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Hi, my name is Gary John Franklin and thanks for checking out The Soil Searchers website. I would like to tell you about our community and a little bit about myself so that you can make an informed choice on joining us.
On a personal note I have been detecting now for over 15 years and in that time I have been blessed with some great finds, there are far too many to mention but well over 350 hammered silver coins and 30 items of gold which includes 16 full Gold Iron Age Staters and 4 Gold Quarter Staters, I do also love Saxon coins and artefacts which I have managed tick off of my bucket list and I fully intend on ticking off some more!
First and foremost, The Soil Searchers is a friendly community, we are about providing an enjoyable day out for either experienced detectorists or new enthusiasts who are interested in the hobby. We organise day digs and weekenders mainly in the counties of Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and have a couple of permissions in the Somerset area that we hope to explore soon...
We have a great membership base with a wealth of knowledge that will help you to learn about this fascinating pastime but it’s only right that I warn you that once you start it becomes very difficult to stop...
The Soil Searchers was created in 2016 as a Facebook group because I wanted to maintain a certain standard. I had attended other organised digs and found that they were just too crowded with people bumping into each other and the fields were detected out by lunchtime.
With The Soil Searchers I keep the numbers low and the acres high on good quality land. This is so that you can enjoy a full day’s detecting with plenty of space to roam and are still able to enjoy a social aspect so you can brag about your finds to our community!
Since we were founded we have had some incredible finds and our members regularly feature in the metal detecting magazines, it always pleases me when this happens as it shows that we are getting on some great land and it gives everyone access to some simply amazing places, with new land coming on all the time so we have some very exciting times ahead, I hope to see you on a dig soon.
If you are new to metal detecting or are an experienced detectorist this is a simple guide to attending one of our digs. Firstly, we operate as do many other metal detecting clubs/groups. We find suitable dig locations (permissions) to arrange a group dig. Be it a single day dig, or a period dig which maybe for example be a camping weekender. The most frequent digs that we operate are day digs.
We then inform our members of a newly scheduled dig via email along with any relevant charges for attending. Members can then log into our website and register/apply for a place on the dig. A day or so before the dig starts our system automatically emails to members' who have successfully registered for the dig a PDF file which contains more information about the dig. For example, the exact dig location using both What3Words and Postcode, along with any further dig site information, parking instructions and of course a map of the dig site.
On the day of the scheduled dig, members arrive at the dig site in accordance with the information supplied in the PDF file. Look out for our “Soil Searchers” signposts as you approach the dig location. Generally, the arrival time is about an hour before the dig start time. Your name and vehicle registration are checked against the list of attendees and payment in cash is collected. Just before the dig starts there is a short dig briefing by one of our staff informing you of any further information relating to that day's dig.
If you are new to metal detecting, then that time between arrival and the dig start time is a great opportunity to make new friends with fellow detectorists and possibly pick up a few good tips about detecting or the dig site that we are on.
Some Of The Soil Searchers Administration Team That You May Meet On Our Digs
Gary Franklin
Paul Sayers-Gillan
Gary Thomas
Jake Christian
