Treasuring

So, as I was saying the other day when we were so rudely interrupted by school uniforms and lunch boxes and readers, while we didn't find any mushrooms on our forest adventure, we did find another sort of treasure. Real treasure. Old treasure.

As we were walking up to the house following the path the gorse muncher had uncovered a few days before, we came across an old gold miners' camp complete with lots of bits of old crockery and glass.

During the mid 1800s to mid 1900s Daylesford was full of thousands of workers looking for gold. Our farm has a few mines dotted about and an old race running through it.

I'm not sure I have the words to convey the feeling of coming across this little camp. Part curiosity, part excitement, part feeling like we were trespassing, part awe, part respect and part fascination.

First we examined the pile already collected. The patterns on the the shards of ceramic, the letters on the glass bottles, the handles broken off and the different shapes and sizes. And then we wandered around and started searching for more in the nearby area - slowly uncovering and digging up pieces to add to our puzzle.

As we came across each piece we'd slowly dig around it and pull it out. Miss Pepper liked to spit on and wipe them to uncover their design but we were happy to wipe them on our pants.

Treasure hunting is so addictive. Long after farmer Bren left us we were still saying 'just one more piece' and 'what if the next one is a complete jug'...

At one stage, digging out what farmer Bren thought might have once been a rubbish bin, Miss Pepper wondered if there might be ghosts around. The ghosts of the people who ate off and drank from these implements way back then. So together we made a list of some of the questions we'd like to ask these ghosts if they came.

What is your name? Where are you from and what language do you speak? How long have you been here? What is your job here? Have you found anything interesting or valuable? Do you live in a tent or a hut? Do you have a family/children? How many people are working in this area with you? What will you eat today on those plates? Did you break the plates and bottles when you left them or did they decay over time?

It's funny to think that a couple of months ago we were on an archaeological dig in Israel unearthing pieces of ceramic from 2,500 years ago, and here we were digging up 150 year old ceramic and being as excited. 

This treasure is part of our farm's history and therefore part of ours.

We're not sure what we'll do with our discoveries. Maybe we'll leave them in the pile we found them in, maybe we'll make a mosaic or maybe something else will come to us. In the mean time this basket full is doing the rounds of classroom show and share.

I just feel happy about the added layer of history it adds to our farm's story and the questions it's making us ask and think about.


Have a wonderful Tuesday my friends.
May your travels be filled with treasures.

xx