If you have ever used a metal detector, you understand the joy of finding old relics. Many people might be amazed when this metal detecting team unveils their finds at an 1800s clothing factory. Once on the property, there was so much metal that the searchers used screens to sift the dirt.
The clothing factory burned down in the early 1900s, and the site is primarily untouched. Artifacts were lying on the surface in many areas, plainly visible without using metal detectors. Some of the early finds included suspender buckles used between 1850 and 1920. The early metal detector finds were a small jewelry box key and a Victorian-era silver sash buckle.
![Left image shows suspender clips located with a metal detector. Right image shows a skeleton-style jewelry box key.](https://www.inspiremore.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Metal-Detector-Finds-Suspender-Clips-and-New-Shoes.jpg)
The sifting method reveals many artifacts that a metal detector cannot find. Some of those relics included a leg from an old porcelain doll, a lens from spectacles, a glass button from the mid-to-late 1800s, and a clay marble. Searchers also found old brass buttons, metal tags from machinery, old belt buckles, and ammo box identification plates.
![Left image shows a Railway button. Right image shows a button with ornate initials "CP" on it. Both items were metal detector finds.](https://www.inspiremore.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Metal-Detector-Finds-Buttons.jpg)
Although metal detector finds aren’t always glamorous, this 1800s clothing factory seems to be a treasure trove of ancient relics. Using the sifter, explorers found items they would have missed. The TikTok coverage of their explorations has at least four parts. You can find them on Isaac Pasette’s page, ponderingthepast.
Whether you use a metal detector for fun finds or to hunt for ancient artifacts seriously, the search is an enriching adventure. If you can access old ruins like this clothing factory, you never know what you will uncover. Some artifacts can paint a picture of life in the 1800s and 1900s, while other finds will only lead us to confusion.
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