The Abbey Project - Day 1 + 2 - ROMAN/SAXON/VIKING/MEDIEVAL etc...

CRUSADER

Gold Member
May 25, 2007
41,019
46,409
ENGLAND
🥇 Banner finds
27
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II v0.6 with 11" Coil
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Our 2 year Licence comes to an end in Dec 18, so this collaboration with the Archies to find out what is in the fields around an old Medieval Abbey will sadly finish. Therefore we want to make a good last effort.
We already discovered an unknown Roman Pottery Kiln Site (rare, our only 1), & an early Saxon Settlement from about 600AD, as well as the medieval activity that you would expect. We think we have disproved the medieval village theory as well.
As we are working with the Archies we plot the big Roman nails (or are they 17th/18th C!!!) as well as the broken grey-ware kiln bars. (not all the tons of small roman nails we dig!)
I was working Fri & Cru'dad did a short 4 run grid on the Roman Site & got 3 scrappies & a Viking Penny!!! He then wondered the Saxon Site & got a Saxon Sceat! Crazy short session.:hello2:

Today was about continuing the gridding on the Roman Site & leaving the Saxon Site until later (different field being drilled later).

We did 6 Hours today (plus Cru'dads 3 & a bit Fri);

17 Roman Bronze Coins - 1 odd follis with the fallen horse the wrong way - Cru'dad will research! UPDATE FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM;
''This is an odd one! There aren’t any listed that I can find immediately with the soldier spearing to the right. How big is the coin? I think it likely that this is a copy too rather than an official coin – they can often be quite large and well struck. There are examples in the BM, although typically they are the usual way around. It would be great to see it in the flesh next time we hand coins over!''

Lead Spindal Whorl
Roman Ring (bezel)
Roman Bracelet bit
2 Medieval Lead Tokens - These unusual tiny types must be associated with the Abbey (we find them no-where else)
Folded Hammered Penny of Ed III?
Hammered Farthing of Edward I
Viking Penny circa 890 AD, historic coin that memorizes the death of St Edmund who they tortured to death some years previously.
Saxon Sceat AD710-60 (the museum thinks it might be an imitation of a BIa type)

Now that's how you give a field a send off.:coffee2: (Still more to do)
 

Attachments

  • 1.JPG
    1.JPG
    302.2 KB · Views: 81
  • 2.JPG
    2.JPG
    331.2 KB · Views: 102
  • 3.JPG
    3.JPG
    235.9 KB · Views: 81
  • 4.JPG
    4.JPG
    225.6 KB · Views: 93
  • 5.JPG
    5.JPG
    160 KB · Views: 88
  • 6.JPG
    6.JPG
    141.7 KB · Views: 98
Last edited:
Upvote 36
Those nails look a lot like the wagon strake nails I find on 1750s French & Indian War sites. Here are some I found on a recent hunt.
This Old Wheel -17th Century Wooden Wheel Technology - Strakes XVII C.

View attachment 1630734
They look really similar, I wonder if these have been mis-IDed in the past or if they were just similar. I need to do some research, as 1 of the reasons I thought they were Roman was because they come from some very remote Roman Sites, some of which had very little activity after 400AD. However, maybe some of the old Roman trackways where still in use! What strengthens your possible ID is that they all seem to be in a line, which could be a great confirmation of an old road/track in the direction of the nails! THANKS
 

Last edited:
Nice relics. Congrats on another bunch of nice saves.
 

They look really similar, I wonder if these have been mis-IDed in the past or if they were just similar. I need to do some research, as 1 of the reasons I thought they were Roman was because they come from some very remote Roman Sites, some of which had very little activity after 400AD. However, maybe some of the old Roman trackways where still in use! What strengthens your possible ID is that they all seem to be in a line, which could be a great confirmation of an old road/track in the direction of the nails! THANKS
Even the lowly nail has a story to tell....:icon_thumleft:
 

Great day! More to come before yor'e done!!
 

Hi, wow awesome finds again. Congrats:occasion14:
 

Amazing stuff Cru thanks for always posting your finds One of my favorate posts to read. Good Diggins
 

Nice job Cru! Sad that your time there is ending, but I’m sure you gave the archies much valuable info, and made incredible finds at the same time.

I popped on to Tnet just now, and there have been some great finds posted today. I voted banner on two things already and I don’t want people thinking I’m too casual with the banner vote, but that Saxon Sceat is a brilliant find, and absolutely deserves a banner vote. I know I can’t vote for CruDad, but he sure deserves one!

Congrats, and good luck at some new locations
 

I continue to just stare in wonder at your amazing recoveries! Thank you, sir, for sharing them with us!
 

A great day in the field I'd say, congratulations! :occasion14:
 

As always, thank you for sharing these. Amazing finds.
 

UPDATE FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM;
''This is an odd one! There aren’t any listed that I can find immediately with the soldier spearing to the right. How big is the coin? I think it likely that this is a copy too rather than an official coin – they can often be quite large and well struck. There are examples in the BM, although typically they are the usual way around. It would be great to see it in the flesh next time we hand coins over!''

As we suspected, we may have an unknown imitation type, the large Roman Coin on the blue background.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top