DETECTIVAL TIPS AND TRICKS

The Top 10.

The digging season is truly upon us with harvest well underway across the country. And that can only mean one thing. It’s time for the digging rallies, the most long awaited events in the digging calendar and peak of the digging season. As we get prepared for Summer Detectival 2023, an event set to be the biggest and best yet, join us as we share our best tips and tricks that we have learnt from our previous ventures at Detectival.

POP UP TENTS AREN’T FOR EVERYONE

You might think of a Pop Up Tent and think: quick, easy, no fuss, won’t take up too much space, perfect for a short camping trip. And you could well be right, but that certainly hasn’t been our experience with this particular type of difficult tent. 

It was a classic case of beggars really can’t be choosers to start with as Ellie was very kindly gifted her parents orange 3 man pop up tent. Faced with that or the option of Lucie’s glorified coffin that couldn’t really be described as providing much more shelter than a sleeping bag it seemed to be a win. Pitching it for the first time, also proved to be a win, you barely have to release the beast from its bag before it's up and thrown itself into shape requiring only a couple of pegs knocked in and base camp is set. Not having to fight with fiddly poles seemed like a true victory. 

Then it came to putting the thing back in its bag. A truly impossible task that requires the Jedi moves of a Grand Master and often takes more time to achieve than the entire team taking down a grandstand. De - camping became a dreaded task and we lost many battles, the Pop Up Ten often claiming various possessions still trapped inside its canvas clutches and only revealing them upon a successful twist down. Unfortunately one of these possessions happened to be Ellie’s Wallet. Rather crucial for the drive home. 

So it’s positively evil. And rather small. We might be getting a bit too old for a tent that you can’t stand up in. Therefore for this Detectival we’ve received the delivery of a tent that just might solve all of our problems. Dare we say a digging palace? But we haven’t given in to the poles, no we have gone air. Air in the form of the Berghaus Air 400 Nightfall Tent and we will have to check back in after Summer Detectival 2023 and its first outing for the verdict on how easy this one was to get back into its bag.

CUT SOME SHAPES

‘Cut some shapes’ is a bit of a Roman Found special. It’s a tried and tested technique that is one of the best in our arsenal. And especially at a group dig. 

When that whistle blows it can be quite overwhelming, suddenly over 1000 of you are all scattering in the fields, every single one desperate for that sought after find. But one thing that you will notice, as it is a classic metal detecting technique, is that people will start methodically searching. Taking lines and systematically working their way down a field. 

Now this is a good technique and it works time and time again but here at Roman Found we like to do things a little bit differently. There’s always a small sense of competition in the air at these types of things, people are used to their own permissions and not having to share with over a hundred other people in the same field. But here's the thing. It’s not all about the method, at a group dig, luck and chance have a large part to play in the discovery of the best stuff. So take that chance, go against the grain, take that crazy angle that nobody else is taking. Unless you are certain that you’ve hit a hotspot just follow your heart and the vibes and potter your way across the fields. You’d be surprised at just what might be waiting for you.

KEEP HOLD OF YOUR EQUIPMENT

This might sound like quite the obvious statement but it is something that we have fallen victim to. At the previous Summer Detectival it seemed to be all too easy to get carried away in the atmosphere of 1000 diggers pottering across 1000 acres and the rush to find the finds. And Ellie simply could not keep hold of the edge digger. Moving from hole to hole it was constantly getting left behind, forgotten, and can probably still be found at the site of its final sighting and resting place. Field 13. 

A trip to the lost property tent to see if a kind soul had unearthed our trusty digger only seemed to prove that we weren’t the only ones struggling to keep hold of our possessions. It was practically an LP Metal Detecting stand inside. Of course there was also an actual LP Metal Detecting stand outside too who did possess practically every possible piece of metal detecting equipment that you could ever possibly need. So replacements were easily made. 

But it would be much kinder on the wallet and much better money to be spent at the bar if you simply kept hold of all your items. And we know it’s hard, metal detecting is a hobby that requires so many accessories on your person at any one time. So we have resorted to lanyards and bungee cords. You can’t lose something if it's attached to you right?

TRY OUT THE LOCAL CUISINE

At our first ever Detectival we made this mistake. With only the experience of a digging weekender before that provided no facilities, we essentially brought a whole weekly shop with us to cook on top of our little camping stove that’s best described as a bunsen burner. And then we discovered the range of food vans on offer providing practically every cuisine to suit every possible craving. After all, who wants to whip up a gourmet meal after a long exhausting day out in the fields when you can pick up a reasonably priced and delicious treat from the van. And even a cold beer whilst you're at it too. 

The Mexican Food Van has been a very firm Roman Found favourite at previous Detectivals however we have heard some rumours of a new kid to the block. Is this brand new cuisine going to knock our favourite off the top spot? Stay tuned it sounds like some important taste testing is in order.

DIG BETWEEN THE HOLES

Day 2 of a group dig can seem a bit daunting and if you might be nursing a sore head from the night before, maybe a bit like too much effort. What could you possibly find today that over 1000 other people hadn’t found yesterday? But the finds are out there, we all know that the gold and the hoards don’t turn up until the final day. Often a field needs work. It needs all of the trash and dodgy signals worked out by all the other metal detectorists before you, before it will finally reveal those sweet signals that sing of something a little bit special. 

And we aren’t just speculating here either because this is exactly what happened to us at Spring Detectival. Sunday came around and we were some of the few hardcores still out pottering across the field. We headed back to one of the fields that gave us a good feeling the day before. The most ancient vibes where we knew several Roman Coins had come up previously from the gossip around the campfire. Looking across the field and the pockmarked dark patches of disturbed earth and freshly placed plugs of pasture doesn’t really fill you with enthusiasm as it seems that almost every inch of this field has already been well and thoroughly swept. But there in the inches left between holes was a sweet crisp signal, the best sound that we had all weekend, and a stunning Silver Medieval Cruciform Pendant just waiting for us missed by the thousands of coils yesterday. A late Sunday find and Medieval Treasure.

DON’T BRING THE FINERY

This one really might seem very obvious but it’s always worth a mention. We have been to a few of these big weekenders now and one thing that can really never be predicted is the weather. When packing you can easily think oh i’ll need something nice to change into for socialising and digging gossip in the evenings. In reality you’ll be searching through your bag struggling to find something that isn’t already caked in mud and you’ve only been here a few hours. That nice top you chucked in, now requires several coats of Vanish to resemble the life it had before. You might as well just stay in the detecting gear.

CAMPFIRE STORIES

One thing that is one of the detectorists favourite pastimes, is gossip. And there’s certainly plenty of it to go around by the campfire on Saturday evening. Jimmy’s found a Saxon Hoard. There’s tales of a Celtic Torc going round but no one has seen a picture of it or even knows who found it. The aerial photography is out and a deep discussion is being had about the ‘Iron Age Roundhouses’ that have been spotted in Field 12. By the end of the session it’s been decided that Field 6 is where everybody needs to head tomorrow because that’s where the Celtic Torc was found and Jimmy says his Saxon Hoard came up there too. So it’s a positive goldmine. 

The campfire stories going round really provide all the entertainment needed for the entire evening but we do refuse to believe a single word of them unless we have held the find in our hands. We might head to Field 12 in the morning though, those markings did look rather interesting.

NOT ALL THE TREASURE IS IN THE FIELDS

Possibly the cheesiest and corniest note on the list but also the most true. We aren’t really at Detectival for just the finds. It is as much about the socialising as it is about the big discoveries. When else can you be surrounded by over 1000 like minded individuals who all partake in your strange little hobby of metal detecting? Often the friends and stories shared are just as memorable as the Gold Stater. We’ve made important friends and connections for life who we often see and visit outside of the digging calendar, every single one of them that has helped us learn and improve our knowledge on either specific historic areas or even the technique of metal detecting itself. It is certainly a sport that is best learnt through the craft of others as well as a lot of hands-on experience.

CHECK OUT THE FINDS TENT

A visit to the finds tent isn’t exclusively for those getting their finds recorded. Although getting your finds recorded then and there is incredibly helpful. It’s a drop and go service and an incredible feat getting these finds recorded and back to you before the end of the day, saving time on your home FLO’s and allowing those finds to go straight into your display cabinet upon returning home. 

But anyway. It’s basically a mini on site museum filled with all of the beauties that have come up over the weekend and we all know that the detectorist loves to ogle over finds. We certainly do. You are also surrounded by knowledgeable volunteers and experts who can help identify and explain your finds to you, expanding your own knowledge and filling in the picture on that curio in the finds tin.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE POWER

One thing that you really need to plan for before leaving for Detectival is that you are going to a field for three days where there’s going to be no plug sockets and your metal detector might require charging. Or even your phone. Or the pinpointer. Or your headphones. Is there any piece of metal detecting equipment that doesn’t require charging? You need to pack as many power banks as humanly possible and if you’re old skool on the batteries. More batteries than you ever thought you needed. You never know your tent neighbour might need a helping hand.

We hope that this list has revealed a small hint of the biggest event in the digging calendar to come and got you prepared and in the Detectival mood for one hell of a rally. But if you want to learn more about just what goes on at these huge digging weekenders then check out our Youtube Episode all about Surviving Spring Detectival 2023.