There are two things that can get me up before 06 in the morning. That is hearing the cat trying to throw up in my shoe, or expedition plans, and yesterday morning it was expedition. The bell rang ten to six and without too much struggle I managed to put my feet into the slippers and find my way to the coffee machine. Baard and I had planned to check out a few places so when breakfast was done I was on the road heading to our meeting point. In a hillside overlooking the valley was the ruins of a small Wehrmacht guard house, and the landowner was going to meet us there. While waiting for the landowner to get ready we spent an hour detecting a thicket where it once had been a large Gebirgsjäger/Heer camp. Much of the camp is gone today because soil has been taken out, but a few percent still exsists as an overgrown forest. It was loads of signals from different metals picked up, but we hadn`t found anything interesting when we drove off to the guardhouse site.
The farmer told us the little he knew about the place as he showed it to us. Through the forest we could see what a great lookout post this would have been back then. It was nothing more than the foundations of a small house visible. With the detectors we checked the foundations and the surrounding area. A little bit of nails and metal scrap probably from the building was the only thing we could find. Except a modern army tent peg and a few red plastic 7.62 excercise rifle rounds it was completely silent in the forest around. While digging some scrap in the foundation Baard discovered he had lost his pin pointer. It had been ripped from its cord. As he hadn`t had time to walk around in the forest here yet, we knew it had to be somewhere between where we were standing and the last place he dug in the thicket. We strolled back to the car and drove to the camp.
The tall grass showed clearly where we had walked earlier so a minute after leaving the van we had found the pinpointer. Now we decided to just spend the day searching this camp and found a place to put the food and backpacks. Baard went into the forest to search around a barracks foundation while I investigated the area that made out the top shortend of the camp. Here was a ditch going along the entire lenght and it had lots of different signals all the way. That was very interesting and it is probably filled with junk from the camp. Of course I wanted to open it up but it was filled with fallen and cut down trees of all sizes with new sapplings and shrubbery growing. Clearly a job where we will need a tractor, which we are pretty sure the landowner have, we just need to ask him. Then I went back into the camp area and got a nice signal from the Fisher F5. Ca 5 cm under the sand I found an enamelled lid to a kettle or large frying pan. Under it was a padlock, a little scrap metal and a handful of gaming pieces. I went over to Baard with them. Since I had filled the jar I wanted to fill with gaming bits I had promised to give him all the ones I dig up. Around the barrack he had found a couple of coins. A Norwegian one and a beautiful Finnish 5 Markkaa. After walking around for a while we began digging a ditch that gave some strong signals, and we could see the leg from a medic stretcher sticking out from the ground so it could be something interesting in it. It took us a few hours to dig it all up, and it was a lot of hard work, including one or two coffee breaks. As usual the top layer in the ditch was big rocks and roots, and my fingers and muscles are still aching from it. We got out two and a half medical stretchers, all parts in pretty good condition, plus some fabric from the stretchers. We also dug up a large muffler from a vehicle and a square enamelled lid of the size of a Roman shield, I suspect it might be from a field kitchen, but I could be wrong on that. The other finds from this ditch was some tent pegs and a surgical tray together with a small medical bottle and some tins.
After a small break we continued into the forest and found the foundations of a massive building. It was full of signals, but had a lot of logs and rotting trees so it ll be for another day. Around the building there were also signals everywhere and soon I had started digging one end of a small ditch. The signal I had picked up was an enamelled bowl from a field kitchen and next to it was a bottle. As I opened up more of the ground more relics came out of it and in just a few minutes I had a pile started. Here was toothpaste tubes, cream tubes, several perfume bottles, a hole-punch machine, a tent peg, pocket knife, parts of a primus, a Daimon field torch and then one half of a EKM (Erkennungsmarke/soldier ID tag)! It even had some letters and numbers on it!! I was so happy! I tried cleaning it up a little and could read that it belonged to a Gebirgsjäger unit!! the quite famous Regiment 139.
I continued digging through the ditch and picked out more bottles, parts from boots and skibindings, a small bakelite box, a purple soap tin made from early plastic and a replacement ski tip made from metal, in good condition! Another awesome find!! After taking out a smashed coffee kettle the ditch began to look empty. I began checking the edges and out fell three halves of EKMs! And then more and more and more! All but one were broken in half and seemed to be blank with no stampings on, but Baard, who had been digging scrap metals from the other side of the ditch looked through them and said some more of the bits was stamped. I couldn`t wait to have them cleaned up and see what was on them. We filled the ditch and tidied up around it and decided we had to quit for the day. For 11 hours we had been searching and digging, so now old knees and joints had begun to tell tales of torment. Covered in mud and clothes kilos heavy with water we discussed the next trip to this camp as we strolled back to the car. I drove Baard back to his summer cabin where he will spend the next three days trying to dry his boots so he is ready for more treasure hunting. We have a crate full of Iron Crosses to find!
This morning I cleaned up the EKMs. It was 12 blank zink tags (all broken in half), one half alu tag with "GRAZ" and some randomly placed letters and numbers stamped, so probably a "test" tag of some kind. One alu EKM broken in half from Geb.Jäg Regt. 139. It is an interestig tag coz the "R" is made up from a "K" and a "-" . It was one whole blank alu tag in the lot, also very interesting coz it is a field made tag with the centre square holes punched and filed out.
The farmer told us the little he knew about the place as he showed it to us. Through the forest we could see what a great lookout post this would have been back then. It was nothing more than the foundations of a small house visible. With the detectors we checked the foundations and the surrounding area. A little bit of nails and metal scrap probably from the building was the only thing we could find. Except a modern army tent peg and a few red plastic 7.62 excercise rifle rounds it was completely silent in the forest around. While digging some scrap in the foundation Baard discovered he had lost his pin pointer. It had been ripped from its cord. As he hadn`t had time to walk around in the forest here yet, we knew it had to be somewhere between where we were standing and the last place he dug in the thicket. We strolled back to the car and drove to the camp.
The tall grass showed clearly where we had walked earlier so a minute after leaving the van we had found the pinpointer. Now we decided to just spend the day searching this camp and found a place to put the food and backpacks. Baard went into the forest to search around a barracks foundation while I investigated the area that made out the top shortend of the camp. Here was a ditch going along the entire lenght and it had lots of different signals all the way. That was very interesting and it is probably filled with junk from the camp. Of course I wanted to open it up but it was filled with fallen and cut down trees of all sizes with new sapplings and shrubbery growing. Clearly a job where we will need a tractor, which we are pretty sure the landowner have, we just need to ask him. Then I went back into the camp area and got a nice signal from the Fisher F5. Ca 5 cm under the sand I found an enamelled lid to a kettle or large frying pan. Under it was a padlock, a little scrap metal and a handful of gaming pieces. I went over to Baard with them. Since I had filled the jar I wanted to fill with gaming bits I had promised to give him all the ones I dig up. Around the barrack he had found a couple of coins. A Norwegian one and a beautiful Finnish 5 Markkaa. After walking around for a while we began digging a ditch that gave some strong signals, and we could see the leg from a medic stretcher sticking out from the ground so it could be something interesting in it. It took us a few hours to dig it all up, and it was a lot of hard work, including one or two coffee breaks. As usual the top layer in the ditch was big rocks and roots, and my fingers and muscles are still aching from it. We got out two and a half medical stretchers, all parts in pretty good condition, plus some fabric from the stretchers. We also dug up a large muffler from a vehicle and a square enamelled lid of the size of a Roman shield, I suspect it might be from a field kitchen, but I could be wrong on that. The other finds from this ditch was some tent pegs and a surgical tray together with a small medical bottle and some tins.
After a small break we continued into the forest and found the foundations of a massive building. It was full of signals, but had a lot of logs and rotting trees so it ll be for another day. Around the building there were also signals everywhere and soon I had started digging one end of a small ditch. The signal I had picked up was an enamelled bowl from a field kitchen and next to it was a bottle. As I opened up more of the ground more relics came out of it and in just a few minutes I had a pile started. Here was toothpaste tubes, cream tubes, several perfume bottles, a hole-punch machine, a tent peg, pocket knife, parts of a primus, a Daimon field torch and then one half of a EKM (Erkennungsmarke/soldier ID tag)! It even had some letters and numbers on it!! I was so happy! I tried cleaning it up a little and could read that it belonged to a Gebirgsjäger unit!! the quite famous Regiment 139.
I continued digging through the ditch and picked out more bottles, parts from boots and skibindings, a small bakelite box, a purple soap tin made from early plastic and a replacement ski tip made from metal, in good condition! Another awesome find!! After taking out a smashed coffee kettle the ditch began to look empty. I began checking the edges and out fell three halves of EKMs! And then more and more and more! All but one were broken in half and seemed to be blank with no stampings on, but Baard, who had been digging scrap metals from the other side of the ditch looked through them and said some more of the bits was stamped. I couldn`t wait to have them cleaned up and see what was on them. We filled the ditch and tidied up around it and decided we had to quit for the day. For 11 hours we had been searching and digging, so now old knees and joints had begun to tell tales of torment. Covered in mud and clothes kilos heavy with water we discussed the next trip to this camp as we strolled back to the car. I drove Baard back to his summer cabin where he will spend the next three days trying to dry his boots so he is ready for more treasure hunting. We have a crate full of Iron Crosses to find!
This morning I cleaned up the EKMs. It was 12 blank zink tags (all broken in half), one half alu tag with "GRAZ" and some randomly placed letters and numbers stamped, so probably a "test" tag of some kind. One alu EKM broken in half from Geb.Jäg Regt. 139. It is an interestig tag coz the "R" is made up from a "K" and a "-" . It was one whole blank alu tag in the lot, also very interesting coz it is a field made tag with the centre square holes punched and filed out.
Barrack foundation.
The lost pin pointer.
Returned to a happy owner who doesnt need to spend lots of money for a new carrot.
Padlock and gaming pieces.
A nice little find. Dont know what it is for, but I like it.
Norwegian coin.
Finnish coin.
It is in beautiful condition.
Signal flare and worm.
K98 ammo.
Headphone.
An interesting brass tag found next to the barrack.
I think you can make out the rain in these two pics of Baard digging the ditch. Man, it really poured down on us.
Two and a half stretcher.
Mr. Tinygreenworm
Esbit burners, clasps and buckles.
Medical tray with some tins and a bottle.
Tent pegs and a large lid.
Baard with his muffler.
A pretty beetle.
That paper survives a burn pit and then 80 years in the ground is fascinating.
Cream tube.
Perfume bottles.
Rust and relics.
Half EKM.
Paper from a razorblade packet.
Bakelite box.
Soap box and cream tubes.
Goggles.
Pocket knife.
Small wooden container. It held needles. Sadly the bottom crumbled away.
Replacement ski tip.
Fire extinguisher.
Coffee kettle.
EKMs!
A happy me. I have wanted to find a stamped erkennungsmarken for a long time, but have only found unissued blank ones the last few years, until yesterday. At least it was one and a half stamped tags in this lot :)
Anybody knows about such tag?
Gebirgsjäger Regiment 139.
Blank field made tag.
"GRAZ" and four small numbers thrown on randomly.
On the back it had these four letters.
Wooden tube with needles.
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