Metalldetektion

[msaunder1972]

Hi, I was just wondering if there is anyone here who metal detects old battlefields. Sorry if this is a taboo subject or offends you, that is not my intention.
I just see a lot of videos of people looking for metal detectors in the Ruhr area and on the Seelow Heights and on all the battlefields on the Eastern Front.
I've always wanted to try it out, but I don't have the right contacts.

 

[GibraltarLinz]

Hi. Its not offensive at all. However its forbidden in most areas in Germany because the grounds are contaminated with ammunition. So, be careful and do your research beforehand.

Good luck on your journey and stay safe.

 

[Sam_]

Personally, I sometimes have the idea that if someone wants to go to hell, you shouldn't stop them. But still:
My job involves coordinating the clearance of explosive ordnance and I have found about half a dozen larger bombs, countless smaller explosives while accompanying earthworks and have spend long times waiting for the explosive ordnance clearance service on quite many occasions.
So here's a hint: Don't. What you see on YouTube is consistently catastrophic dilettantism. These guys don't have the slightest idea of what they're doing. And worst of all they do not know it. Just look at how they start digging as soon as the detector beeps. Nough said.

Mort important lesson I learned: Whenever I thought I knew something, I was proven wrong. That taught me to keep my hands off everything. For example: Once a fireman told me that he'd had a training course the week before and he credibly explained to me that once this type of firebomb we found had ignited, it would certainly be empty and harmless. I believed him. Until 2 years later I watched an explosive ordnance disposal expert wearing personal protection wrapping this type of bomb in airtight foil while explaining to me that there might still be phosphorus in sealed compartments that could always ignite as soon as it was removed from the cooler temperatures unter the surface of the soil. And nobody wants to know what this kind of phosphorus does once it burns on a human body. Thats for sure.

The full-time explosive ordnance disposal experts receive various training courses over several years, during which they accompany the experienced old hands and thus gradually get to know the dangers that may exist in their area of responsibility. This means that they know most of the explosive ordnance in their region - but not what has been dropped in other regions! Thus they keep their hands of anything they do not recognize.

That's why showing up on an old battlefield and start touching things or even put a shovel in the ground is not all too clever.