Historical Metal Detectives Annual Hunt 2012
This year 13 of the boys re-visited Kwa-Zulu Natal for the 26th annual metal detecting hunt. A great week in September was spent around Ladysmith, Harrismith and the Boer War battlefields of Natal. Finds were donated to the Boer War Relics Museum. Be sure to watch the video for a laugh and check out all the great finds from this years trip below.
Enjoy this years comic video of the 2012 hunt
For those interested the song being played in this video is called “de la Rey”. The name being sung is for a famous Boer War general Koos de la Rey to return and lead the people. The intro is of the boys participating in an old traditional competition of spitting dry buck droppings the furthest.
British Camp Harrismith.
The British camp at Harrismith was vast and continued to exist after the wars end. Here are some of the finds from the camp at Harrismith.
A massive hoard of Boer War era 303 bullets was uncovered in the thousands. Miraculously some with paper wrapping still intact and legible “Cartridges SA ball 303 inch Cordite 31/3/98”!
A great collection of Boer War Era coins and jewelry was found. Some nice gold! Amazing condition for items in the ground for well over 100 years. The gold coin is a 1885 gold half sovereign. The gold ring was found close to it as well as a 1901 penny.
More miscellaneous military finds from the Harrismith Camp. Some great badges, buttons, bullets and bottles were found.
Tugela river and Spionkop
The trip included visits to areas surrounding Spionkop including the Tugela river, Mooi River and Chieveley. Great view of the famous Spionkop from the lodge where everyone was staying. Great surroundings, sights and sounds on this trip.
Some great finds from the area. Some very rare ZAR badges. First image is the Boer ZAR (South African Republic) coat of arms. Most lightly worn by Boer soldier on the side of his hat.
Coin finds from the area include a 1886 British Farthing and an amazing 1894 Paul kruger Shilling. The guys tell me that to find a ZAR coin in a British camp is extremely rare.
Fantastic clay smoking pipe. This was found at a British camp at Chievely and depicts the Tower of London. Amazing find. Also shown below are some bottles and other finds from Chievely.
Prize Giving!
Metal detector prizes were given to those who made the best finds of the trip!
Connie says
Good morning
Any annual hunts coming up
Regards
Connie
Rich says
They happen every year – Usually around August, September or October. Notifications will be posted on the Facebook page. Have a look on the Facebook page for the teaser video of this years hunt. Rich.