I think the second pic is the front, it's a hunter case. The dial is missing. If you can get the back off, there will be dates from when it was cleaned. Tony
Most definitely a pocket watch. You can see where the gears were and where the hinge was at about 4:00 on the bottom pic.(no pun intended) Here's a pic of one i found recently.
Thank you. I was lucky to be able to get a maker and a serial number which allowed me to be able to date it. 1897-1900 were the years that serial number was made. I don't see a serial number on yours but if you can get the case open from the other side(first pic) you may be able to find out the case maker and a serial number for the case and possibly date it that way. Did you detect more of the area that you found it? Maybe the other half of the case is still out there. Good luck and let me know if you're able to date it, i am curious.