Around 11 yesterday morning I left home to go see if Jimmy was ready for some rust hunting. Surprisingly he was already on his legs, but we had to drink some coffee before heading out to the woods so that "he could drive legally". Half hour later we turned on the metal detectors and strolled into the Gebirgsjäger forest. We walked straight into a patch that had signals all over, and dug there for a while. Nothing good was found. We had only dug up bits from ovens, food tins, bunker candles and a little cloth from a tunic which still had a few of the buttons present. Jimmy had located two ditches that needed to be checked, so we took directions to the first one and searched our way towards it.
The ditch was a few meters long and full of metal so we just began in one of the ends. The top of it was full of rocks of course but soon we were pulling metal and glass out of the ground. After an hours work we had a few finds. Some rifle ammo, food tins, a harmonica, an empty M24 head, a porcelain coffee mug, bottles, Esbit burners and some tools, and a "Wifo" fuel barrell top. But also an unusual and surprising find. An intact ping pong ball! A few trees were growing next to the ditch and the thick roots made it difficult to dig. Since the daylight hours are very short now here north we decided to save the rest of the ditch till next season and rather try our luck on another ditch. According to Jimmy it was 70 meter long and overflowing with signals probably from helmets. I didn`t comment on the 70 meter part of his tale, but am always keen on digging lids so I followed along. Once more we stepped right into a patch full of signals and spent a little time cutting through the moss again. First I found a Esbit burner, but then the luck changed and I had to call Jimothy over to share the joy over the best find of the day so far. I had picked up half a German Erkennungsmarke, From a Gebirgsjäger unit. I saw that he was about to knock me out so I hurried back on my feet, pointed to some trees and said "Look there! Rust!", to direct his attention on to something else. He is much like a labrador that way luckily.
We found the other ditch and although it was far from 70 meters, it was by far the longest ditch full of signals I have ever seen. Very exciting!
Jimmy started digging in the end of the ditch and I a couple of meters down it. While he began pulling out finds I was still removing the layer of rocks but not long after I also reached the relics. He dug up bakelite light switches, sockets and connectors while I found a rusted MG ammo box. I was fighting with parts of a big coil of copper wire when I suddenly heard a womanly shriek from the other end of the ditch. Jimmy had found a helmet! And it was an unusual helmet. A WW1 variant. The liner was intact and both color and winter camo were visible! What an amazing find!! And while I dug up three gasmask canisters, Jimmy found two belt buckles! Steel Heer buckles.
Now I had the rim of a motorcycle tyre in the ditch ahead, but the copper wire had to go first. The wire cutter came out of the backpack and I began cutting my way through it. The wire was well over into Jimmys side as well and when the bugger pulled the wire out, two helmets followed!! Now what the heck was going on? What a treasure chest!
We got the coil out of the ditch and could continue digging. Now I had a little luck and pulled out a pipe which I saw was a Panzerfaust 30 Klein, with lots of color intact! Awesome! But the joy soon turned when I noticed that the tail was still stuck inside it, and knew it had to be left behind. While Jimmy finished up his end of the ditch by finding a beautiful k98 bayonet in its scabbard I finally managed to get the motorcycle wheel loose and to the surface, and then another one was behind it, but it was much easier to get out.
On the bottom of the ditch we picked up more gasmask canisters, two Tetra fire extinguishers, some tent pegs and a rifle grenade launcher, plus a bucket full of rifle ammo! We still had some time before darkness so Jimmy went a couple of meters ahead and dug towards me. I had a large steering wheel in front of me. I wondered what it could be, from a vehicle, cannon or some tool maybe. A few drops of sweat later the heavy piece of metal was on the side of the ditch. It was a large drill. And not many minutes later we had found two more parts for it, making it into a pillar drilling machine. During this process Jimmy dug out yet another belt buckle!
We removed a large tool box and I was trying to find the bottom of the ditch when Jimmy began talking about calling it quits. The same moment he said it I felt the shape of a helmet 20 cm below surface. Rocks and soil got scooped away and pryed loose with the bayonet, uncovering the rims of two helmets! We got one of them up and it looked good. Some color and camo showing. Then the next one, also in good condition. The daylight kept fading but we had still not reached the bottom, and helmets kept coming. When we finally had the bottom of the ditch, we had pulled out five helmets. One of them almost completely without rust, green and white. Also on the bottom was another Heer belt buckle and a PPSh magazine. What a crazy end of the day! And what lay waiting in the ditch ahead? In total we got 8 lids and 4 buckles. :D
As we were filling back the ditch I heard a sound behind me. I turned my head, screamed and fell over into the ditch as a wolf came running at me. In the same moment I of course realized it was not a wolf but the dog from a team of moose hunters :D
I was soaked, cold and hungry when I came home, and my car more muddy inside than outside, but what a small cost for such an amazing day. It could easily have been the last Adventure Afteroon this season as the first snow will probably fall this evening according to the weather folks. But lets hope we`ll get one or two more trips there before it is the end.
Late last evening Jimmy called me to hear if I maybe had brought two of his belt buckles, coz he suspected he had left them by a tree near the ditch. I had to look through my backpack and finds, but no luck. I couldn`t stand the thought of the buckles being alone out there in the big forest, cold and covered in rust, so I drove back this morning to fetch them.
They were by the tree and I could finally relax when I had stuck them into my pocket. I turned on the detector and walked back to the car. I checked a good signal and it was an interesting find. A flag pole that probably stood on top of a building as it is just a little longer than a meter. The next one I dug was a real nice surprise.A medal! An Allgemeine Sturmabzeichen (General Assault Badge). The needle was missing, and it need some carefull cleaning but I think it will look good. Before I reached the car I dug up a food tin and a nice Tetra Fire extinguisher. I would have loved to spend the day there digging , but I had to put on the cars winter tyres and make this write-up, so no time for more fun and games today :D
Thanks for reading, and have a great day :)
The ditch was a few meters long and full of metal so we just began in one of the ends. The top of it was full of rocks of course but soon we were pulling metal and glass out of the ground. After an hours work we had a few finds. Some rifle ammo, food tins, a harmonica, an empty M24 head, a porcelain coffee mug, bottles, Esbit burners and some tools, and a "Wifo" fuel barrell top. But also an unusual and surprising find. An intact ping pong ball! A few trees were growing next to the ditch and the thick roots made it difficult to dig. Since the daylight hours are very short now here north we decided to save the rest of the ditch till next season and rather try our luck on another ditch. According to Jimmy it was 70 meter long and overflowing with signals probably from helmets. I didn`t comment on the 70 meter part of his tale, but am always keen on digging lids so I followed along. Once more we stepped right into a patch full of signals and spent a little time cutting through the moss again. First I found a Esbit burner, but then the luck changed and I had to call Jimothy over to share the joy over the best find of the day so far. I had picked up half a German Erkennungsmarke, From a Gebirgsjäger unit. I saw that he was about to knock me out so I hurried back on my feet, pointed to some trees and said "Look there! Rust!", to direct his attention on to something else. He is much like a labrador that way luckily.
We found the other ditch and although it was far from 70 meters, it was by far the longest ditch full of signals I have ever seen. Very exciting!
Jimmy started digging in the end of the ditch and I a couple of meters down it. While he began pulling out finds I was still removing the layer of rocks but not long after I also reached the relics. He dug up bakelite light switches, sockets and connectors while I found a rusted MG ammo box. I was fighting with parts of a big coil of copper wire when I suddenly heard a womanly shriek from the other end of the ditch. Jimmy had found a helmet! And it was an unusual helmet. A WW1 variant. The liner was intact and both color and winter camo were visible! What an amazing find!! And while I dug up three gasmask canisters, Jimmy found two belt buckles! Steel Heer buckles.
Now I had the rim of a motorcycle tyre in the ditch ahead, but the copper wire had to go first. The wire cutter came out of the backpack and I began cutting my way through it. The wire was well over into Jimmys side as well and when the bugger pulled the wire out, two helmets followed!! Now what the heck was going on? What a treasure chest!
We got the coil out of the ditch and could continue digging. Now I had a little luck and pulled out a pipe which I saw was a Panzerfaust 30 Klein, with lots of color intact! Awesome! But the joy soon turned when I noticed that the tail was still stuck inside it, and knew it had to be left behind. While Jimmy finished up his end of the ditch by finding a beautiful k98 bayonet in its scabbard I finally managed to get the motorcycle wheel loose and to the surface, and then another one was behind it, but it was much easier to get out.
On the bottom of the ditch we picked up more gasmask canisters, two Tetra fire extinguishers, some tent pegs and a rifle grenade launcher, plus a bucket full of rifle ammo! We still had some time before darkness so Jimmy went a couple of meters ahead and dug towards me. I had a large steering wheel in front of me. I wondered what it could be, from a vehicle, cannon or some tool maybe. A few drops of sweat later the heavy piece of metal was on the side of the ditch. It was a large drill. And not many minutes later we had found two more parts for it, making it into a pillar drilling machine. During this process Jimmy dug out yet another belt buckle!
We removed a large tool box and I was trying to find the bottom of the ditch when Jimmy began talking about calling it quits. The same moment he said it I felt the shape of a helmet 20 cm below surface. Rocks and soil got scooped away and pryed loose with the bayonet, uncovering the rims of two helmets! We got one of them up and it looked good. Some color and camo showing. Then the next one, also in good condition. The daylight kept fading but we had still not reached the bottom, and helmets kept coming. When we finally had the bottom of the ditch, we had pulled out five helmets. One of them almost completely without rust, green and white. Also on the bottom was another Heer belt buckle and a PPSh magazine. What a crazy end of the day! And what lay waiting in the ditch ahead? In total we got 8 lids and 4 buckles. :D
As we were filling back the ditch I heard a sound behind me. I turned my head, screamed and fell over into the ditch as a wolf came running at me. In the same moment I of course realized it was not a wolf but the dog from a team of moose hunters :D
I was soaked, cold and hungry when I came home, and my car more muddy inside than outside, but what a small cost for such an amazing day. It could easily have been the last Adventure Afteroon this season as the first snow will probably fall this evening according to the weather folks. But lets hope we`ll get one or two more trips there before it is the end.
Late last evening Jimmy called me to hear if I maybe had brought two of his belt buckles, coz he suspected he had left them by a tree near the ditch. I had to look through my backpack and finds, but no luck. I couldn`t stand the thought of the buckles being alone out there in the big forest, cold and covered in rust, so I drove back this morning to fetch them.
They were by the tree and I could finally relax when I had stuck them into my pocket. I turned on the detector and walked back to the car. I checked a good signal and it was an interesting find. A flag pole that probably stood on top of a building as it is just a little longer than a meter. The next one I dug was a real nice surprise.A medal! An Allgemeine Sturmabzeichen (General Assault Badge). The needle was missing, and it need some carefull cleaning but I think it will look good. Before I reached the car I dug up a food tin and a nice Tetra Fire extinguisher. I would have loved to spend the day there digging , but I had to put on the cars winter tyres and make this write-up, so no time for more fun and games today :D
Thanks for reading, and have a great day :)
The remains of a tunic.
Porcelain. It was only a norwegian producer mark on it.
M24 head.
Ping pong ball.
Fuel barrell top. "Wifo".
Erkennungsmarke. A Gebirgsjäger unit.
Paper from a box with leather treatment.
Jimmy - aka - Mr. Luck.
Two lids followed when Jimmy pulled a wire out of the ditch.
Both had intact liners, color and camo showing, and one named in the neck.
Ammo box.
Gasmask canisters.
It is so exciting finding the corner of a buried box.
From a motorcycle.
A large toolbox.
Heer buckle.
Tetra extinguisher. Both we found were full and had some dings so they were both left behind.
Pillar drilling machine.
Rifle grenade launcher.
They call him Mr. Beltbuckle.
PPSh magazine.
The stuff dreams are made of.
This morning I picked up Jimmys forgotten treasures.
Flag pole.
Medal!!
Tetra extinguisher.
Medic stretcher sticking out of the ground.
Soon it ll all be covered in white.
11. / G.J.E.R. 136.
Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen.
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