<p><strong>I live in Scotland in an area where the landscape has been seriously altered as a result of a century of Coal Mining and because “good” finds are few and far between.</strong></p> <p>I am very passionate about history and metal detecting gives me a direct link with history. The machine I use for this is an E-TRAC and before that, for a number of years I have used a Safari – which I swear by!</p> [split] <p>I have searched a farm in my local area for a number of years. There are other farms I search where my trusty Safari and I have made some fantastic finds over the years, but anything good has always eluded me on this farm and has produced nothing but post 1850 items – yet I was firmly convinced that there just had to be older stuff somewhere, but despite methodical gridding and many, many hours it seemed my searches were in vain.</p> <p>Not long back I upgraded to an E-TRAC and thought where better to test out the machine’s capability than on my “Victorian” farm. So, to this end I set off to the field I had done many times – with the expectation of finding at best, something Victorian.</p> <p>Within minutes of starting to detect I got a very faint signal and thought I would dig it anyway. I dug down about 8 inches and pulled out what I thought was a small piece of junk, but when wiping away the mud I was surprised to see what looked like lettering, so I placed it my pouch for a closer look when I returned home.</p> <p>On washing off the mud it became apparent to me that the “ junk” was what appeared to be Half a medieval seal matrix... WOW!</p> <p>This was the first thing medieval I had ever found on this farm, and to say I was chuffed was an understatement! All those hours of persistence and my belief that there was more history to the farm than items I had previously found suggested, had paid off!</p> <p>I have the E-TRAC to thank for this find, it must have just been out of range of the Safari.</p> <p>The matrix is currently with the Treasure Trove Unit but from early indications it is a very significant find for this area and could be a direct link to the earliest recordings of religious activity in the area.</p> <p>Though I have made many a good find from other farms over the years – this has to be my most satisfying find and is proof that if you put in the work, have belief in yourself and your machine the possibilities are endless.</p> <p>Happy Hunting All!</p>