The adventures of Yegonets (chases, interrogations, FSB mask shows! and much more – the competitive story of a digger)

Good day everyone. Make yourself comfortable. This is a story about unusual events that happened to me during the search. The story is not new, but for the first time I will tell about it not officially, but in a simple way, like with friends around the fire or men in the steam room. Thanks to the competition, I sat down to write something that I had been thinking about for a long time. Sometimes you just want to remember how it was, where it started and where it came to. And this story will help to summarize these memories.

City Vesyegonsk  1988.

Like many of us, I once became interested in searching. This was in childhood. The shore of the Rybinsk Reservoir, summer, a huge sky above the spill, such that on one side there was a thundercloud on it, and on the other a rainbow and a bright sun. The water does not allow the thunderstorm to come our way, we know this and my brother and I are going to the cherished place – an old flooded village. The old people told us many stories about him, and how coffins floated on the water, washed away from the old cemetery, and about the fact that some shepherd found a large golden cross there, about the temple that used to be, but now there is only a pile of stones under water, and a lot of other things . A neighbor, a man, told me that they made spinners from silver coins, and he had a coin with the inscription “3 rubles for silver,” and he also made a spinner. The old people said that our ancestors moved to the village from this village after the flooding. To get to the place, you had to walk or sail by boat several kilometers along the shore of the peninsula to the Lava River, then swim across it, and another two kilometers to a sharp sand spit.

Here is a view of the peninsula, from here you should start your journey .

When the water recedes, a large sandy beach about thirty meters appears here. There was a place there called “Chapel”. There was no longer any chapel there; about 30 meters from the shore there was a lonely dry pine tree, they said that there was a chapel near it. When there was a thunderstorm, lightning often struck this pine tree and as a result its trunk was charred and black. We could spend the whole day there, just walking and looking for various coins, crosses and interesting trinkets in the sand among shards, stones, pieces of iron. We even crawled on all fours, it was so interesting. One day, right opposite the “Chapel”, I found a pectoral cross, a large one, then I didn’t know that they were called “propeller”). But the most interesting thing is that under it, right in a pile, lay 11 more different crosses, small, large, all old, how did they get there?  This is how childhood passed, every year we went to the village and went there for the whole day, behind the sand spit, where, on the site of former houses, large square boulders stood in the water, and in the middle of each there was a pile of bricks from a stove. The water revealed 12 of these houses, the rest were deeper and on the shore in the bushes. There are bricks with inscriptions all around, bottles, plates, coins, locks, all kinds of utensils. And when you go a little further, to the stream, behind which there is a pile of stones from the temple in the water, there bones began, human bones. There was an old cemetery here and it is also now under water. It’s fascinating that we even reburied them on the shore several times; these were our ancestors. I remember I saw once, there was a wave, some strange things were rolling along the sand in the surf. I came up to look, and they were black human skulls, one without a jaw, the other intact. Our ancestors were washed away and washed ashore. It was a long time ago, but then my passion began.

Rolando.

2008. Dominican Republic Years passed, scientists came up with a metal detector, and I got married for the second time. My wife and I came on vacation to the ocean coast. I took my recently purchased Minelab with me, and was confident that I would collect all the gold jewelry on the endless sandy beaches. I walked along the beach every day, drinking rum and dragging a bunch of kids and onlookers with me. They followed me like seagulls following a ship in its wake. At first it was annoying, but then I got used to it. Over the course of a week, I found a bunch of large local coins – pesos, and other coins from different countries, but there were no decorations. It was an unpleasant surprise.

Only once, when I was walking along the surf, a Spanish girl ran up to me and began calling me to follow her. Her dad dropped the ring into the water, and she guessed to call me. I agreed to help. In two minutes of searching, I found only a couple of coins, they already decided that that was all and even went home.

Meanwhile, I come across another signal, I dig and take the ring out of the water. Twisted  beautiful  ring made of white gold. I gave it away, for which I received applause from the audience and the joy of the Spanish children. This was my first gold. And the last thing on this trip. And then I met him.

I was waving my reel as usual and saw that a short man was coming towards me. He looked like some American actor, D. Hoffman, it seems. He walked straight towards me, in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and a wide-brimmed straw hat, middle-aged, but fit, a tanned face with wrinkles and a look that only a treasure hunter has.

When he approached, he smiled and started speaking in English, pointing to my Minelab. I realized that his name was Rolando, he asked how things were going, which I found. I showed him a pile of coins. Rolando said that he also goes with a metal detector, but if I want to find gold, I need to go into the water. He pointed towards the ocean. He also said that I have a good device, but I need Excalibur 2. Then he showed me a hand on which there were three yellow rings, I found this, this is platinum, he said. He also had rings on his other hand, and on his neck, over his shirt, hung a thick gold chain with a round medallion, on it was the profile of the Queen of England.

The next day I saw Rolando in full gear, suit, cargo, unloading and equipment. I had a mask, I saw how it works under water. I understood everything, and when I returned home, I did as Rolando said. Already on my next vacation trip to Hurghada, I found 11 gold rings, earrings, a pendant and 1000 rubles in change. There in Egypt, while searching, I was electrocuted by a small stingray. He buried himself in the sand and I accidentally hit him with a shovel. It went right through the scoop, it felt like an electrical outlet. It’s good that he was small.

So Egonets was born, I learned to look for gold , and my daughter Masha got new toys.

2013. Pursuit of treasure.

My passion for searching underwater suited me quite well; I successfully found a lot of things. But then one day, one person asked me to find a couple of things that were drowned while swimming. Having gone to the place, I found in the river what they had lost — it was a diamond ring. While we were driving, I got into a conversation with him, and he told me that he professionally searches for treasures. He suggested to me: “come with us, you’ll try.” This is an interesting trip for 3-4 days with an overnight stay in the forest, we hire equipment to clear the place. The chance of finding treasure is great, but you have to chip in for the expenses. He told me about a pan that was found that year, full of coins: silver, gold, platinum. Some time passed and I decided to give it a try. I somehow didn’t dare look for the treasure myself, not knowing where and how, I swam, I knew how and what to look for under water. And then the opportunity arose to go where I was unlikely to get to on my own. I decided to devote the second half of the summer to this venture. After all, to find out — I have to try it.

In August 2013, as part of a team, I was already traveling to an abandoned village 300 km from home. The equipment was completely different, so I took a different device, mine was underwater. I picked out the clothes I had. They chose the places themselves. We got from the collection point in a UAZ, then a tractor joined us. I spent almost the whole day on the road. Where ordinary roads ended and solid clay slurry began, the car was hitched to a tractor and walked on a hitch. The places are remote, impassable, sometimes the tractor simply made a road through the thickets, unexpectedly jumping out into a clearing where there once was a village. We had to take everything with us: water, food, batteries, etc. At some point, the cellular connection ended, and on the road one could see traces of wolves or a bear. I remember the feeling that everything has changed, ordinary life is somewhere far away, and you are alone with this adventure. The equipment will stop and no one will find you for a long time. Yes, this is completely different: a field kitchen over a fire, overnight stays in a UAZ kung — in cramped conditions, but no offense, everything was Spartan, we swam in a key river, dark as tea. There was no other water there, and it was undesirable to drink it, it was peat. The last time I went on a hike was back in school, and now there’s a whole expedition. The village was once rich; two-story wooden houses have been preserved. In the center of the village there is a truly grandiose structure. Temple complex of four buildings. Bell tower and three temples. The temple fence is in the form of a stone fence with towers at the corners. The oldest church is small and not immediately noticeable. It all looks grandiose, and there is silence all around, no electricity, no communication, nothing, only stars. The temples are in terrible condition.

One of them had his entire arch collapsed< /p>

The dome of another collapsed, and there was also devastation inside. At the oldest church, a birch tree as thick as a foot grew through the wall.

But what’s interesting is that you enter the temple, alone, and you feel that you are in a temple, and not in an abandoned house. I found a candle there and lit it. For me it was a temple. The only place where the phone was normally received — this is the bell tower. Despite the fact that the place is quite remote, various types of searchers have already done a decent amount of work there. They were looking for everything, both metal and treasures, and for a long time. And the soil is plowed throughout the center. I saw pipes from burnt houses, 3-4 of them, all in holes all around. I don’t know why they chose this place, but it seems like all the abandoned villages there look the same.

The camp was set up on the outskirts of a place cleared by someone. Without unnecessary fuss, we prepared firewood. It was a part of life when nothing distracts you except your hobby. You wake up, wash your face, have breakfast over the fire, and search. In the evening, gatherings around the fire, dinner,  thank God, no one got drunk, and told various treasure-hunting tales. We didn’t go to the temples to look, there was a cemetery there, and we shouldn’t look near the temples, our business was former vegetable gardens and outskirts. But I went to look, I looked all over, when will this ever happen again? One night they burned a huge fire. It happened like this: the tractor pecked into some kind of quagmire, there was a lake visible and got stuck. They dug it out until dusk, but it didn’t work. We understood that if we didn’t dig it out, we’d be stuck here for a long time. It got dark, we had to light a fire so that we could see and, well, make it warmer. I remember what a stunning sky there is. In August it’s just a scattering of stars, the Milky Way, and a lot of something flying and blinking. Somewhere there was a satellite, and somewhere there were strange approaching lights, we decided that it was a UFO. Here and there, stars fell like white arrows. The fire was like a Maslenitsa, about two meters high, the sparks from it went high up in a column. I remember they pulled out the tractor, they were all dirty, we stood looking at the sky and were silent, as if spellbound.

Oddly enough, the finds weren’t very good. There were ordinary copper coins. But the atmosphere itself is something special. I’ve been there three times and have had the adventures of a lifetime. In three or four days in the forest you turn into a different person. You think differently, you hear, you forget everything that worried you before.

I was looking for treasure, but found adventure.

In a remote place, any danger is felt completely differently. There you are alone with her, no one will help. One evening I was sitting by the fire with a tractor driver, and the others were sleeping. Then the tractor driver says to me: “Look, there are some lights near the temples.” Our fire was behind the bushes, on the outskirts, and even covered by a car from the side of the village, it was not immediately visible. I say: “Let’s go have a look.” They woke up the guys, and carefully, as if in some kind of “lightning,” they began to make their way to these lights. We approached about 100 meters unnoticed, we saw six people with headlamps walking around the temples, looking at something. We pulled back, put out the fire, leaving only the coals. We think who could have come here at night? Unpleasant sensations. Then Sasha speaks again, the lanterns are moving towards us. So they saw the fire. We sat down in advance, the two of us around the fire, the two of us in ambush from the direction they were coming from, so that we could be in their rear. I sat down under a bush, put on my hood, blended into the darkness, looking at the fire. We wait. After 5 minutes I hear a quiet tramp, they are walking, without lights. Then someone says in a whisper: “Go check the tractor.” To the right and left of me I hear a rustling sound; two people crouched down about four meters away. And one silhouette openly moved towards the fire. So one went to talk, five were in ambush next to me. I’m sitting, not moving, thinking about what’s next? Here on the right I hear a pistol bolt being clearly carefully pulled, some kind of whisper. The man came out to the fire, sat down and began to talk about something. And we sit and wait, and they sit and wait. After 15 minutes, he waved to his people to leave, and they shouted to us to leave. The guests turned on their flashlights and began to go out to the fire. When one was coming straight at me, I stood up too. He was surprised, realized that I was nearby, extended his hand and said hello. As it turned out, they were riot police with weapons. They have something like a dacha in a neighboring village; they go drinking and hunting. They asked what we were doing, we showed that we were collecting ferrous metal. They say, just don’t go near the temples or even set foot in our village. But overall everything turned out peacefully. This situation was somehow quickly forgotten later, well, there were people and they left, but now I remember as if it wasn’t with me.

I never saw the treasure, although I had already felt enough of the romance of treasure hunting and decided to return to my usual underwater search. I did not find the treasure and did not find it. I spent money on trips, well, I’ll have to write it off as a loss. I lived a treasure-hunting life, saw wilderness, off-road conditions, and decided to end the experiment there. But somehow it turned out that they simply persuaded me to go one last time and close the season. Again, to this village. The roads are frozen, we will pass well. It’s just that they, I realized, didn’t have enough money to travel and needed another person.

It was already cold, the first snow, knowing the places, I put on winter fishing overalls. I have it for winter fishing, bright yellow and even with reflectors. We arrived at the gathering place, as it turned out, the composition had changed. One person got sick and a new one went in his place. As before, it took 5 hours to get to the place in tow behind a tractor. The road is not frozen, the ruts are as deep as the headlights. We reached darkness. Again the familiar domes, the dusty outskirts of the village. We drove to the west side and found a house, the only one with windows. Hunters stayed there and it was open to everyone. Since it’s not the month of May, we decided to spend the night there. Inside there are wooden chambers, a table and everything. They sealed the broken windows and lit the stove. The stove was old, it smoked like a steam locomotive, we went outside to cook on a fire, it was possible to catch fire in the house. When the wood burned out, the smoke went away, and it became warm. We sat and thought about where we would look in the morning. We decided to get closer to the forest or even go further six km, there was also a village there. They sat huddled around the stove, looking at the fire. The coals crackle and jump out of the stove. Vitya the tractor driver says the coals are jumping out, this is a sign for guests. We chatted and fell asleep. There is a draft from the windows, the smoke has not cleared, I think why did I go, I was given this treasure?   We woke up early, warmed up the tea, Vitya went to pour water into the radiator, started the tractor. We swayed, somehow everything was lazy, although the sun seemed to be out. I got dressed, took the device and went into the field. A tractor arrived, began to rumble, level the bushes, another of our comrades came out.

We walk and look for nothing special: traffic jams, tips, pieces of iron. Then suddenly my device goes out and does not turn on. I think it’s great, I looked, but there’s no spare one. I went back to the house to check the batteries. While I was walking, the device started working again. I would think that this is a sign to go into the house and stay there. Then our third one came out, and everyone began to search together. We wear headphones, without them we can’t hear anything from behind the tractor. I remember the first coin I came across, advice. I wanted to show it, I said: “Look at the coin!” I turn around and see out of the corner of my eye green silhouettes with weapons running towards us. Everything is like in a slow motion movie. If aliens had landed, I think the effect would have been the same. Where are they from?

I see they attacked two people and knocked them down. I was already squatting, I felt a knee strike in my back, my face was on the ground, my hands were wrapped, the handcuffs clicked. The photos are real, it’s me in the yellow suit, and the other two in the blue suit.

They ask: “Are you Vladimir?” I say yes. They shout, turn it the other way. They turned me away from my comrades, there was some kind of fuss there, I heard shouting. Then a guy in camouflage runs up, they raise my head to the camera, and he yells: «Who are they? What are you doing here? Where are the weapons? Who is in charge?» I was taken aback, I said «nothing, let’s rest, there are no weapons.» And so to everyone in turn. Then they picked everyone up, put them in handcuffs, they said you committed a crime, show me what’s in your pockets. I say: “At least take off the handcuffs, I’ll show you.” They took it off, I laid out what was in the bag on the tarpaulin.

A coin of advice, a loop of some kind, a soldier, an October star, a wire. Others were taken out of their pockets without removing the handcuffs. They had almost nothing at all, they just left. They say: “We are FSB officers. We led you for a long time, listened to you, we all know, you got it, so it’s better to confess before things get worse.” And indeed, it was a whole FSB group, as many as 12 people, 2 snipers in the VSK, machine guns, everything was serious. They brought the Archaeologist with them from the museum – a bearded idiot. Why idiot? More on this later. In general, this is where our search ended, as did our quiet life. Right there, in the house, they interrogated us, harassed us, wrote papers until it got dark. They were taken to different rooms, each with a personal guard. There is no electricity, only a lantern. A bunch of FSB officers are crowding around the stove, some have fallen asleep. On the wards where we slept, the weapons were piled up. I also thought, what if they ran? They started shooting. At about 11 o’clock they said that everyone was being released, everyone should come to the FSB department with documents in the morning. Well, they let it go like that, they still got out of there with them, about six hours at night. Three cables were broken and we drove in the wrong direction twice. Poor UAZ, 13 people were traveling back in the kung, they almost turned over. This is how the “Kostroma criminal case” began.

Two years of investigation and trial passed, in the end we received a suspended sentence for unknown reasons, and were placed under an amnesty. Metal detectors confiscated.

So I became the “Black Digger”. There were no security zones there, we are still appealing the verdict, but that’s another story.

What I want to say — I do not regret anything. I thank fate for the bright moments of the adventures that remain in my memory, although it turned out completely differently than I thought, but the main thing is that everyone is alive and well, and there is something to remember. Now I’m back to my beach quest. I remained at heart a boy who, as a child, crawled on the sand and looked for coins.

Photo Cyprus 2015.

If I ever find my treasure, it will be more likely by accident. I wish everyone success in getting out of all the situations life puts us in!

P.S. Yes, I promised to tell you about the idiot archaeologist. When they searched our UAZ in the forest, he found a hookah in it, or rather a bronze part of it. He was happy, his eyes were burning, he grabbed onto it, it’s the church utensils saying, let’s put it in your bag. I then tell the FSB officers: “Your archaeologist stole our hookah, tell him to give it to him, otherwise I’ll write a statement saying that he stole it.” But they didn’t even know. They tell him: “Are you an idiot? it’s a hookah, give it back, otherwise we’ll have to answer for you.” Returned.

Good luck to everyone,    Egonets.

Comrades, to participate in the competition, send your stories from the cops with interesting photos to email: hobby.detecting@gmail.com What you can win in the 2016 season competition? All details about the prizes here