A ROMAN FOUND GUIDE TO RALLY SEASON
Pop-Up Tents, Mortar Tails and Nacho Bowls
We didn’t quite know what to expect from our first big rally season in the digging world.
Our only prior experience which involved the words digging, weekend and camping we’ve tried to suppress. Rapeseed stubble, makeshift shanty towns from spare ground sheets to avoid being washed away and one solitary portaloo for around 100 people for three nights are all flashbacks we’d really rather not remember.
So if you're thinking about attending one of the big rallies and like us, your only experience is of a particularly feral digging weekender that just sticks in your mind for all the wrong reasons then look no further. This is the Roman Found rally guide and our biggest takes.
Rapeseed stubble, makeshift shanty towns from spare ground sheets to avoid being washed away and one solitary portaloo for around 100 people for three nights are all flashbacks we’d really rather not remember.
The first thing we need to talk about is the loos. Normally a point of dread for any lady attending a camping weekender, however at both the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally and Detectival they impressed. It was almost laughable how much toilet paper we brought with us, terrified of the possible conditions and we didn't need a single sheet. At the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally there were even ladies only loos which had running hot water! flowers and face wipes inside (civilisation) and whilst there was none of that at Detectival the portaloos were some of the cleanest we’ve ever experienced. Every single day they were emptied, cleaned and toilet roll replaced. No spades were used to prop open doors to air, they could actually be described as facilities.
Next up is the big hitter: food. A big importance to Roman Found, good digging scran is a necessity. We had the panda boot STACKED with snacks: pot noodles, nacho kits, instant porridge, crisps, kinder buenos and croissants. You name it we had it, not here to dig on an empty stomach, we basically had the whole contents of Tesco with us.
Essentially, everything we brought turned out to be completely unnecessary and we ended up going home with a full weekly shop. You only really needed a wallet to survive and we indulged in stone baked pizza (although sometimes the pizza did need just four extra minutes 7/10), nacho bowls (no poverty bunsen burner nachos for us top tier 10/10), bbq pulled pork burritos (top choice 10/10), cheesy chips (excellent crunch and fluffiness in one 8/10) and hog roast rolls (which do get ruined if rained on 7/10) just to name a few. We were spoilt for choice.
The Mexican van stand in particular was a true pillar of both the weekenders, as you can see by the official Roman Found digging scran rating of 10/10. We were long standing loyal customers by the end of the two weeks and really did deserve a returning customer discount.
The Mexican van stand in particular was a true pillar of both the weekenders, as you can see by the official Roman Found digging scran rating of 10/10.
Now the camping. As guests of LP we were lucky enough to get a spot close to the main arena in the LP camping zone, which really did make you feel fully enveloped by all the festivities (the bar might need to have a restock of Jagermeister).
The faithful 3 man pop up tent was our weapon of choice and she served us well through both the weekenders with no leaks, collapses or unwarranted take offs (we did only have 5 tent pegs to pray on). Yet tent life is not for us, we were very envious of anyone in a 4 wheeled vehicle and will have to make an investment for next year.
It certainly got baltic in the tent, many thanks to the wonders of the English weather and there really was no need to set alarms for the early digging starts as the sun and LP wildlife had us waking up on time without a problem.
The pop up tent also became our nemesis by the end of the weekend, whilst being easy to literally throw up in seconds (Lucie had barely got back from the loo at Rodney Cook and the tent was up and secured) taking it down was a whole different matter.
Like some kind of Japanese warrior art form all twisting and sumo wrestling with the thing to get it folded back into its bag (not a quick and easy process either) is when you’ll discover the worst. Sitting on top of it all neat and folded ready to drag it into its bag, you’ll feel an abnormality inside the tent… the Roman Found wallet in a fabric grave 2/10.
Like some kind of Japanese warrior art form all twisting and sumo wrestling with the thing to get it folded back into its bag.
When we weren’t out pillaging the fields you could find us hanging round the LP tent, we had a great time with the whole LP crew both weekends and we were very well looked after. However it was a very dangerous home base being surrounded by all of this eye candy, every piece of metal detecting gear that you could ever possibly need and want. Needless to say, the Roman Found wallet was brought out and well used (after it had been recovered from its pop-up tent prison). The Nox has had a jazzy upgrade and is now sporting a very fashionable orange snake skin.
Talking about spending, which we definitely took part in. There was plenty to buy at both the weekenders, trade stands galore! It was a proper metal detecting nerd fest in every way (at Detectival there was even bigger nerding with Anglo Saxon re-enactors). Metal detecting supplies, finds displays, raffles, coin cleaning equipment, and one of our favourites: coin dealers, could all be found in the main arena. We can only blame Nathan entirely, if we hadn’t wandered over to that particular coin dealer stand whilst he was on a gold stater hunt then Lucie wouldn’t have spotted that Lucilla denarius and Ellie wouldn’t have had to buy a Honorius Siliqua and Roman Found could’ve saved a few bucks. Our first ever coin purchases have been made and we’ve heard it’s only a slippery slope from here on.
There was also entertainment available other than drinking in a field (although plenty of that did happen) as these were EVENTS. Every evening there was something going on. Raffles were held at both rallies although Roman Found were not lucky winners and at the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally there was a full entertainment line up. (Detectival was understandably affected by the Queen's passing and all live music was cancelled out of respect.)
Some of our entertainment highlights were the comedy line up at Rodney Cook (Searcher Dan got picked on, immediate 9/10), the karaoke and disco at Detectival (Nothing beats a classic but Ellie and Dan did get stitched up on the karaoke, that will never be forgiven 8/10) and the Anglo Saxon Re-enactors at Detectival (Those nerds really enjoyed their sword fighting 7/10).
Our first ever coin purchases have been made and we’ve heard it’s only a slippery slope from here on.
Now we can finally talk about what we’ve all been waiting for …. the digging! Although the social aspect of the big rallies can arguably be just as if not more important at these events. Especially for us as it was our first time meeting everyone and we loved being able to put faces to the names we see so often on social media. But that doesn’t mean we weren’t there to dig!
The rallies were both held on 1000+ acre sites so getting to the fields could prove to be a trek. At the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally they put on Gator buses around the site that ran continuously. It was our first experience with Gators which we can only describe as 4WD Golf Buggies and as part of team LP we were lucky enough to have access to the private Searcher Gator. This was something we were all far too excited about, getting giddy at the thought of hooning round in the little beast, although we did pick up some strays around the site when we had spare seats. Holding on and praying can be one of the only things you can do in a Gator especially when you are just classed as cargo in the boot.
One thing we do find is that the finds rate at the rallies is always a lot lower than on your own permission. Put 1000 people in a field and not everyone is guaranteed to find something, but the land was wonderfully cultivated at both events and each had their own weather related problems that couldn't be helped. At the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally it was very dry and signals were tricky whereas at Detectival it was the opposite! it was so sticky you were gaining height with every step returning to camp as feral muddy gremlins (the poor pop up tent did get abused). But the finds did come up and we had a Roman Found first at the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally, our first ever 2“ Mortar Bomb Tail which to some of our family members was way more exciting than the little romans we also found.
We enjoyed spending the weekends confusing fellow diggers that we dig as a unit and not as two separate finders, we have our clear roles and we stick to them much like the mud! Although after the bomb tail discovery every similar signal after Lucie would mysteriously walk a good distance away with shouts of ‘be careful’ leaving Ellie to dig to her peril… 3 live ordinances were found at the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally!
We also had the pleasure of holding a lucky finders Gold Stater (the first one we’d ever seen in the flesh and 10 came up at the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally and at least one from Detectival). Overall we saw some beautiful Roman Artefacts and Coins that got pulled up across both weekenders but it was at Detectival that we finally got treated! Finding a Septimus Severus Limes Denarius which might be our finest Roman yet! There will be more on this discovery in a future article.
Overall we had some finds and some losses, losing our Edge Digger in field 16 at Rodney Cook never to be seen again. RIP the Garett Edge Digger. (If anyone’s found it feel free to drop us a message, there's still hope yet!) Two unforgettable weekends with new friends that we look forward to seeing again next year, but maybe in a camper van!
