Ploughsoil

For UK detectorists

What did you just dig up?

Ploughsoil is a find-ID reference for British fields and beaches. Weigh it, measure it, and match it against charts built from museum and archaeological sources. Then record it properly.

Musket ball size chart Browse Find ID
Line drawing of a finds tray with six labelled compartments: musket ball, hammered penny, crotal bell, buckle, button and lead token.
DRAWINGS: PLOUGHSOIL · NOT TO SCALE
  • MeasuredWeights and diameters you can check with scales and calipers.
  • SourcedEvery figure is traced to the PAS, published archaeology or the law itself.
  • RecordedEach guide ends with who to tell, and when you must.

Open a drawer

Four sections, numbered like a finds cabinet.

  • DRAWER 0113 GUIDES

    Find ID

    Measure it, date it, name it. Object-by-object keys.

  • DRAWER 028 GUIDES

    Law & permission

    Treasure, Treasure Trove, beaches and landowner agreements.

  • DRAWER 032 GUIDES

    Getting started

    Kit, target IDs and the habits that make good finds records.

  • DRAWER 042 GUIDES

    Places & events

    Beaches after storms, rallies and clubs.

Start here

25 sourced guides so far. These are good first reads.

How we work

No guesswork dressed up as fact

A lot of find ID online is forum folklore. We go back to the sources instead. Read how Ploughsoil is made.

  1. Primary sources first. PAS guides and records, museum catalogues, excavation reports and the legislation itself.
  2. Numbers you can test. If we give a weight or diameter, we show where it came from and how to measure your own find.
  3. Our own drawings. Line drawings and scale bars made for Ploughsoil, so we never borrow photos without a licence.
  4. Report it. Recording turns a find into evidence. Every guide says who to tell.