Shortly after breakfast and coffee I headed back out to the ditch Im searching through, dead certain today would be the day the first shovel in would give me a large dump of helmets, ofcourse that was a bit optimistic.
The first half hour searching the edges of the ditch yielded nothing other than the usual trash, but suddenly I hit a belt of goodies. Just small bits, but the relic pile grew steadily. It was fewer coins today, only two,a Norwegian and a Finnish one. But I found a k98 cleaning kit and a field torch, they ll both go into a bath of oxalic acid as soon as I get some more. Also the Nivea products and Esbit burners came out of the ground in a steady pace together with hundreds of wine and beer bottles. Some bits of ammo pouches stuck out from the soil and as I pulled it a Erkennungsmärke fell out, that was a nice surprise.
The last bit of the edge I had to check sort of led into a new ditch, half meter wide and going away from the dumping pit. For two hours I followed it, digging nothing but rusted cans and bottles, and I got really bored with it and decided to leave it for another day and rather start the un-dug newly discovered pit next to the one I ve been digging these days.
The first half hour searching the edges of the ditch yielded nothing other than the usual trash, but suddenly I hit a belt of goodies. Just small bits, but the relic pile grew steadily. It was fewer coins today, only two,a Norwegian and a Finnish one. But I found a k98 cleaning kit and a field torch, they ll both go into a bath of oxalic acid as soon as I get some more. Also the Nivea products and Esbit burners came out of the ground in a steady pace together with hundreds of wine and beer bottles. Some bits of ammo pouches stuck out from the soil and as I pulled it a Erkennungsmärke fell out, that was a nice surprise.
The last bit of the edge I had to check sort of led into a new ditch, half meter wide and going away from the dumping pit. For two hours I followed it, digging nothing but rusted cans and bottles, and I got really bored with it and decided to leave it for another day and rather start the un-dug newly discovered pit next to the one I ve been digging these days.
It is tedious work and one have to be carefull so not to stab oneself on all the broken glass in these ditches.
RG34 cleaning kit for the K98.
Fieldtorch.
One of the hundreds of bottles in this pit.
K98 ammo pouch.
Norwegian coin in bad condition.
One can never find enough coins, This one is from 1921.
Esbit burner.
Unit marked on the inside of a ammo pouch lid. "10/J.R 86 II"
EKM is always great to find.
I cleared away branches and vegetation and could see that it definately was a dumping pit. Bits of metal and bottles poked up from the ground, so I just went to work. It was full of metal under the soil, some large bits, parts of ovens, a fire extinguisher, pipes and whatnot. Then I had this small but heavy lump in my hand, the handle of a pistol,, ofcourse it couldn`t have been a complete one,,I was furious! Na,just joking,I was ofcourse overjoyed with this bit as I ve never found something like it here. Next I found a folded up Erkennungsmärke, a small broke bakelite box and part of a Schu-Mine 42. I had cleared the edge and the wall in front of me and began digging down. The soil here was still very wet from the melted snow, and it was a layer of rocks and barbed wire, I decided to continue along the edge instead and let the ground dry up some more before digging down.
Now I found parts of a field radio and a broken entrenching tool and 4 or 5 batteries with the paper labels still relativel intact. As I tried to remove them from the soil I discovered they were frozen stuck, so the sunny days better keep coming now so this can thaw. Next to the batteries but a bit higher up on the edge I noticed a corner of what could be a box or crate so I dug around it, freeing it quite easily. It was a Mg ammo box with most of the paint intact. It seems to be filled with frozen mud as it is kind of expanded a bit, and the carrying handle was missing, but it ll be interesting opening this one up to see if there is only mud inside it.
Now it was getting late and I was starving so I gathered up my stuff, cleaned up after me and went back home to do some relic cleaning.
Lets hope the weather keeps delivering sun and I can get back out digging tomorrow.
Now I found parts of a field radio and a broken entrenching tool and 4 or 5 batteries with the paper labels still relativel intact. As I tried to remove them from the soil I discovered they were frozen stuck, so the sunny days better keep coming now so this can thaw. Next to the batteries but a bit higher up on the edge I noticed a corner of what could be a box or crate so I dug around it, freeing it quite easily. It was a Mg ammo box with most of the paint intact. It seems to be filled with frozen mud as it is kind of expanded a bit, and the carrying handle was missing, but it ll be interesting opening this one up to see if there is only mud inside it.
Now it was getting late and I was starving so I gathered up my stuff, cleaned up after me and went back home to do some relic cleaning.
Lets hope the weather keeps delivering sun and I can get back out digging tomorrow.
Im not sure, but I think it is some kind of fire extinguisher.
This was a great find. It ll be fun figuring out what it was.
The folded EKM.
Broken Bakelite box.
Part of Schu-Mine 42.
Some cream tubes.
Rusted away entrenching tool.
Parts of a fieldradio.
Battery label.
The Mg ammo box.
"5./GB.JG.R.139 324" Bloodgroup AB
"No.17 1. Komp. Waffenmstr. Sch.d.Lw.2" Bloodgroup A
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