Interesting First Find in Etzenricht, Germany

ODA 226

ODA 226

New member
I got permission to hunt a hill/field in Etzenricht, that has an old church on it that dates back over 400 years. My landlord and I hit the hill at about 10:30 this morning and found nothing but old bottle caps, melted lead and iron.


About an hour later, I noticed a stump from a very large tree sticking about 5 inches out of the ground. I walked over and with my first sweep, got a 75-81 hit on my AT Pro and pinpointed the object to a 10 inch depth. I dug down and found a lead toy soldier, which I thought was kind of cool. I rechecked my hole, found nothing and refilled my hole.


About 20 inches away, I got another huge hit, 75+ repeatable at a depth of 10+ inches. I dug down to about 12 inches and out popped a VERY OLD necklace locket. All I can make out is that one side has the face of Jesus and the other side has the face of a female. (Mary perhaps?) Both sides have some writing on them but The object is so old and dirty that even after some light cleaning, I still can't read it.


I don't know what kind of metal this is and don't want to destroy it. I'm thinking about taking it to a jeweler for cleaning. Anyone have any suggestions on how to clean this otherwise?


Oh yeah.....and after finding this, I found my first horseshoe and once I get my camera replaced, I'll post pics!
 
A picture or two of the locket can tell us a lot of its design , age and possible metal composition , although most jewelry is just plated over either brass or copper .
 
As far as cleaning it, use a soft brush and remove as much loose dirt as it allows. I use a round tooth pick to get into the crevices, gently removing the loose dirt and then brushing it again. When you post a picture we can see what you are dealing with. Congrats on hunting such a cool spot. Some suggestions I have said before: if you go back there, do not just go after the solid readings. I would dig anything that reads on the positive side (non-iron). Many good targets come in as bouncy signals.
 
Soaking in olive oil for few days/weeks sometimes does it. And what I do to fasten this up is, putting the bowl with the oil and item inside to a ultrasonic cleaner.
 
coinnut said:
As far as cleaning it, use a soft brush and remove as much loose dirt as it allows. I use a round tooth pick to get into the crevices, gently removing the loose dirt and then brushing it again. When you post a picture we can see what you are dealing with. Congrats on hunting such a cool spot. Some suggestions I have said before: if you go back there, do not just go after the solid readings. I would dig anything that reads on the positive side (non-iron). Many good targets come in as bouncy signals.
Click to expand...

Because of the age of this site and that it has never been dug before, I'm digging every signal that doesn't sound like an iron nail.
 
I managed to take a few pics of the above referenced finds at this pristine site. Can anyone help ID these objects? The first is the front of the medallion I found very deep (12+ inches):
DSC00578.jpg

And now the reverse:

DSC00577.jpg

Here's the lead soldier I found a few inches away but at not at the same depth:

DSC00589.jpg

Here's another interesting find. Is it a button or something else? It is large and measures 4 cm across.

DSC00590.jpg

I've found out today that there was a major battle fought on this sight in 1631 and Etzenricht was destroyed. This site is also the dominant terrain feature for the entire area. Needless to say, I'm digging EVERY hit I get and I'm going to take my time since I'm the only person with permission to dig there. I'll continue to post as I recover more items. If anyone can ID what I've put up so far, I'd really appreciate it!
 
Some great finds. The last item is a cloak button. In the US, we generally date them to around 1800 and prior. On the medal, reverse side, is that an anchor on the bottom left side? If it is you may be able to find out which saint protected maritime. Also is that a possible date above the saint on the reverse side? We can only take guesses on some of the items you find there, as they may be different from here.
 
It's not an anchor at the bottom, but rather what appears to be a septer in a womans' hand. I'm still soaking the medallion in olive oil, hoping to be able to eventually read the text, but right now, it's anyone's guess, but it doesn't appear to be in Latin script. Greek possibly.
 
I've been soaking this medallion in olive oil for the past few days and now I can clearly read the word "TORVA" on the side with the female picture. After doing some research, I've found that there is a city named Torva in Estonia. I recovered this item on the hill where the Etzenricht Evangelical Church stands.

Etzenricht was destroyed during the 30 Years War by the French and this is the dominant terrain feature in this area. I've found that Estonia was fighting on the side of Protestants (Evangelicals) during the 30 Years War. Is it possible that this is a relic from that battle back in 1631? :)
 
ODA 226 said:
I've been soaking this medallion in olive oil for the past few days and now I can clearly read the word "TORVA" on the side with the female picture. After doing some research, I've found that there is a city named Torva in Estonia. I recovered this item on the hill where the Etzenricht Evangelical Church stands.

Etzenricht was destroyed during the 30 Years War by the French and this is the dominant terrain feature in this area. I've found that Estonia was fighting on the side of Protestants (Evangelicals) during the 30 Years War. Is it possible that this is a relic from that battle back in 1631? :)
Click to expand...

Is it a relic from 1631? Hard to tell. Or is it a relic commemorating 1631? Or is it just a religious medal from Estonia? It's going to be hard to determine what it is. Hopefully with more writing revealed, it will help. What does the hole look like that a chain would go through?
 
The hole is definately for a chain. So far, I can see no date on this object. I'm not going to jump to conclusions and I'm continuing the cleaning process, but boy, it's nice to think that I might have something from that battle!
 
Hey ODA, is the hole uniform?, is it centered? A lot of times older relics are not perfectly made. That may be your first clue to its age.
 
Last Sunday I went back to the hill and found that there site was LITTERED with 9mm pistol blanks from New Years Eve! :mad:
Then, at about 12 inches, I found a musket ball...my very first one! I'm going to hit this site hard this weekend!

DSCF0442.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
23,579
Messages
238,137
Members
3,788
Latest member
Skeyxc
Back
Top