DetectingWales.com

As the title says this was the first Rally of 2010 and the troops were massed at a secret location somewhere between Caerwent and Chepstow. Lots of history around here and I am happy to report that we found a fair bit of it! ;D

Well over 50 die hard Detectingwales members turned up, all itching to get out and into the fields. After the usual talk and the award of a Years Free Rallies going to Roman Ray for guessing the weight competition we were off!

The first find was literally within feet of the cars and fell to Benny from Hereford. Its a long way to drive and he was rewarded rightfully so with an Edward hamster in good nick.

Next find of any note fell to me for a change  :o in the form of some silver filigree work that has been hand etched. Probably off a walking can or riding crop -  a bit battered but I'll take it. After finding this I bumped into Benny again who by now was the owner of a partifact from a Roman brooch. This was only 20 minutes in so the it looked like it was going to be a good day.

Next I bumped into my old mate and detecting buddy Mark sporting a George III sixpence - which turned out to be one of three found today.

Quite a few Roman grots were coming out and I must have seen about 8 or so belonging to Admin, Bob, Kiwi and a few other people. I then had a decent condition one from the reign of Claudius which bizzarely I found exactly where a group were having a chat after they moved off.

I was in the woodlands when I had a chat with a guy who asked me about a toggle he found. Upon seeing it my first thoughts were "Thats no toggle mate - its a Roman ring!" He had cleaned it a bit so I am not sure its metal probably bronze, but looking at the photos I would get a second opinion my friend as it may well be of the precious metal we all dream about.  ::)

A lovely medieval buckle surfaced, quickly followed by a stunning Roman fibula found by The Doc It still has the spring intact, but is missing the pin -  a nice find in anyones book - well done Doc! Can anyone ID it for him!!! ;D ;D ;D

Richard 16.5DD had an interesting item that his mate promptly snapped in two whilst trying to straighted - the verdicts out at the moment, but it has an age. Any ideas?

The day was quickly moving on when all at once everyone I spoke to seemed to have either a hammered or a milled silver. There was a Henry short cross to Kasiter, another ham to Gadget, one to Beepy, and at least another four to various people. My brain was a tad pickled by now so I forget who found what.

A cracking Hawking Ring turned up with a stone set into it and some etching around it. At least thats what we think it is. Anyone have any ideas. The stone reminds me of a yellow saphire -which are quite rare stones, as they are normally blue. I know a little about yellow saphires as I bought one for the wife last year! I may be miles out, but thats my guess.

The day was coming to a close and I still kept hearing about more hammies including a Lizzy penny and a sixpence and some silver milleds including two joeys, and Mark with a William III vitually blank sixpence. Unfortunatley I missed a few of these as for once I was detecting.

The find of the day in my opinion belongs to Ozzyhead (Jo} who was over the moon with a cracking 1700 William copper in stunning condition. Well done to her - its a real beauty ;)

A big THANK YOU needs to go to Rob (TaffLaff} for getting the land once again. Without him we would all have spent the day at home more than likely. Well done Rob - you are invaluable mate!

Also thanks to Geoff for the Vision to start this website in what was a wilderness time in Welsh Detecting. We all owe you a huge thanks for the friendships we have formed. Lets face it without Detectingwales a lot of us would be complete strangers.

Thats it for now - apologies if I got names wrong or missed out finds, but I am well and truley shattered! :P Until the next one all I can say is "Happy Hunting"

Get comfy because here come the photos!

Neil

More

And some more

Still more!

You still comfy?

Neil,Geoff,Rob Byron and all involved thanks for a great day out.Saw a few hammered brought up and had a lovely roman myself, will post pic probably tomorrow going straight to bed with v large brandy now and try and shake this cold.
just in case you are unaware, Dennis had lost his pinpoint probe in one of the fields. I'd like to think, as we are all good friends here, that who ever found it will be in touch with you or geoff asap.
once again a well run and attended rally.
many thanks
kev

They keep coming!

I am not finished Zorro! ;D

The end for now

great report thanks and well done neil :) :) :) :)

I heard there was a ring found and a few Roman coins, but I had no idea about that lot! All I really found was a nice little Viccy toy coin. Haven't taken a picture, but I found an identical image online (but mine doesn't have the awful punched hole):

(http://www-img.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/img/cm/cm19/CM.2450-2003(1).jpg)

Wow, I never knew that little lot came out the ground :o :o

Some really nice finds there 8) 8)

Can I make a suggestion??

Would it be an idea to have a finds Table/Cabinet for the next rally so people can (if they want) lay thier finds out for all to see. I love looking at other peoples finds as much as my own and when you see some decent finds like the ones here, it spurs you on and keeps the perseverence up. I got the impression that not a lot had been found but I was wrong.

nice one neil.great write up again and some lovely pictures.

Another great day out - well done Rob, Neil and Geoff.
My first coin was a little Roman bronze. After that, just the usual faceless coins, buttons, buckles, a musket ball and a bag seal, along with the usual metallic 'it's whatever you want it to be' assortment  :D
Brew loved meeting and greeting everyone - he has a terrific tail-wagging technique but he sure has a long way to go in learning how to sniff out the hammies  ;D
Looking forward to the next rally.
Deb

Absolutely great to meet members New and Old again. Nice to see some good finds come up. Congrats to Kaister who not only had his first ever hammered today but also had his Second ever hammered as well  ;)  

well done kaister -- they're just like cardiff busses -- nothing for ages then 2 come along at once!

HI EVERYONE.
what a first ralley we had.could.nt of hoped for a better one.
everyone i was speaking to had something.BAR ME.LOL.
but i did come home with a 12 month.s free entry for the detectingwales ralley.s 2010.
over the moon i must say.
great day over all really enjoyed the day.that.s what it.s all about.
thank.s to geoff neil and tafflaff for finding the land.thank.s guy.s
ray.

A great day out and a big thank you to all involved.
A brilliant write up as usual Neil, just a couple of points... is there really a precious metal named Joanna Lumley? because that's who I dream about, Oh well, moving swiftly on..............

Where did you find your walking cane inlay? was it in the car park field? I think I may have some more of it...

(http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv294/Chef_02/silver1.jpg)

Ridards friend snapping his find must of been some sort of poetic justice as it was in one piece (just) untill Richard got hold of it.  ;D ;) ;D ;) ;D >:(

(http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv294/Chef_02/silver.jpg)

good to meet u today Geoff. thx for the help with the headphones.

c u  at the nxt rally.

cheers

I found a few buttons and a ring?
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2681/4319264883_c992372887.jpg)

another great day out with the detecting wales crew ,nice write up neil some fanatastic finds made today did,nt find a great deal myself apart from 1916 sixpence and a 1922 shilling and a few bits n bobs hope to see you all again soon good luck with the detecting cheers  willow tree   ;)

That ring has got an age to it Robert ?  Any ideas on it ?

Great write up and pics Neil, and a big well done to all who attended, some great finds, wish i could have been there, well done guys.
Ace  ;)

None at all Taff  thought one of you lot would know

Great day,  I found a Roman grot,  George 111 penny  nice button with a dragon and what looks like a Roman IKEA coat hook?,   plus a shed load of other buttons ,  my tootsies and fingers are just warming up, Thanks to all involved and cheers for the lift Taff,  it was a pity i had to put up with Roman Ray in the back, 
Cheers Kiwi Terry

What a wonderful day out , usual thanks to Geoff, Neil and Rob, the attendance was incredible , thanks to WaltonbasInman (Paul), for the tips on the Quattro, , nice to see some new faces and old , i wish there was a way to identify each other, and finally,,,,, Benny, what can we say , everytime we meet , you end up with a Hammy, wish i left you in that bloody lane now...lol,,, well done again,,, and well done to all who found anything, and to those who did not,,,, KEEP SWINGING,,,,,, i only had a poor horse brass and a 1922 farthing and the usual junk, before my phones packed in ,,, but my time will come , looking forward to the next one already.

Oh and a special message for my mate Kev Winglish and Kaister,,,,,COME ON WALES!!!!!!!!!!

what a great load of finds were found  ;D
heres my finds cleaned

(http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv255/darknight-photos/DSCF0069.jpg)
very pleased with this trapezoidal buckle , so tinned it looks silver .
(http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv255/darknight-photos/DSCF0070.jpg)
not sure what this is ?
(http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv255/darknight-photos/DSCF0071.jpg)
blank coin with half etched in to it ??
(http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv255/darknight-photos/DSCF0072.jpg)

great stuff d/w  :)

I forgot to mension my Manure manchester RB & sons bag seal,
  nice finds Seeker,  Buckle is great
Kiwi Terry

Thanks to the guys that organised it all, One of my best days detecting so far, A special thanks to tafflaff for lending me his special lucky wellies(your not getting them back!!!) well chuffed with the hammered, the picture of the whole one wasnt actuly mine, i had the one titled "last hammered of the day". The cut half is a scottich one.
I also doubled the amount of buttons i found ever, i counted 21 from today when i got home.

exellent!!!!

Hey Kaister did Taff tell you thoose wellies have a couple of holes in them,    Rob dont give nothing away that he can use,   my advise dont go out in the rain,  you will end up with wet socks, ;D
Kiwi Terry

Hi all,really glad you had a good day,sorry not to have been able to make this one.Some lovely finds came up by all the writeups and photos.ope I can get to the next one
Al :) :) :) :) :)

thanks to neil geoff and tafflaff rob for finding the land and organising the rally me steve and the mighty thor really enjoyed ourselves only coing we found between us was one i found a Elizabeth 11 Half  Crown 1961 and loads of buttons and bits and bobs
Looking forward to the next DW rally already
Kaister if the wellies leak just put bags on yr feet before putting them on lol
debs

i can only wear them on sundays cos ther holy,,,,,

hehe kaister lol
debs

very good K,   I was one of the lads parked next to you,  good luck with the wellies,  no holes by the way, ;D
Kiwi Terry

good to see ya Kaister  :) well done on your days finds  ;D

looked like a great rally everyone sorry i couldnt be there
and some  nice finds to ;0)

well done Taff and admin ;0)

we missed u phil -- hope all is ok

cheers

Awwww thanks Alan

All ok here just something come up last minute,  you know my old problem
I,ll pm you laters ;0)

all the best
Phil

well done guys, some nice finds there, nice bit of Roman come up. :)

another great write-up neil..and another great DW rally  :D.. i know rob was worried about this site ..but all unfounded !  plenty of good finds and a good day enjoyed by everyone !...well done DW...byron

Great write-up and pics neil. I had a great time and was pleased with my fibula, silver buton and other bits and pieces.

I saw a few of the hammered. Ian (Gadget)'s is a continental sterling issued by Gaucher of Chatillon, like this:

http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showrecords.php?product=14964&cat=38 (http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showrecords.php?product=14964&cat=38)

Thanks Geoff Neil Rob /Byron for another  great rally ;) Did,nt find a lot myself   ::) but did,nt expect to on the way to the rally I had a omen stopped at the local garage to fill up the car it took me at least twenty minutes to get the petrol cap open ??? Then I arrived late unusual for me  :D but I was very happy at the end of the day to see other members finds  and meet members old and new good hunting all  ;)

Thanks to everyone who attended the DW Chepstow rally and to Neil and Rob for their help in organising it. I'm glad so many decent finds came up on the day.

Rob puts a lot of hard work into finding land for our rallies. Not every farm that agrees to a rally makes the grade. We endeavour to put a bit of 'quality control' into our rallies so every farm we're considering for a rally is tested, usually by Rob himself but accompanied by Neil and myself if we can make it.

If the test doesn't indicate sufficient activity on the land we're considering we don't hold a rally there. Four farms were under consideration for yesterdays rally. Tests were conducted on three of them and the farm we eventually chose was the only one that showed any decent activity.

One of the others was rejected because, although it had strong Roman and Iron age credentials and the farmer swore blind that there had never been any detecting allowed on it, the test proved disappointing.

One of the other farms tested, again with strong Roman credentials, was completely and utterly dead with absolutely no finds coming up during the test other than medicine tubes. We would have had a riot on our hands if we'd held a rally there.

So, although we can't guarantee that every rally we hold will be productive, I can assure you that we (mostly Rob) put every effort into making sure that they are.

Thanks to Neil for a brilliant report once again and thanks also to him for making sure we meet all the legal requirements for organising this type of rally.

Neil and Rob put a huge amount of energy and commitment into DetectingWales.com and without them DW wouldn't have become as successful as it has over the last year or so.

Geoff

Hi All,
 Thanks for a good day Rob, Geoff, and Neil. I didn't see Neil for a photo but I can add my first hammered for 2010 to the list a cut half voided long cross plus a reasonable Roman bronze. I had a bag of the usual bits which I haven't looked at yet, also a small bell which needs a clean.
I will try and get the pictures posted with some help.

                                             Pat. ;) ;)

Pat pm e mail them to me fella and i will post them for you  I will pm you my email

What a great day again. Great people, great location and some great finds. The weather though chilly stayed dry as well. As was usual for a DW rally I would equate my day to 20% detecting and 80% chatting. No change there then.Up to lunch time I detected around the wood and in the wood and my first signal brought the Glint of Gold. The heart raced until it became apparent there were two objects in my hole the second being gold as well. After careful extraction a gentle cleaning bought a heart sinking moment as the words Gold Label appeared on each with both being lids.  after this I found a few bullets, buttons and a bucket of lead. After investigating the Woods and what looks like an Iron Age enclosure with Medieval buildings inside of which there appears no record of in the archive it was back for lunch. After lunch headed over to the Roman field as all were calling it after Peters Fibula and some coins were found there. Found more buttons a small something that looks possibly a Roman Minim but is almost indistinguishable along with more lead and a silvery looking object with a inscription CARLSBERGIUS LAGERUS so if anyone could transfer Latin to English for me,  ;D ;D  and that was my day really. Wanted to chat with Handyman though we did speak briefly at the start but somehow missed him rest of the day as I think I spoke to the rest of Chepstow. Below are some pics from the day.

The masses gathered.  ;)

never mind Paul -- look fwd to the next time -- and to think i had a pkt of jelly babies for u in the car!!

not for long though - -ate them on the way home!

Well the Doc done it again named my hammered continental sterling issued by Gaucher of Chatillon in the field.
bloody amazing.Proved it with the link.what a asset to the forum.well done Peter and thanks for your time.
Ian(gadget).
 

Some photos of the enclosure in the wood

Thanks to all for another great day. My usual bag of rubbish and grots but I did get quite a nice 17th C buckle. I don't have a problem finding the small stuff but these days they're always the wrong colour! That site must be worth another go particularly if it gets ploughed.

Totally agree Jeff a good plough and roll and hopefully we behaved ourselves enough for a return visit as I feel there is a lot more to be had as well.

here's my best find, wait for it to be I.D'd / confirmed then i'll add it o the gallery. As said by all, yet another great day out detecting amongst friends.
Thanks once again to all who organised such a great event.

Another cracking day out courtesy of DW! Thanks to everyone who made it happen,thanks for it being such a good atmosphere,thanks for my first hammered of 2010 and most importantly a big thanks to Mike for leading me on the mystery tour of the Chepstow area! ;D Seriously mate would never of found the rally if it wasn't for you!Cheers!

Thanks for another great rally ,welldone Rob,Geoff and Neil,whens the next one ? ;D

Here are Ancientpat's finds.

just a few finds,    George 111 penny  roman grot,  nice picture of the wife on a button
Kiwi terry

other picture

I like the button Terry :)

Nice finds there Terry, well done mate, still no sign of the baby yet fella  :-\
Ace  ;)

I had a great day out!! Thanks again to everyone involved! I was well chuffed with my coin, it's the first identifiable one I've found (apart from a thruppenny bit :D) and to be 1700 and able to see all the markings so clearly was a bonus.
It's great to see all the pictures of the other finds, a brilliant day for all.
I had a few other bits and bobs as well

Here are some more pics from the rally. This is the Doc (Peter H) in Roman Fibula mode.

Here are the Detecting Wales formation dancing team (slightly out of sync keep practising gents). Forgot your names so if you spot your self.

Here is I believe Mike ( Terraterror ? ) In a good signal mode. What was the find Mike.

Is that a coil or a steering wheel, Mike? ;)

Thanks all for another lovely day out with good company.

Besides my two Roman grots I had a badly corroded William 111 coin.

I look forward to a revisit to the farmers other fields later in the year.

as im laid up and no detecting for a good while nice to get back on D.W to have a look whats been going on,glad the rally 13 went off well with a lot of good finds  ;)

This is one of my finds from the rally. Its a roman bell shaped stud and i am chuffed to bits with it as not too many have been found ;D ;D ;D

Well done fella , excellent find . Thanks for posting it up , much appreciated  ;)

i did forget  to say ,as MELONHEAD aka MARK took a video at this rally i would like to thank everyone for asking about me and also the very nice words that was said about me by a few of the DW crew on MELONHEADS video ;) ;D.......... you know who you are  ;D................................THANKS ALL