Today in my afternoon break I took a trip up to Saturdays Rally site to check everything is OK, It was over two years ago that we had our first rally on this land and I have to admit when I saw it on that first rally my heart sank, miles from anywhere and out on the levels, I thought by the end of the day DetectingWales may experience it's first riot
Well was I in for a shock and a nice one at that, by the end of the day the rally goers had amassed 13 hammered coins plus 3(?) milled silver coins and I had found the best hammy I have ever found infact thinking back I think most of the hammies came up unviolated by the plough.
The vast majority of these finds came from a large 25 acre field in the middle of the site. Since that first visit we have held two further rallies bringing the total hammy count up to 30, BUT on the last two occasions we have not been able to get back on the most productive field.
That is until now and it looks about as perfect as you can get, it has been ploughed twice since it was last detected and is now under grass which has been cut and still quite sparse.
After that first visit I burnt the midnight oil trying to fathom out "why" so many coins were turning up in the middle of nowhere, but to no avail. There was not even a mention on the local HER, but a few months ago the records were updated and I can tell you that within half a mile in three directions there are abandoned medieval settlement sites, also this Saturdays rally field had a "Pill" or canal from the sea cut through it and at this point it met the canal to Glastonbury which the monks built in the 11th century, so it could of been more or less a port.
While I was there this afternoon I took a walk in some other fields which bound the other side of the canal (now just a Rhyne) where they had dumped the dredging's from the regular drainage maintenance they carry out around the levels.
The amount and quality of the pottery that is there is quite impressive most of the obvious pieces are Staffordshire slipware and dates from the mid 17th century but in amongst this is some very early medieval pottery and while I wouldn't go as far as saying it IS Saxon it's not to far away.
So Good luck to all that are attending and if you are, like me Minelabbing it, remember SLOW AND LOW, those hammies are there and just waiting to be found.
