Almy
Bronze Member
I remember walking through overgrown farmland about 50 years ago and seeing a cellar hole with timbers from a log dwelling lying around it, decaying. I was not a metal detectorist then. I was hunting deer and grouse. The farm was small, nestled on a hillside bench, with a spring coming out of the edge of one small field and a small, clear brook running across the bench about 50 metres from the basement. It was an altogether attractive and isolated place.
Between that time and today, I learned the name of the people who farmed there. One of them reportedly had gone south to fight in the American Civil War and returned with his musket. When he died, he asked that his musket be buried with him. I saw the grave and gravestone about 70 metres from the basement many years ago. However, the grave was robbed, perhaps because of the musket story, and the headstone either taken away or buried. Today there is no sign of the grave.
The farm family died out or left the area and a few years ago. Since then, there was some exploring around the homesite for gravel. The topsoil was bulldozed into windrows and the basement was apparently dug out with an excavator. There are piles of soil around it and the foundation stones are missing. The site is now overgrowing with balsam fir, poplar, birch, other brush and burdocks. These plants and the bulldozer and excavator humps make metal detecting a challenge.
My family bought this old farmstead and I have since done some metal detecting around the site. I have found a nice Campbell's Axe (manufactured in New Brunswick many years ago), a pocket watch dated to the 1880s and last spring, an 1832 Nova Scotia penny token. So I had a couple of dated objects that confirm long occupation of the site.
I got out there again on the weekend and found the items pictured. The ring gave a strong signal for its size. Hoop-like objects, whatever the metal, tend to give strong signals. I did not recognize the item and thought about it as I hunted a little more. But when I washed it in the little brook, it came to me that it is a pocket watch frame. The winder knob is on the top and there are attachment points for the crystal and back hinges on the bottom. It appears to be made of some white metal based on zinc.
The cartridge is a .300 Savage. It was very near a fired case of the same calibre. I envisioned someone firing at a deer and in their excitement dropping, or levering though the action, a live round. The deer hunting has been good in this area for years, so the ammunition is a usual find in the area. I have found various gauges of fired shotgun shells and other centre fire rifle cartridges there.
Nothing exciting but still I got out in a very nice place. I hope to go back many times, and maybe I'll again find something nice.
Between that time and today, I learned the name of the people who farmed there. One of them reportedly had gone south to fight in the American Civil War and returned with his musket. When he died, he asked that his musket be buried with him. I saw the grave and gravestone about 70 metres from the basement many years ago. However, the grave was robbed, perhaps because of the musket story, and the headstone either taken away or buried. Today there is no sign of the grave.
The farm family died out or left the area and a few years ago. Since then, there was some exploring around the homesite for gravel. The topsoil was bulldozed into windrows and the basement was apparently dug out with an excavator. There are piles of soil around it and the foundation stones are missing. The site is now overgrowing with balsam fir, poplar, birch, other brush and burdocks. These plants and the bulldozer and excavator humps make metal detecting a challenge.
My family bought this old farmstead and I have since done some metal detecting around the site. I have found a nice Campbell's Axe (manufactured in New Brunswick many years ago), a pocket watch dated to the 1880s and last spring, an 1832 Nova Scotia penny token. So I had a couple of dated objects that confirm long occupation of the site.
I got out there again on the weekend and found the items pictured. The ring gave a strong signal for its size. Hoop-like objects, whatever the metal, tend to give strong signals. I did not recognize the item and thought about it as I hunted a little more. But when I washed it in the little brook, it came to me that it is a pocket watch frame. The winder knob is on the top and there are attachment points for the crystal and back hinges on the bottom. It appears to be made of some white metal based on zinc.
The cartridge is a .300 Savage. It was very near a fired case of the same calibre. I envisioned someone firing at a deer and in their excitement dropping, or levering though the action, a live round. The deer hunting has been good in this area for years, so the ammunition is a usual find in the area. I have found various gauges of fired shotgun shells and other centre fire rifle cartridges there.
Nothing exciting but still I got out in a very nice place. I hope to go back many times, and maybe I'll again find something nice.
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