How to find those allusive gold staters

[avalon]

If anyone's interested in finding Dubunni gold staters, this may help point you in the right direction. It was interesting to read that during the time of the Roman conquest it is thought the Dobunni wealth stood at it’s highest level, amounting to 370,000 staters containing 875kg of gold. That's a lot possible coinage lying out in those fields, for the detectorist to find.

 
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/cbasw/publications/books/CBA-SW%20Publications%20-%20Land%20of%20the%20Dobunni.pdf

[legio11augustus]

wish the silures used money ;(

[dances with badgers]

wayno will find them

[Roman (Ray)]

cheers mate but ive had a dubunni gold stater.could you give me some advice on finding a roman coin.lol.
raymondoo..

[tyna]

 

[avalon]

cheers mate but ive had a dubunni gold stater.could you give me some advice on finding a roman coin.lol.
raymondoo..

Probably any field you detect in Gloucestershire, you would have more problems not finding one

[staterchaser]

Thanks Steve for putting the link up, a great read!

[avalon]

cheers mate but ive had a dubunni gold stater.could you give me some advice on finding a roman coin.lol.
raymondoo..

I think my advice to find Roman, Ray is to find a Roman site. This was todays goodies. Most were grots, but I did winkle out one silver and some brooches.

[handyman [Alan}]

hopefully they will be recorded either with PAS or UKDFD.

understanding our nations history and how it developed, relies on detectorists recording their finds.

[jtalbot0001]

Hi Avalon,

Just seen your lovely Roman finds you made today, there is quite a bit there, I would be very happy finding all that!

I just wondered what you mean by a "Roman Site". Unlike Roman Ray, I have been lucky enough to find a few Roman coins, and I mean enough to count on one hand, and I think I was and have been lucky to find them. I have never found a Roman Brooch of any sort, or anything Roman for that matter apart from a single find made a few weeks ago, which was a Roman Lock Cover. So the question really is, how do you find a "Roman Site"? Is your finds found on ploughed land right next to, or on top of, a Roman Road or Villa? And did you know that there was Roman activity before even starting to find Roman finds on that particular site, Or were you just lucky to land a really good site? I am just trying to get a better understanding of how I or even Ray can land up on a site like that.

Thanks,
Jon

[avalon]

I always record with the Corinium  museum, but not with the PAS, as I have no faith in them.

[avalon]

Hi Avalon,

Just seen your lovely Roman finds you made today, there is quite a bit there, I would be very happy finding all that!

I just wondered what you mean by a "Roman Site". Unlike Roman Ray, I have been lucky enough to find a few Roman coins, and I mean enough to count on one hand, and I think I was and have been lucky to find them. I have never found a Roman Brooch of any sort, or anything Roman for that matter apart from a single find made a few weeks ago, which was a Roman Lock Cover. So the question really is, how do you find a "Roman Site"? Is your finds found on ploughed land right next to, or on top of, a Roman Road or Villa? And did you know that there was Roman activity before even starting to find Roman finds on that particular site, Or were you just lucky to land a really good site? I am just trying to get a better understanding of how I or even Ray can land up on a site like that.

Thanks,
Jon

In 30  years I have covered most area’s in Gloucestershire, in fact there is very little I don’t know about the County. I have detected on over 110 farms in most parishes in the County and have amassed  an enormous database of information, which I can cross reference with maps. My ordinance survey maps are completely covered with find spots all colour coded, along with the farmers name and telephone numbers, So if I drive along a road I know who lives in any particular farm I happen to pass. .Any archaeological report I find on line, which mentions a scattering of Roman pot get moved to my maps, so I can see at an instance if the area has any occupation of any type.

I have never detected on any Scheduled site, as all my detecting is done legally with the farmers permission, as most of my sites are more productive than S.A.M‘s. but  I do use Magic maps to check how close I can  legally go. Gloucestershire has hundreds of settlements, some known but many unknown. I have found over the years all the known sites have either been detected to death or have been nighthawked and there is very little left to find. The fields which often produce the most are ones, which have no known archaeology. If I scan over my maps, I look for area’s between known settlements  looking for old quarries and a water sources and footpaths , which were vital for occupation.  I also pay 2 farm contractors to  tell me where they see  pottery lying on the fields when they plough and spray. I give them £10 if they bring me back Roman pot, with the find spot, and farmers name.
 I also appear regularly in the local papers, for what I find, as I find the publicity helps and gets you more widely known and more sites.  I also give talks on  local history and detecting at villages halls in the summer, and gain more land that way, as  farmers often attend and will ask me if I would like to detect there land, which I still find amazing, as if you knock on there door they will often be downright rude to you, but if they come to one of my talks they are completely different.
I  am also seen as public enemy No. 1 with Gloucestershire archaeology, not just because of what I’ve found, but for various radio broadcasts promoting the hobby,

I will not work with PAS or UKDFD for many reasons, but I do work closely with Cirencester museum, who I find are more honest and confidential about site information.  
If the archaeologist what to call us amateurs then that’s fine by me, but I’m the one finding the artefacts at the end of the day.  If you are all prepared to do the research and  put in the amount of  time I have given to the hobby, then your finds rate will increase.

[Metalmickey]

Very interesting link/post Steve. Here is my 1st & only Roman Brooch, & yes it was found in Gloucester !    

[jtalbot0001]

Hey Avalon, thanks so much for that reply, I think I have learnt a lot from that read! I try do as much filedwalking as I can to see what I can find in terms of pottery etc, but my problem is I can't quite tell what may be roman, medieval and later sometimes, well, in fact most of the time. I got no problem finding pottery, just don't know what it is. I am guessing you must know more on that subject to help you understand the archaeology of the area. I hope one day I will end up on a fairly decent active site, I just have to be patient and keep looking...

[avalon]

Very interesting link/post Steve. Here is my 1st & only Roman Brooch, & yes it was found in Gloucester !    

Well it's your lucky day Metalmickey, because I will pm you the inforamtion of a Roman Villa site which still produces and the farmer lets most people detect, but you will have to wait for the Autumn as it is now planted.

Now there must be a place in heaven for me