Metal Detecting in Davis/Somerville

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Kind of a random question, but I'm considering getting one - it looks fun and would be a good way to walk around. Have any of you used one in the Davis area and found anything neat? If so where?

Comments

[gib.livejournal.com]

hey, when you find my car keys, please let me know.

[spatch]

This one time I found a pinky ring with the initials W.B. on it near Winter Hill. I gave it to a kid in exchange for a slingshot.

[jspazzer.livejournal.com]

You mean J.B. His name is James.

[spatch]

You know the guy? Well tell him this kid named Nicky is now running around with his ring, and he's punching kids in the face with it and stuff.

[jspazzer.livejournal.com]

Jimmy and me go way back. He calls me on my birthday from Europe. Just don't tell the Feds.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't a metal detector be more appropriate for, say, the beach? If it goes off in the middle of the sidewalk, and you also going to carry around a jackhammer to pound into the concrete?

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Well, I could go to the beach, but was thinking parks etc, behind somerville theater, the park on holland etc. I dunno, was thinking of getting one and was reading about how people find really old coins etc in their own back yard, mine is a driveways, so I was looking to expand that backyard. I won't be unearthing ancient burrito restaurants from under the square.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

Ancient Somervillians loved burritos. I bet you will find some mummified burritos next to a few Indian arrowheads.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Hey Anomie666 -

Based on my burrito post its clear that I'm able to joke about things. Granted my post was kind of random, but I didn't imply I was going to be digging up the sidewalks of Davis Square -

Was it really necessary to go to your little Snark fo and make fun of me and call me idiotic? Does it make you feel like a cool kid to joke with me here and then go making fun of me behind my back? Grow up.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

You need a thicker skin if you are going to be on the interwebs and I didn't call you idiotic.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

My apologies the other poster called me idiotic - you merely started the thread making fun of my post.

My skin is thick and beefy, and my sense of humor is just fine, and people seemed to respond to my post -so apparently there was interest. Snark all you want behind people's back, but don't expect not to get a response from those people. I'm not looking for a flame war, this is my last post to you on this topic. Have a good day.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

I'm not wishing to engage in a flame war, but what I said is hardly "behind someone's back". It is in a snark community for this community. A community which you are a part of.

I think what I said was a good natured snark that wasn't a personal attack on you at all. I didn't call you names or anything of the sort.

[ruxxell.livejournal.com]

yeah whaaaaat the fuck was up with that guys response?!

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

You need a thicker skin if you are going to be on the interwebs

go to cafepress.com
make tshirt with that on it
kthx

[ron_newman]

I don't think the city would appreciate your digging up the parks.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Good point, I guess in a park you could just pick up surface stuff.

[ron_newman]

Now, what you might find along the Community Path and the Linear Park are remnants of the former railroad. But again, nobody would let you dig for them.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

I have been curious if people have found stuff along the minuteman trail, such as musketballs, pine tree shillings, old soldier buttons etc. Not that you can/should dig there, and I have no intention of digging places I shouldn't - but it does intrigue me when I think about how all this land was active in revolutionary times, and how remnants of that time still remain.

[ron_newman]

For the Minuteman Trail, you'd probably do better to ask the Arlington List.

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

But the Minuteman Trail wasn't actually used by Minutemen, was it? It's just the name applied to the rail trail.

But, let me know if you find a spike or anything like that.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

They did build a railroad there, but prior to that it is pretty much Paul Revere's famous route. I would assume that if it was a route he use, it was used by others back in the day.

[ron_newman]

Paul Revere's ride was on roads, which still exist today. His horse would not have enjoyed clomping down a railroad track, even if railroads had been invented yet.

His route was not very similar to the Minuteman Bikeway. He went down Main Street in Charlestown, then Broadway in Somerville, bore right on Main Street to Medford Square, then Route 60 to Arlington Center, then Mass. Ave. to Lexington Center and beyond.

[ron_newman]

Here's a National Park Service map of Paul Revere's Ride, as well as that of William Dawes, and the route of the British Army.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Its weird because when you read about the bikepath they always talk about how its pretty much the same route - good MARKETING! :-)

[ron_newman]

Look at the right side of that map and you'll see all the battles fought between the Colonial militia and the Brits. From Lexington down to about Mass. Ave. and Rindge Ave., the battle road is today's Mass. Ave. The bike path runs pretty close to much of that.

[ron_newman]

what?

[dylanesque29.livejournal.com]

Uh yeah, that seemed funny at 5:30 in the am when I posted it. Looking at it now, I'm just relieved it's spelled correctly. No more pre-coffee posting for Dylanesque!

[rmd.livejournal.com]

i'd suggest talking to the folks at the metal detector store in watertown (white's?) and asking about local detecting.

i remember reading an article in the globe some time in the past 6 or 8 months about metal detecting as a hobby, and it mentioned that there are local groups that meet and show off their finds, as well. folks like that might know.

"The World's Worst Hobby"

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

http://www.slate.com/id/2086909/ (http://www.slate.com/id/2086909/)

Re: "The World's Worst Hobby"

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

That was a really fun read, thanks!

May I suggest an alternative?

[ron_newman]

If you're looking for a hobby that involves walking around outdoors looking for stuff, perhaps you should try geocaching or letterboxing instead?

I don't do these myself (yet), but a number of other folks in this community do.

Re: May I suggest an alternative?

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Neat, thanks for the tip - I had never heard of either of those thing. Sounds fun.

finding lost keys

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

One fall, after raking the leaves, I noticed my keys were gone. I rented a metal detector and found them easily in the huge pile. Nice trick.

I don't think the detectors really detect that deep - and they don't go through rock - you might mostly find lost jewelry, keys and similar items that would be easy to get to.