I was just calling in on a Sunday morning to one of my local permissions to have a morning session, and there was a lorry filling a farmer's feed hoppers, it was blocking the track to my field. I couldn't get past so decided to pull into the farm entrance to wait for him to unload.
While I was sat in my truck the owner of the farm came over and asked if he could help me, I told him I was waiting for the lorry to finish then I would be able to pass, "oh right he said and what are you going to be doing?"
I told him all about my love for metal detecting and history of the area, very interested he was so I showed him some pictures on my phone that I had found.
"Well," he said, "I have some land that has never been searched" would I like to have a look over it, not one to miss out on an offer like that that I said "yes please". "Pull into the yard and I'll take you over to it."
It was a field around 4 acres in size and a small wood. the grass in the field was about 6" high and the wood was totally inaccessible as it was overgrown, I said I would like to try the wood in winter when it had died back, but the field I would have a look around the edges and where the rabbits had eaten the grass.
So I walked back to my truck and unpacked the E-TRAC and fitted the small search coil. Walked back to the field set up the E-TRAC to one of my favourite patterns for new sites and set of walking slowly in and around the area it could get to. I had picked up some bits of junk along the route, and then I got a superb signal, nice high tone and depth of around 6 inches.
Shovel at the ready I began to dig the nice soft ground, a lifted out the sod of grass, poked my pinpointer into the hole and no signal, ran it over the soil I had removed and beep beep beep. I pulled the turf apart and out fell this dirty looking ring, closer examination I could see the letters "TOT". I had heard of these rings but had never actually seen one. I placed it in a plastic bag and wrote on the GPS location etc.
Had another few hours detecting and only found a few coins of the last century.
Anyway I took the ring along to my local FLO (Finds liaison officer) who was really excited to see it when he saw what it was "Oh it's an Adam ring". Adam Daubney is a TOT ring expert and has written some great pieces about them, and there has only been in the region of 70 ever found.
Anyway, submitted the ring into the PAS (portable antiquities scheme) which records finds, and it also has been submitted as treasure (Under the Treasure act).
The farmer has been told and given some really great photos, and now we're waiting the outcome, treasure or not still a great find and connection to our past, 2000 years ago.
Paul Cee - North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
