Detecting in South Africa

Ok so we bummed out on the gold coins  we did have some gold liquid though, plus some stronger stuff  Well X took the day with the 1890's horse stirrup from the Boer war  but we both had some nice stuff.... this site is amazing as to what finds we are recovering from there 

Well here are my finds, I did find a spoon with a tiny bit of silver plating on it. If anyone can read the hall marks let me know.... Also found what I believe to be a US Navy button, and a QVC British button which was very quashed 

If anyone can also help me with the funny looking buckle, I would like to know where this fitted in.... I thought I had found a badge, but I do not think it is  It is a bar with two rivets on the back that was riveted to some steel plate... Interesting though....

Had a great day out with X, thanks buddy.... and well done on the stirrup 

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Thanks Mick,

What we have figured out about this site is that the main central section is Boer war area which we think was a training area for the fort across the road. The one side of the field seems to be a dump ground for a hotel or something from the 1940's, and the area behind the trees seems to be an area from the 1930's - 1940's. We are not sure why this site was used as the dump as there is not hotel in that area.... but we are not complaining  The buckles and the stirrup are all Boer war as are the bullet cases... The watch covers that have been found here are also from the 1800's and the flintlock hammer that was found on the first detecting trip to this site. Most of the other stuff, 1930's and 1940's..... We have been to this site about 10 times in all between us, and yet it is still producing some great stuff.

The most thought provoking stuff found are the US military and the police buttons, they do not fit in anywhere the same with the licence discs, but they are great items 

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		Quote:			Posted by CCSportsdad
	How much of the Golden Juice was consumed for breakfast?

We did well as we only had six beer between us for the whole day but we did have a Rum and Coke to get he blood flowing I for one prefer Cherry to warm me up.

 

		Quote:			Posted by ArfieBoy
	Cool stuff!  But, I'm not seeing any gold coins there!

I have a feeling that there are lot of relics that we are missing at the moment due to the depth the our detectors. Under normal circumstances the soil is very hard and stony so you do not need any more than 200mm of ground penetration as most of the objects are found at 100 to 150mm, how ever this soil is soft very soft and continuously worked by a small animal that burrows called a Meerkat so till I can get a VLF detector with more depth we will just have to content our selves with the upper stuff I have posted a Photo of Mr Meerkat an excellent snake killer.

I cant seem to get the quote to work from Reply so I'll just have to do this the hard way LOL

Quote"They arrived in their uniforms and due to the usual cash flow problems that armies of the time had, they just used their old ones until their new ones came from the home office"

I have never heard of the Americans fighting in the Boer war but this dose make a lot off sense. I'm busy reading a book on the life of Deneys Reitz he was a commando in the Boer war, the book is called Adrift on the open Veld and he tells his story in great detail but it could be that there were some American mercenaries on the English side. In fact all these American buttons were found at English posts I found one at the block house and Peter found one or two at the fort.  

Peter as soon as the kit from SilverDog arrives I will put it together and should it work as well as it is said to work then it may be a good idea to get a few more.        


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Xavier

		Quote:			Posted by GoldDigger1950
	After the American Civil War, some of the discharged soldiers became mercenaries because they loved battle. Don't ask me why. They arrived in their uniforms and due to the usual cash flow problems that armies of the time had, they just used their old ones until their new ones came from the home office.

That's only part of the answer.   The American Civil War actually had large contingents of "foreign" soldiers fighting on both sides of the war (but especially on the Union side).   In many cases these were German or Irish immigrants who were enlisted straight off the boats while they were looking for employment in their new land.   Other units were composed entirely of volunteers from other countries who enlisted specifically for the fight, including approximately 60,000 British and Canadian troops.  There were several units where even the commander was not comfortable speaking English.  Not everyone who came to America chose to stay here.   Some of these could be considered "mercenaries" even before the Civil War.  Others wouldn't be so much mercenaries as folks just looking for a place they belonged.

BA

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Thanks for all the comments   I do know that some US guys did come to South Africa to fight in the Boer war, in fact one story recorded in the military museum tells of "2 friends who decided to fight in the Boer war, one went to fight for Britain, the other for South Africa   the British US soldier went into battle and captured the Boer US soldier.... well the captive soldier was taken to his friends tent where they sat and talked and drank English tea, after which the British soldier then shook his friends hand, and then shot and killed him" this is apparently a true story.... I still laugh when I think about it  

But when I look at the battle fields around this area, I cannot think why the US would of been here.... It is possible seeing as I have found some SA police stuff (more modern) that these US buttons were thrown here at the same time as them and are not Boer war time  

Cannot wait to get back there to find more great stuff....

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