Relics from the War of Polish Succession

Hey diggers,
I was able to get out last weekend to a spot about an hour from here. It's a forest area and on the German maps it's name translates to "French Trenches." This area corresponds with a French map from a battle in 1734. It is not a secret place and has been detected countless times over the years. The high tones are almost completely gone now and all that's left is deep iron signals. That's okay though because we like finding relics too. Between the 3 of us we found 7 cannonballs/grenades. I found my first complete hollow sphere hand grenade! Here is some pics before & after. Thanks for looking and happy hunting, Dave.

You have mastered the art of electrolysis, Dave! That hand grenade looks brand new. Can you imagine how dangerous it was holding an object like that in your hand when it's full of gunpowder and has a lit fuse? Quite a historical object.

:congrats:

great find Dave and superb job on the restoration too:notworthy: are there any remnants of the fort in the map as well and is it off limits to explore ?

Dan

I agree, You have mastered the art of electrolysis! Everything you find looks museum quality after you clean it!
Cool grenade :perfect10:

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Originally Posted by del

are there any remnants of the fort? Dan

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Del, I cropped the photo but an entire town now sits where the fortress once was. All the stones ended up going into houses, barns, and other structures in the city. Some of the roads in the town are in the exact same place as they were in 1734 though and even still outline the shape of the ramparts in places.

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Originally Posted by Full Metal Digger

Del, I cropped the photo but an entire town now sits where the fortress once was. All the stones ended up going into houses, barns, and other structures in the city. Some of the roads in the town are in the exact same place as they were in 1734 though and even still outline the shape of the ramparts in places.

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Thats too bad about the fortress , i see there is a goodyear tire plant close by . no doubt they have built up over some of that historic ground too . great finds again Dave

Great find Dave! And the restoration is something to gawk at. Congrats!

John

Congrats, Dave! That's going to cost you to mail it home :lol:

Oh man, that is nice! Yeah I think it might be cheaper for you to buy one of those big intermodal containers and send all your finds back to the states on a cargo ship.

How do you clean out the inside of the grenade? I mean it obviously never exploded. Wasn't their remnants of gun powder inside? Probably dumb question.
BTW, it's fascinating your discovery of the history of an area. Do you ever do much door knocking? Never know what is in someone's yard. Look forward to your return to the states and see the museum! :notworthy:

I wouldn't use the word grenade in your description when mailing home!!

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Originally Posted by OxShoeDrew

Congrats, Dave! That's going to cost you to mail it home :lol:

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Originally Posted by Tony Two-Cent

You have mastered the art of electrolysis, Dave! That hand grenade looks brand new. Can you imagine how dangerous it was holding an object like that in your hand when it's full of gunpowder and has a lit fuse? Quite a historical object.

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Thanks Tony, I agree it would be very scary to hold that thing with a lit fuse in your hand. Even though it is the size of a baseball it weighs right at 3 pounds! I don't think you could throw it very far!

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Originally Posted by Digger Don

I agree, You have mastered the art of electrolysis! Everything you find looks museum quality after you clean it!

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Thanks Don!

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Originally Posted by BTV Digger

Great find Dave! And the restoration is something to gawk at. Congrats! John

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Thanks John!

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Originally Posted by OxShoeDrew

Congrats, Dave! That's going to cost you to mail it home

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Lucky for me Uncle Sam will foot the shipping bill!

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Originally Posted by Lodge Scent

Oh man, that is nice! Yeah I think it might be cheaper for you to buy one of those big intermodal containers and send all your finds back to the states on a cargo ship.

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I could probably get by with a tricon, LOL!

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Originally Posted by Noah

How do you clean out the inside of the grenade? I mean it obviously never exploded. Wasn't their remnants of gun powder inside? Probably dumb question. BTW, it's fascinating your discovery of the history of an area. Do you ever do much door knocking? Never know what is in someone's yard.

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Noah, there was no sign of gun powder or the wooden plug. It was filled with just mud. Maybe it was never even "loaded?" No door knocking here since no one has yards! All detecting is done in fields or forest. Let me tell you, there is PLENTY to find without ever needing to knock on a door. I met a guy that lucked out on a street tear out in Trier. He followed the trucks hauling the dirt and got permission to detect the piles. They found over 300 Roman coins! LOL

That's so cool!

Fantastic! Dig the relics the other guys left behind.

Love the map!