Our First Dig: Rotherfield Farmland

Saturday 28th March 2026. Three of us. A private farm in Rotherfield, East Sussex.

The weather? Classic British. Sun, rain, a bit of snow. The ground? Wet from recent rain. The finds? One.

Just one find. A Farmer's Wife Double Devon Cream lid from the 1950s, worth about £10.

JOMF's first official find - Farmer's Wife Double Devon Cream lid

Sounds disappointing, right? But here's why it wasn't.

How the JOMF Model Actually Works

That £10 find got split according to our distribution model:

Every single JOMF member earned something today.

Even the ones who couldn't make it. Even the ones in Wales. Even the ones who've never held a detector.

That's the point. We're not chasing the big hoard. We're building something where everyone benefits - every dig, every find, every time.

What Else Happened

Beyond the detecting, it was a proper day out:

• ☕ Tea and homemade lemon drizzle cake in the farmhouse
• 🗺️ The landowner showed us a Victorian OS map on his wall
• 🐴 Met 8 horses, 4 dogs, and some very loud geese
• 👦 My 4-year-old came along - his first ever dig

The "very loud geese" by the farm pond

We covered 2 small paddocks. There are 7 more fields to explore.

One of them? An old monastery site.

The Landowner

Ashley has been farming this land for years. He was welcoming, interested, and genuinely curious about what we might find. The kind of landowner relationship that makes detecting possible.

Under the JOMF model, he receives 50% of everything found on his land. It's fair, it's transparent, and it builds trust.

What's Next

Then on 6th June, we return to Rotherfield for the monastery fields. Medieval potential. Larger group.

The first JOMF dig crew - ready to make history

This was just the beginning. One small find. But proof that the model works.

Every dig adds to the pool. Every find benefits everyone. And over time, those small amounts compound.

Written by Steven Hood, Founder