Filling in your holes!

This blog will be based on the importance of proper artifact exavation and the importance of filling your holes when you are finished.

Ok when you go Metal Detecting you are of course hoping to find something, and sometimes you do and others you dont. Sometimes you may be hunting Private Property, other times it may be at a public beach. Wherever you are you want to make sure that you recover your treasure with the best possible care, making sure you dont damage it right?

But when you are done recovering your treasure you also want to make sure that the land is left the way that you found it. After reading this blog you will learn the importance of recovering your artifact and filling your holes properly, and the impacts that one person can have on us all if not done properly.

Lets start by learning the proper way to recover you precious treasure.

Example... You are swinging your brand new machine in an open field that you know has alot of potential, because you have found many treasures in it in years past. You havent done so well all day, but then you get a great reading on your machine. You know that this is a good signal but dont want to take the chance in hitting it with your digging tool and cause possible damage to the item will digging.

Ok pause... 1st you should determine how big the item is, swing your machine over the target, in front, back and both sides. Swing until you dont get the signal, determine the center of which your treasure lies. Now after you have found the center, carefully dig a big enough plug around the outside where you dont get a signal, this should ensure that you are not going to hit the target, knowing that you have your target in the center of your dirt pile ,plug, or clump.

Now before you go scooping dirt out of the hole maybe you should consider putting an old shirt, towel, or tarp on the ground 1st. Something to catch the dirt that you dig out. Yes I know we all dont do that, but that is the right way. Even if you dont have anything to place your dirt on put it on the ground so that it is not 10 feet away from your hole.

Once you have your dirt out swing your detector over the clump until you center your target again. Now carefully break or sift away at the dirt with your hands until your target is clear and free. Now that you have your target make sure you put it somewhere where it wont get damaged. I like to use a pill bottle with cotton for small items such as coins, buttons, and other small items. A ziplock bag with either toilet paper or kleenex will work for you larger items.

Ok well now you have your treasure, but what about the hole that is still open. Unfortunally we have to many people in the hobby that are not aware of the damaging effects that not filling in the hole has on the rest of the hobbyist's. By not filling in your holes your are not only making a bad name on yourself, but the next person and the entire metal detecting community. How you may ask?

Take this for example... You are out in a Park, Field, or even the beach and you dig your target. You leave the hole wide open, not think it can do any harm. You go on about your buisness for the rest of the day leaving hole after hole open. The next hunter comes in to hunt that same spot it may not be the next day or even the next year, but soomeone else goes to hunt it. They walk out into this area that you were hunting at one time and see's holes that are left open everywhere. Then all of sudden the landowner, park ranger, or anyone else comes by and see's them as well. The person in charge is automatically going to think the person detecting that day left them open, no matter how old they are. They are outraged, and ask the person detecting to leave and not return. You may say well their loss my gain?

This is true but now you have lost that spot with all that treasure in the ground forever and nobody has a chance to hunt it now. Before to long word travels that someone is leaving holes everywhere, word of mouth is a powerful thing! And before you know it you cant anywhere to detect b/c of your actions so long ago. The same goes for always asking permission but that is for another blog.

Point is point blank it looks bad, people can get hurt in open holes, equipment such as tractors can break, and it puts a bad reputation on the hobby, for something that takes 15 seconds to do. If you are using your dropcloth ie, your shirt, towel, tarp, etc... just slide it back over the hole and dump the dirt back in. If you dont have a drop cloth, use your foot. It will take you longer to recover an item than it will to fill in your holes.

Think about it....