Chat with a metal detector guy changed how I see plow zones

Was talking to this retiree at a dig open house near Salisbury last Saturday. He said most of his best finds came from topsoil that 'proper archaeologists' used to walk right past. Told me he pulled a 3rd century coin from 6 inches down in a field everyone thought was stripped clean. Hit different because I spent 2 seasons volunteering and we only screened subsoil. Has anyone else started checking plow zone contexts after hearing something like that?

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cole3568d ago

Yeah, that "stripped clean" line really got me too. I had the same mindset on my last dig, only checking deeper layers until a local detectorist showed me a buckle from the top few inches. Definitely makes you wonder what else we've been walking over all along.