have had a VERY productive Roman and a VERY productive Medieval site like this

[liamnolan]

Hi Dee, I am always interested in any river crossings as they can be very ancient meeting places. Fords are especially exciting as many travellers will have oped to avoid the toll bridges and try to cross elsewhere, sometimes losing cargo and spilling items and coins into the water or on the banks.
Lots of storms lately which may have scoured away some of the soil around rivers and also keep an eye on these crossings when a drought arrives and water levels drop almost to zero. Fords were in use before bridges of course and some old maps will show pathways that radiate to/from the sites. Where there were bridges or fords, there would also have been places for travellers to rest, change horses, eat and drink, do some business, maybe flour mills etc as they could then more easily receive the harvests from local farmers.
Sometimes a good idea to just walk along the banks of the rivers and see if you can locate any likely crossing place, probably wider and have eroded banks where cattle or horses would have drank.
I could go on forever ... good luck and get cracking on some research, Liam

[deemann1]

thanks for the feed back guys , some good info there liam

[moxi69]

I found an old ford stuck in a river crossing once!