Here it is, spring is upon us, and one begins to hear the voices of birds that have been hidden away during what has been one of the longest, coldest winters I can recall in Kentucky. Today wrapped segment shooting on Episode 5 of The Plough. My friend, Will Plummer of Louisville, was down today to tape a segment on metal detecting. I have been fascinated with artifact hunting using a metal detector for quite sometime. Will has only inspired a deeper interest. Though there are many out there who just simply don't get into metal detecting, I encourage you to try it. Metal detecting requires much patience and control on mental frustration if you don't find anything on your first dig. But in most cases, you WILL find something on your first dig. It may not be that rare Lincoln- era campaign coin, and instead a piece of barbed wire that fell out of a farm truck last year, but practice patience and you will be rewarded.
Always get permission from landowners if you are hunting on land owned by someone else. If hunting on public property, obey the guidelines and restrictions of the property.
Though I don't get to "detect" as much as I would like, I find that going out into a field and being alone with the metal detector is a way to recharge after a busy week of work. I enjoy the peace and solitude of it. I also get fascinated with it...often feeling overwhelmed that there are thousands of pieces of history waiting to be recovered beneath the soil under my feet.
Some people think that it is wrong to mess with pieces of history buried beneath the ground. If it is human bodies they are talking about, I would most certainly agree. But many artifacts beneath the soil such as coins, buttons of clothing, Civil War era rifles and pistols, buck shot, have been put their by accident, or by way of littering. Some were once looked for and never found by their owners.
Metal detecting is a way of recovering our past. In it we learn. The process of hunting for pieces of history buried beneath the soil is also emotionally, and for me, spiritually rewarding.
Great post! I gave my husband a metal detector last year for his birthday, and we love hunting for treasures down in the Mississippi River Bottoms near where I grew up. We've found nothing of great value so far, but we have fun trying!
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