Lead!!!!!

[MarkWeaver]

Why do we find so much 'scrap' lead in the fields we detect. It was once explained to me that lead was used as we use plastic, is this the case?

[shaggybfc]

Pretty much sums it up I'd say. Such a versatile material and used for the past 2000+ years. I was once told that farmers in years gone by would carry lumps of lead with them to fix the equipment - melt is and poor it into joints etc - holding on tool heads, cart wheel hubs etc.... not sure if that is backed up by documented evidence though.

[MarkWeaver]

Makes sense. I’m struggling to find anything definitive

[figgis]

Being such a malleable metal, lead was indeed used for all sorts of reasons, especially on the fly. It can be a right royal pain at times but it's a good indicator of previous presence

[Oxgirl]

I think the plastic analogy is spot on. It was used extensively in buildings, especially on roofs, so sites with demolished structures tend to be full of it. Used to fix everything and anything. Plus sites with good civil war history have loads either from the shot itself, or the production of.

If you see how much plastic fragments are scattered around fields in less than a hundred years I guess it isn’t surprising!

[Easylife]

The lead blobs I guess are what has dropped on the ground from in field repairs. Today I dug a hefty chunk of lead that was crudely made up of melted recycled bits but pieces had been hacked off it for further use. At least the blobs are signs of human activity. Then there are bits of lead pipe, sheet off-cuts etc from house refurbs that have been dumped.