I always wondered why California has such fertile cannon fields

[cannonmn]

Over the years I've been contacted by many citizens and dealers who have told me about cannons that have been "dug up" in California.  They are usually bronze cannons discovered when digging with a backhoe.  Somehow the cannons discovered in this way have not so much as a scratch or dent, and I'd expect much worse from the impact of a backhoe bucket which is often armed with hardened steel teeth, but no, these backhoes are always gentle and I guess equipped with rubber teeth, or the cannon is always scooped up in the middele of the bucket, luckily.  Here's just the latest one that came in this morning.

I have a friend who has a gun like yours and the three at the navel institute. This one has the same ancient chinnese writting which I had translated at U.C. Berkley. The date on it is August 1553. We would appriciate it very much if you could give us some ideal of the value of this piece. My friend's father dug this piece up with a back hoe over thirty years ago. in Martinez California. It is in excellent condition I believe, but it does not have a breech block with it.
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If anyone can explain why California alone has produced each and every one of the "backhoe cannons" I've ever heard of, and why there is never any backhoe bucket damage to the bronze, I'd like to know, since it is truly amazing.

[Don Krag]

Didn't you know that California was a popular vacation resort for 16th century China!? After thewy loaded up on all the souvineers, they simply didn't have room in the ships for everything so the cannons had to stay behind.

[GGaskill]

While I can't explain the preponderance of BS artists in the PRC (too many ex-New Yorkers, perhaps), a good backhoe operator actually can feel strange objects long before they are seriously damaged, assuming they are not simply dragged from the ground with the backhoe. 

I guess they have to come up with a plausible explanation for their possession of the object and that is their best guess.  Explaining they stole it wouldn't be a good way to sell it on the open market.

[rg_1111]

Some backhoe operators in California use spotters that probe the ground with a small rod and sharp point . they check for wires & pipes. Some of the surveys that show the pipes & wires are way off. Not all operators use spotters.