Metal Detecting

Would Roman nails need to be reported to the Flo????

Depends how sharp they are.

Not really sharp but has some sharpness to it??

Email them photos. They can then decide. Out of interest, how do you know they are Roman?

Got an id on here and did some research and found the same thing on the pas database.

This thread makes me feel a bit uneasy.
My first metal detecting finds were massive nails. They were clearly very old.
I did my best to get them identified. I even thought they may have had remains of some markings on them.
Having got nowhere with them, and thinking the FLO wouldn't be interested, I chucked them out. 2 Years later, I've been on the same field with my Nox 700 and found several Roman coins...

I think I may have thrown Roman nails away.

To be honest I'm only a beginner, have a look on the pas database Erik, there are tons of nails that are Roman/iron age.

Mini-mustard wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 8:49 pm To be honest I'm only a beginner, have a look on the pas database Erik, there are tons of nails that are Roman/iron age.

I was a beginner when I found mine too, I wouldn't dig them now.
We now know that there was a settlement where the nails were found.

In addition to this, I recall from an episode of Time Team that Guy de la Bedoyere believed that the Romans used nails as votive offerings, burial offerings, and as an offering to the ground to be fertile. These were apparently used by less wealthy Romans and were usually, but not always, bronze. I suppose if people were poorer than that, then iron would also be a possibility.

My local FLO always stresses that he wants to see everything that has some possible history, in order to add further (possibly previously unknown) context to the find site - no harm in sending your FLO photos, as f8met suggests.

Say there is no recorded history of Roman occupation near the site where you found the nail, then it will be of interest to the FLO (otherwise it's just a bit of rusty metal!)

As an extreme example, if you find say a silver unit attributed to a specific Iron Age tribe somewhere in the territory of a neighbouring (or more distant) tribe, it will provide possibly previously unknown evidence of trading between the two (or the spoils of war!).

We perhaps don't see the potential significance of some artefacts with the same eyes as the archaeologists do - the historical context of the find is just as important, if not more so, than its rarity / beauty / value, etc.

Phil

Phil2401 wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 2:02 pm My local FLO always stresses that he wants to see everything that has some possible history, in order to add further (possibly previously unknown) context to the find site - no harm in sending your FLO photos, as f8met suggests.

Say there is no recorded history of Roman occupation near the site where you found the nail, then it will be of interest to the FLO (otherwise it's just a bit of rusty metal!)

Similarly but an extreme example, if you find say a silver unit of the Atrebates tribe somewhere in Iceni territory, it will provide possibly previously unknown evidence of trading between the two (or the spoils of war!).

We don't see the potential significance of some artefacts with the same eyes as the archaeologists do

Phil

Thanks Phil. The only good thing about the nails that I found is that there will be more of them. Since I rarely dig iron, they will stay undisturbed by me.

Erik_the_Viking wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 2:16 pm Thanks Phil. The only good thing about the nails that I found is that there will be more of them. Since I rarely dig iron, they will stay undisturbed by me.

Edited my original post whilst you were posting the above Erik

Phil2401 wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 2:20 pm Edited my original post whilst you were posting the above Erik

Yes, and I couldn’t agree more. I’m not in it for the money, there are far easier ways to get that!