Unearthed War Relics See Battle Again

[Ben Ruset]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/15/AR2006041501187.html?sub=AR

One day in the summer of 1863, a Confederate soldier from Mississippi left behind his prized belt plate, worn only by elite members of the state militia, in a camp on Brandy Rock Farm.

We will never know why.

 

[Teegate]

Great article Ben. I think if those relics were on my property, I would not want the state or anyone to tell me I could not dig them up. But there are problems with that logic.......

Guy

 

[Piney Boy]

Really great article Ben, glad I perused back to find it. As a museum professional who works with objects for a living I'm certainly on the side of the fence opposite the relic hunters. I'd never argue that these folks dont have a passion for finding lost bits of history in the ground, but as the article pointed out, they are lost to the general populace once they remove them. History belongs to all Americans, not the few who decide they want to own it for themselves.
Anyway, great piece.

 

[NJHIKERADAM]

History does belong to Americans,but on the flipside we should not have to pay money to see these relics in a museum.

 

[4x4Jim]

Wow thats ironic I was actually part of the group who metal detected brandy rock in Virginia! Cool article. It was an awesome weekend. Learned all kinds of history of the area and of the field ( HUGE HUGE AREAS) . Amazing stuff...And to think I was assaulted on this site earlier about detecting in the pines...All and i mean ALL artifacts had to be documented with our host at the end of the weekend so she could get a list of what and where they were found. I am going back in March...Next DIV hunt will be a blast...(Diggin' in Virginia). Seeing all these items from WAy back was amazing. And if it were not for people like me and the group these artifacts woul have been lost forever.

 

[Piney Boy]

History does belong to Americans,but on the flipside we should not have to pay money to see these relics in a museum.

Your right Nick, objects of our past belong to everyone and thus shouldn't incur fees to enjoy them. The real trick though is that outside of the government non-profit museums need the entry fees just to stay afloat. Inside the government most museums are free and the ones that aren't need those monies to stay open. Its a wire edge our museums walk on, and even a simple money short fall can close its doors.

 

[Piney Boy]

Wow thats ironic I was actually part of the group who metal detected brandy rock in Virginia! Cool article. It was an awesome weekend. Learned all kinds of history of the area and of the field ( HUGE HUGE AREAS) . Amazing stuff...And to think I was assaulted on this site earlier about detecting in the pines...All and i mean ALL artifacts had to be documented with our host at the end of the weekend so she could get a list of what and where they were found. I am going back in March...Next DIV hunt will be a blast...(Diggin' in Virginia). Seeing all these items from WAy back was amazing. And if it were not for people like me and the group these artifacts woul have been lost forever.

Please dont take this as an attack, thats not what its meant to be, its obvious you have a real enthusiasm for learning about history and its objects, but your reasoning is indeed flawed. Detecting in the Pines is definitely the wrong thing to do for a few reasons. Besides the simple illegality of it you are removing something that by nature doesn't belong to you, it belongs to us all. Second, once removed that puzzle piece is lost in its ability to help us understand that area. Individuals train for years and years to work as archaeologist, anthropolgist, and historians. That training they recieve is a factor that cant be overlooked when attempting a dig on your own. Methods and processes people take years and years to learn are not that simple to duplicate. It is true that professionals cannot get to every dig site, but that does not mean those objects are lost forever. One of the principal jobs of the archaeologist is to assess and work in places that become a proposed road routes, housing development, etc. So objects will remain in the ground untouched until such a time occurs.
I have worked on more than one dig and I understand the excitement of it, it is indeed a thrill to find something that can take us back to an earlier time, but professional standards are a necessity. You claim if it wasn't for searchers such as yourself the objects would be lost forever, perhaps, but isn't it true that once a piece is removed and brought home with you its lost to the general populace anyway, or sold for profit to a PRIVATE collector.
I applaud your enthsusiasm and would be more than happy to point you in the direction of professionally run digs if you would like, until then this is just food for thought.

 

[4x4Jim]

Hey Piney I understand where you are coming from and we are currently working with COVA at almost a partnership to keep everyone happy. There is large controversy between COVA and Metaldetectorists. But we are working together for the better good. As for the selling part of it...Sure it goes on but almost everything we find isnt worth much ...money wise. Its more of a history lesson. I post all my finds online for everyone to see. I agree that if we didnt find the relics they probably wont be found but I also beleive that it may be needed for people like us to find these relics to show to everyone get catalogued, and what not. Sure some things are worth a good deal of money but its mostly asthetic value. There will always be a grey area between the archaeologists and us its just the way it is but I beleive we can work together for a better cause. As for the pine barrens.. It would be neat to detect around the old forges and all but theres just not as much bulk area of "artifacts" as there would be in a battlefield area. The quality of the artifacts in the pine barrens would be very good though...the sand quality tends to keep different metals "preserved". i would love to do some archaeoligical digs, i also love metal detecting..I am also an avid fisherman and these hobbies go hand and hand. Its all about the search.. I could go on about how people spend a lot of money to restore the artifacts they find just to post online and all but I think my point is made. We should not argue about what is right and wrong , just that we should work together to bring some history to light. Sure there are jerks out there swinging a machine but for the most part the quality of people is excellent. I just hope my viewpoints can be understood without any hatred, Jim

 

[Piney Boy]

Just an exchange of thoughts Jim, I'm happy to carry on a discussion here. Knowledge is power right?

 

[diggersw]

All and i mean ALL artifacts had to be documented with our host at the end of the weekend so she could get a list of what and where they were found.

Ariadne will know what I am talking about when I say that it sounds like someone figured out how to get a cheap Phase IB.

The big difference between the collectors and the archaeologists is that we disagree on what the value of an item actually is. Collectors will simply try to consider how much a particular item will get at market while an archaeologist will consider the artifact's value in its historical context and provenience. Granted, collecting for the sake of collecting and not paying attention to the provenience is detrimental to the historical value, but at least this "host" had the sense of mind to record what was found where. This would be valuable information to an archaeologist if they ever had to conduct research on that site.

Yes, there would be some disturbance, but the fact that some of the ground work is already done could be helpful in some rare cases. Hopefully, significant deposits would not have been ransacked. Otherwise, the site is useless.

When considering metal detecting groups and archaeology, just remember that it was a group of avocationalists who examined the Monmouth Battlefield and determined just what happened during the battle. Dan Sivilich and his friends from Deep Search went out there with metal detectors and dug up positive hits. From this they were able to piece the entire battle together. Similar studies were conducted regarding Custer's Last stand.

So, the bottom line is that while I think archaeology should be left to trained professionals, at least some people out there have good sensibilities and record their findings in some way for posterity and research value.

Just some thoughts.

Scott W.

 

[4x4Jim]

I fully agree. We hunted Brandy Rock farm.. all land was farm field. It was amzingly huge. We were briefed the night before about the historical area and who and what was there at the time. It was really interesting seeing photos and research from the very area we were standing on. We found many trash pits the soldiers used during the time with an array of items in them. There was also a field of battle in one field that had a concentration of history. cannon balls, grape shot, belt plates, bullets, buttons, bayonettes. It was amazing to see these items. One area in the main field yeilded an amazing 30 bugles and about the same number of canteens. Without skilled peoples with metal detectors archaelogists would have a daunting task at hand... Where to start??? If we worked together to find areas that yield high concentrations and had the archaelogists properly mark and document these items we would all be in a win win situation. Not sure why there is such bad blood between the two groups. Work together and problem is solved.

 

[Neil in SJ]

Wow thats ironic I was actually part of the group who metal detected brandy rock in Virginia! Cool article. It was an awesome weekend. Learned all kinds of history of the area and of the field ( HUGE HUGE AREAS) . Amazing stuff...And to think I was assaulted on this site earlier about detecting in the pines...All and i mean ALL artifacts had to be documented with our host at the end of the weekend so she could get a list of what and where they were found. I am going back in March...Next DIV hunt will be a blast...(Diggin' in Virginia). Seeing all these items from WAy back was amazing. And if it were not for people like me and the group these artifacts woul have been lost forever.

As a fellow metal detecting enthusiast I agree. While it is against the law in some areas to remove artifacts, It is perfectly alright to put up a Wal-MArt on the spot.

 

[Neil in SJ]

once removed that puzzle piece is lost in its ability to help us understand that area. Individuals train for years and years to work as archaeologist, anthropolgist, and historians. .

But it is OK to put an interstate Hwy there? I STRONGLY disagree, PB. If the site is not designated a historic site, it will soon be lost forever due to development. Metal Detecting preserves history, it DOES NOT destroy it.

 

[Jerseyman]

Neil in SJ:

To state Piney Boy's comments more plainly, when you go out metal detecting and you begin to remove objects from the ground, you are destroying the spatial context of that object and how it relates to objects around it. If the site remained undisturbed until archaeologists excavate it, they will record X, Y, and Z coordinates of all objects found and then map them, graph them, and catalog them to gain a full understanding of the relationship between the artifacts uncovered. Random searching with a metal detector destroys the opportunity to perform such an archaeological investigation. Furthermore, modern federal regulations require a full cultural resource investigation prior to the construction of any highway or bridge.

You state, "Metal Detecting preserves history, it DOES NOT destroy it." However, it preserves history for who? The guy who finds the artifact? In finding that artifact, you HAVE destroyed how it relates to other artifacts still in the ground. So, it DOES destroy history.

That being said, there is a group using metal detectors in a very scientific manner at the Monmouth Battlefield in Monmouth County. This group of dedicated volunteers have mapped artifact groupings and aided historians and archaeologists in gaining a fuller understanding of precisely what occurred during the battle. Using a combination of metal detectors and other scientific instrumentation, these guys do plot full X, Y, and Z coordinates for the objects before ever removing them from the ground. They can map the full array of artifacts prior to any disturbance. Once they remove the items from the ground, they catalog each item and then develop a hypothesis based on all the evidence. This is a great use of metal detection technology!

Jerseyman