Colonial Australia Finds

"Local collector and metal detector enthusiast, Mark Thurtell, has found a very rare colonial stockman’s best buckle on a site between Grenfell and Forbes.

Mr Thurtell has an extensive collection of colonial artefacts which he has either purchased or found himself using metal detectors, but he said that he has never found anything as rare as this belt buckle, which commemorates the opium wars between England and China.

'Over the past 15 years I’ve seen hundreds of belt buckles,' Mr Thurtell said.

'But I’ve never seen one with this design before.'"

Read more HERE.

Image Credit: The Young Witness

MD'ing Colonial Virginia

"A few years ago Jerome Traver, archaeologist for York River State Park, did a random test dig at a site. He found nothing.

But after obtaining a 5-year permit to do more digging this year, he decided to check the same area again. This time he used a metal detector. The difference was startling.

Traver uncovered a previously undocumented fortified complex with a double palisade wall, bastions and redoubts dating to 1676. Inside the complex were several structures, including a barn and a house.

'You’re not always going to find them with random testing,' he said.

With the help of a sole volunteer, Traver has so far conducted 460 shovel tests using the metal detector. He found artifacts at every dig."

Read more HERE.