I tried to find the source of a Roman coin hoard with a cheap metal detector and found a modern sewer pipe.

I was on a dig in rural Suffolk last month, convinced a farmer's story about a 'gold field' meant a lost Roman settlement. I bought a basic Garrett Ace 150 for 80 pounds and spent three days scanning. The detector went crazy near an old oak tree, so I started digging. After two feet of clay, I hit a cast iron pipe from the 1950s, not a single coin. It taught me that local stories need way more checking against actual maps and records. Has anyone else wasted time chasing a local legend that turned out to be nothing?

3 comments

3 Comments

rose_young22d ago

Ugh, did you at least get your money back for the detector? I once spent a whole weekend following a map some guy drew on a napkin about a Civil War cache... it led right to a septic tank.

alice_anderson3522d ago

Honestly, that sounds so frustrating. Been there with a "buried treasure" story that was just an old trash pit.

grantl9410d agoMost Upvoted

Man, that's the worst kind of letdown.