Hi, I'm Martyn, a Yorkshireman in Dorset, went to University in York and Manchester where I lived and worked for many years both there and in Yorkshire before moving down to live in rural Dorset where I'm based in a small village near Blandford Forum, once again following my former interests of archaeology, field walking, geology, local history, and occasional metal detecting.
This is an account of my wanderings around Britain, sometimes with a Drone flying overhead too - so please enjoy the channel and leave a comment if you see anything of interest 🙂
If you like the videos on my RU-vid Channel then please give me a 'thumbs-up' 👍🏻, share them, subscribe to my channel and please ring that top bell so I can tell you when I publish a new video 😀
NOTE: I AM NOT A TREASURE HUNTER, especially as ALL my finds were returned to the landowner or donated to local museums after recording on the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme database.
Thanks, I was only out for a couple of hours, breaking myself in gently 😁. You're lucky I didn't put in the video all the scrap I found too - it would have been about 3 hours long 😂
Thanks, it varies but I'm trying to get some weight off both myself and Ace 😂 We're trying to get out a lot more in the future... Hope you're all well too ❤️
Thanks 😀 I was just polishing up my panning techniques in preparation for going to the gold areas and standing knee deep in freezing water for hours 😂. Panning a bag of bought paydirt is a good way for you to start 👍🏼
Nice clip! I love doing paydirt, cos u know exactly what you can get from it (providing it a guaranteed amount, of course!) it’s such a great way to perfect your panning skills.
Thanks, I'm pleased you liked the video ❤ I'm still learning, trying to pick up enough skills for when I visit friends and have to pan for real in their streams 😀 I'm improving slowly though and being able to test myself using paydirt is a great help.
Hi Jo, It's actually called " *flour* gold" because it's fine particles like flour - or "gold dust" as the Americans call it The particles are often so fine that they're almost too small to see until they gather together in a line at the bottom of your pan... Hope you're all doing OK
@@YorkshiremanInDorset Ah, that makes sense, it's the Yorkshire accent 😆 , we're all good. Leon's building a camping trailer so you might see him down there next summer.
Thanks Mark, I'm packing for my trip to Wales now but I doubt I'll get anything like the gold you supplied 😄 I am getting faster but still not confident enough to pan out the cons at the stream, instead I'll bucket them and bring them home to pan over the catch tub... I've been told that there's a mine site at the top of hill but I'm not sure whether lead or copper, hopefully that's a source of gold too 🤞
Thanks for the video, great to see some Welsh gold. Noticed that a piece ended up on the desk instead of in the weighing pan. The tiny bit is clearly visible on the black mat at 23:55.
Hi Martyn , i don't suppose you will be buying a villa in Portugal with the proceeds of the panning 😂but in saying that i would have been over the moon to find any at all ! might have a go in the river Don in Sheffield 😂, any way nice one pal hope all is good with you best wishes and keep on panning ATB Rob 👌👍
😂 Hi Rob, not Portugal, I was thinking more of going to Australia to be a full-time gold and opal miner 😂😂🤣 Panning the Don may be profitable, think of all the gold and silver cutlery they used to grind and polish - what dust didn't go into their lungs probably ended up being washed into the drains 😁 My bad hip isn't much of a problem gold panning as I sit down for most of it... Anyway, keep looking young and beautiful, stay healthy, and always be lucky 🍀💰👍🏼
Hi Joanne, Even though the gold price was lower than last week I panned out a lot more 😀 I'll tumble the gems to polish them and send them to you if you like, there's also a few bits of Peacock Ore too - very colourful ❤️
@@pkgoldopalhunting Thanks 🙂 I'm still really bad at panning, just not confident enough to do it at any speed. I hope that will come with practice 👍🏼 I've still got all the silt, etc in the catch tub to re-pan so may find even more gold. It was a gold bag of Paydirt - plenty of gold and quite a few good gemstones and minerals. Keep happy, healthy, and lucky - Martyn...
@@YorkshiremanInDorset i normally re pad about 3 times some times 4 but we have a lot of black sands which is very hard to separate from the gold even if you are a good paneer
@@YorkshiremanInDorset Maybe practice with a known number of (tiny) bits of steel or lead put in some of your previously panned paydirt. Then you can try going faster and see if you lose some of the metal.
@@thomasj8105Great idea. I have replanned all the stuff in the catch tub and found another 0.026g of Gold. Not a massive amount but I'll pan it again following your suggestion by adding some small ball bearings I have 😀 Thanks for the idea 👍🏼
Ay lad... Trouble at mill like...... Will you be continuing the panning for gold? It seems so much hard work I think I'll stick to metal detecting the fields and retrieving ring pulls and moo tubes along with the odd medieval silver hammered coin find. Still, all that panning will get you fit lad!
@@HOPEUSMAXIMUS 😂 At least there's not much walking involved... If I'm invited again I'll definitely go. It seems amazing that you can find gold by sieving gravel. Even though it cost me about £50 to recover just £5 it was a new experience - but just wait... by this time next year I'll be a millionaire 😂😂🤣
@@pkgoldopalhunting My house is worth more than it was if I leave the carpets when I sell it... I reckon there's at least another 0.15g still lost in the carpet 😂😂🤣
Have a look at PioneerPauly he sluiced a yard of gold bought in a hardware store. Also did you hear about the bronze age axe heads that were handed into a museum in Ireland this week?.
Yes, I've watched both Pauly and Chris (Vo-Gus) do that with sand from DIY stores, I'm not sure who did it first though, Also the bronze age axes, yes I read that. I've found several in my time as an archaeologist, both socketed and palstave types, also quite a few neolithic axes including one superb polished axe head, now proudly displayed in York Museum. I've just returned to gold panning after a break of several years. There's no gold around here but there's some about 80 kilometres from here in Devon where a friend lives, and near a cottage I use by Dolgellau in Wales, so expect a few more panning videos 😀
Wow the black sand is thick. Great work. Just remember how heavy the gold is and be confident it’s at the bottom. Your pans are new and the water is beading off the surface. A bit of a light sanding on a new pan helps with surface tension. Everyone has a technique that works best for them. A bit more water in the pan for classification and a side to side motion works best for me. Swirling seems to move the gold around as well and bring it to the top making it hard to pan off. And the TAP method at the end helps to separate the gold from the left over heavies at the end. Vogus does this well. The main thing that helps when learning is to constantly try new things! You can always go back to a previous way. And yes take it home always. It’s always good to have stuff to do at home when you can’t get out plus you can guarantee total cleanup. I even crush the bits of quartz and get all small gems with a pair of tweezers. And enjoy the research! 🧐
Hi, thanks for the info. I've learned a lot from Chris's and Gadzee's videos plus Dan Hurd, etc but it all goes out of my head when I'm actually doing it. 😂 I've had a couple of lessons at the stream but need a lot more practice but, as you suggest, I'll always bring my concentrates home to pan down. Keep tuned as I'll be going again in a few weeks and later in the year I'll be going up to Wales for a week or so... 👍
@@rodneymiddleton1044 I spent a few hours watching Gadzee, Chris, Dan Hurd, etc plus getting one-to-one tuition by my friend, and I'm still rubbish at it 😂😂🤣
Very interesting and I like your style. Something I think I am beginning to notice about long barrows is that part way along there seems to be a pinch in the barrow. Ascribed to agriculture in the case of West Kennet but I noticed it in this one too. Do you think it is a common feature?
Hi Peter, an interesting comment. I think most of the long barrows with pinch points are probably the result of antiquarian archaeologists doing excavations, cutting trenches through the mounds in search of burials [treasure]. In the case of West Kennet there are two narrow points, one of them likely because the barrow was built in two phases but the other was because a farmer dug a cart track through the barrow to quarry flints and chalk for road surfacing, which somewhat upset the land owner at the time 😄 Most of the other barrows I've visited are usually similar reasons, I.e. locals excavating the mound to rob sarcens for building, gateposts, etc or antiquarians digging exploratory holes. I'll mention them when they occur on future videos. Thanks for watching and many thanks for the great comment.
....just over the brow of the hill in the same field can still be seen (just about) a massive Bronze Age round barrow, little more than a 'footprint' now b ut still visible...!
Ace is getting much better on the lead, and her legs are slowly improving with exercise but when she wakes up on a morning it still takes her a while to get them working properly... Still, it's early days 😀❤️
Thanks, the knee fibula was a military style fibula and was probably an officer's as it had been gold gilded. It ended up in a local school's "Roman History Show and Tell Box" as I make up boxes of similarly aged finds to stimulate school kids interest in history... 🙂
Hi Rodney, the stumps are actually concrete posts showing where all the original timber posts were erected - after nearly 6000 years all that was left were different sized holes of various diameters but whether the timber rotted or the monument was dismantled at a later date is uncertain...
Is that the place near Suzy's old house? It looks familiar. You're too old to be carrying a rottweiler around😂 we had a pushchair for Max when he was ill, he could go in and out of it when he felt like it. He loved being in it where he could see everything. I bathed an uncooperative chow chow covered in pigeon poo today, it's like wrestling a small bear , then she went straight outside and rolled in it again 🙄
Hi Jo, yes about a kilometre from her old house. I've never been before but I'll definitely visit again when I'm in the area 🙂 I know I wanted to get fit again but Rottweiler-carrying wasn't one of the exercises I'd planned. I don't think her legs hurt her because when we're walking round the local woods off-lead she walks much further, at least double the distance without any problems. Bathing Chows? Not my idea of fun... Ace has rolled in scents a couple of times but there's nothing there to see so probably just fox urine scent marks 😀 Anyway, looking forward to seeing you soon ♥
😂 Her legs were really bad when she first went to Dogs Trust, really wobbly and almost crossing over, but as she's put muscle on and got some exercise she seems to be getting better - I hope it works on my hip too 😂🤣🤣 It will be great to see you ❤️
❤ Ten days from a rubbish-filled wilderness, complete with a rotten shed, to an approved dog-friendly garden. It's physically ruined me for a while but Ace thanks you all in Yorkshire for your contribution to her new home ❤️❤️❤️ 😀🐶
G'Day mate still cleaning up your garden/ back yard I see. So what are you fixing to plant? veges or flowers or a bit of both which I believe would benefit with pollination depending on what you plant. Well stay safe.
Hi Rodney, I've no doubt that anything I plant will get trampled by the dog 😀 but I'll be planting a mixture of herbs, veg, annuals, and perennials to appeal to both me and the environment. I'm nearly at the end of the job now luckily; I shouldn't have get it so neglected in the first place I suppose... Anyway, live long and prosper 🖖🏼
You and me both ❤️ I'll get her home around Friday lunchtime and hopefully the weather will be decent enough to spend some time in the garden and then wander around the houses 😀👍🏼
Heyy Yorkshire man! Sweetnew yearsdigging! Cool field you got there... Nevermind the battery on camrea.. It is very good that you put your finds cleaned at the end of the video! We are metaldetecting couple from southern Europe, also your new friends and followers! Happy hunting!
Welcome to my channel ❤️ It was a good day's detecting and the finds were interesting. The camera turned out to be faulty so I've got a new one now; my next video should be better, not ending suddenly half way through a clip 😂. Anyway, hope you both keep well and find some really good bits 👍🏼
Wow you were a mountaineer and you have the tools to prove it do you know what type of steel was used for the prototype? Did the point wear down quickly or did it take awhile over time. It is amazing how those tools have developed over the years. I make knives as a hobby that is why I ask about the steel that was used, If you don't know not to worry well stay safe and hope your hand heals up soon enough for you 🙂😁😉
Hi Rodney, I can't remember the steel but it doesn't rust beyond the brown colour it's turned. Originally it was quite silvery. It's taken 30 to 40 years of hard use to wear down and I've had to grind it back to its original three-sided point a couple of times as it's blunted. I've often wished I could learn blacksmithing, especially making knives like you do 👍🏼 Keep healthy, happy, and lucky 😀❤️
@@YorkshiremanInDorset Cheers mate that sounds like some really top grade steel used for it to take that length for it to wear down. I actually cut, grind and shape my blades then heat treat. Gadzee has one of my works.
Hi Martyn , a lot going on in the garden pal and i do like camellias i have 4 in our garden but dont know the variety of yours there's load of them pal ! , dont know what kind of clematis that is either but a beautiful colour pal , still a lot to do there mate take it steady best wishes and good luck ATB Rob 🙋♂👍👍
Hi Rob, yes there's lot's to do in the garden before I can adopt another dog. I did rather let the rear garden go wild whilst Sue was ill and after she died so it's far worse than a spring tidy-up should be. I'm having a couple of days off though because my bad left hand is now totally useless 😢 Anyway, keep swiping, digging and finding 🙂👍🏼❤️
Thanks for the comment, yes age does have a nasty habit of sneaking up on you, in fact I'm having to take a couple of days off to let my swollen left hand settle down again 😢 Keep happy, healthy and lucky 👍🏼👍🏼😁
You can see the progress, we were cutting down large top heavy birch trees yesterday before the nesting season starts and while Neil's still young enough to climb up them like a monkey, we're paying for it today though 😆 Makes me sad to see all mum's empty pots.
Neil's young enough to climb them still, but there's no age limit for falling out of them 😂 I'm even unsteady on a stepladder these days - and to think I used to climb mountains 🤣🤣🤣 The work's progressing a bit slower than I'd like, but that's mainly because of the bad weather. Still it won't be long before it's all secure and home for a dog 😁❤️👍🏼
Looks like Clematis Macropetala... but if I'm right I'll not take the mug thanks....A Durham lad drinking from a Yorkshire mans mug!!!... I'd never hear the last of it lol.
Good guess Geordie but sadly it doesn't have the four thick sepals that Macropetala has. Sue was a bugger for acquiring weird and wonderful hybrids (plus testing seeds for a company called Chilterns) but she was terrible at labelling them so now I'm uncovering them from all the brambles and bindweed and they're starting to flower again I've no idea what they're called...🥺
G'Day mate I see you have been busy in your garden how do you get rid of your pile? Chop it up and shove it in the wheelie bin like we do lol. Happy Easter mate and stay safe.
Thanks for the comment Rodney... We have a tree surgeon in the village who owns a big heavy-duty wood chipper. I'm hoping I can offer him a small pile of shiny coins to bring his chipper up for an hour after I've finished all the hedge trimming and turn it all into mulch for me 😀 Live long and prosper 👍🏼🖖🏼😀