Star Evans
Member
- Location
- Maidenhead
Metal detecting – another perspective –
So, I know metal detecting can have negative connotations in the farming (and other) communities, and I know there are a small amount of folk out there that have given metal detecting a bad name by trespassing – usually at night – in blatant disregard to the property of others, the countryside code, and the code of conduct practised by members of the National Council for Metal Detecting - https://www.ncmd.co.uk/code-of-conduct/
Let me offer the reality of metal detecting, from my own experience, which I am sure is common to many others who practise detecting.
What does a metal detectorist actually do ?
Firstly, a lot of research. Going back hundreds, and sometimes thousands of years. Drawing together old maps, plans, place names, rivers, battle sites, tribal boundaries, satellite imagery, local history, geology and possible interpretations of what the land might have looked like many years ago, who might have lived there, and what their lifestyle might have been like. Maybe the site would have favoured a Roman villa as yet undiscovered, maybe people travelled via ancient pathways no longer seen, where are the clues, what might lie beneath the soil we now see ? Maybe there are ancient field names still in living memory that hold further clues. Are there signs of medieval 3 field system farming still there in the land ? Just what did everything look like many years ago, and where might be a good place to search for evidence of people long ago ?
Next of all, the landowner will be approached, often with an explanation of why the detectorist is requesting permission to search for traces of history on their land. The detectorist looks at the land from a different perspective to that of a farmer, whilst being aware of the cycles of seasons and respectful of when an area of land is available and when it is not. The detectorist will respect crops and livestock alike, and will leave no trace or damage in his wake. He will also be fully insured (check the person asking for permission has current NCMD membership). Many detectorists build up a good rapport with landowners over a period of time.
The actual metal detecting comes next; this is the part that most people associate with metal detecting as it’s the visual part, where someone walks endlessly up and down an area of land, swinging their detector as they go, watching and listening for any signals before digging discrete holes to see what might lie beneath the soil. It is a bit of a myth that metal detectorists make lots of money from their art, as the amount of money invested into each metal detector is rather large – comparative perhaps to fishing when you compare cost of equipment to financial gain – but a sport similarly loved by it’s devotees, with similar gains to that of fishing. You can expect to spend a lot of time in poor weather, often alone, and you may go home at the end of the day with nothing to show for your endeavours, but the peace of mind and the quality of the time spent outdoors, listening to the fields, interacting with the land on an intimate level, this is something that many detectorists enjoy and prize above all. Tuning out of the white noise of everyday life and tuning into the land, the gains for mental health are pronounced.
So, what do we find ? Well, sometimes nothing at all, but almost always we will find scrap iron – nails, bits of horseshoe, bits of broken plough. All of this is carefully excavated, and given to the landowner if they are collecting scrap iron; otherwise it is disposed of at the local tip. Drinks cans, whole and shredded are all removed and disposed of. Sometimes land has been treated with ‘green waste’. So your land has been contaminated with bits of IKEA furniture fittings and all manner of non-biodegradable metals. One of the only ways to get rid of this unwanted waste is to have a metal detectorist comb your land and remove it all, one piece at a time. Many people do not relish the thought of detecting on a contaminated field, but it is a great service that a detectorist can provide to a farmer.
But, how about more interesting stuff ? Well, we often find things of variable levels of interest, such as old buttons from the times when Victorians spread their fields with mulched up clothing. Old coins with little or no detail due to weathering in the soil. Fragments of other things that are hard to identify. Musket balls from fields used as firing ranges hundreds of years ago. Landowners may or may not be interested in these types of finds, and this varies from person to person. So, if someone is detecting on your land, have a chat with them, let them know if you’d like to know about everything they turn up; similarly let them know if you don’t require this level of detail. No-one wants to unduly bother a busy landowner with every shell case they found on their land.
Every now and again, a detectorist will find something that has financial worth in addition to it’s historical value. This could be a single coin, a piece of jewellery, a scattering of old coins, or in fact, a great number of things; all of which can be unearthed but are not commonly found. Absolutely everything with financial value will be reported to the landowner; these types of finds are also reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme which helps build an archaeological picture of our countries past, and may even be purchased by a Museum if they fall under the Treasure Act 1996. Don’t get your hopes up too high, people spend years detecting with little financial value to their finds; but if you get an excitable phone call from your detectorist, you may just have struck gold !
So, I know metal detecting can have negative connotations in the farming (and other) communities, and I know there are a small amount of folk out there that have given metal detecting a bad name by trespassing – usually at night – in blatant disregard to the property of others, the countryside code, and the code of conduct practised by members of the National Council for Metal Detecting - https://www.ncmd.co.uk/code-of-conduct/
Let me offer the reality of metal detecting, from my own experience, which I am sure is common to many others who practise detecting.
What does a metal detectorist actually do ?
Firstly, a lot of research. Going back hundreds, and sometimes thousands of years. Drawing together old maps, plans, place names, rivers, battle sites, tribal boundaries, satellite imagery, local history, geology and possible interpretations of what the land might have looked like many years ago, who might have lived there, and what their lifestyle might have been like. Maybe the site would have favoured a Roman villa as yet undiscovered, maybe people travelled via ancient pathways no longer seen, where are the clues, what might lie beneath the soil we now see ? Maybe there are ancient field names still in living memory that hold further clues. Are there signs of medieval 3 field system farming still there in the land ? Just what did everything look like many years ago, and where might be a good place to search for evidence of people long ago ?
Next of all, the landowner will be approached, often with an explanation of why the detectorist is requesting permission to search for traces of history on their land. The detectorist looks at the land from a different perspective to that of a farmer, whilst being aware of the cycles of seasons and respectful of when an area of land is available and when it is not. The detectorist will respect crops and livestock alike, and will leave no trace or damage in his wake. He will also be fully insured (check the person asking for permission has current NCMD membership). Many detectorists build up a good rapport with landowners over a period of time.
The actual metal detecting comes next; this is the part that most people associate with metal detecting as it’s the visual part, where someone walks endlessly up and down an area of land, swinging their detector as they go, watching and listening for any signals before digging discrete holes to see what might lie beneath the soil. It is a bit of a myth that metal detectorists make lots of money from their art, as the amount of money invested into each metal detector is rather large – comparative perhaps to fishing when you compare cost of equipment to financial gain – but a sport similarly loved by it’s devotees, with similar gains to that of fishing. You can expect to spend a lot of time in poor weather, often alone, and you may go home at the end of the day with nothing to show for your endeavours, but the peace of mind and the quality of the time spent outdoors, listening to the fields, interacting with the land on an intimate level, this is something that many detectorists enjoy and prize above all. Tuning out of the white noise of everyday life and tuning into the land, the gains for mental health are pronounced.
So, what do we find ? Well, sometimes nothing at all, but almost always we will find scrap iron – nails, bits of horseshoe, bits of broken plough. All of this is carefully excavated, and given to the landowner if they are collecting scrap iron; otherwise it is disposed of at the local tip. Drinks cans, whole and shredded are all removed and disposed of. Sometimes land has been treated with ‘green waste’. So your land has been contaminated with bits of IKEA furniture fittings and all manner of non-biodegradable metals. One of the only ways to get rid of this unwanted waste is to have a metal detectorist comb your land and remove it all, one piece at a time. Many people do not relish the thought of detecting on a contaminated field, but it is a great service that a detectorist can provide to a farmer.
But, how about more interesting stuff ? Well, we often find things of variable levels of interest, such as old buttons from the times when Victorians spread their fields with mulched up clothing. Old coins with little or no detail due to weathering in the soil. Fragments of other things that are hard to identify. Musket balls from fields used as firing ranges hundreds of years ago. Landowners may or may not be interested in these types of finds, and this varies from person to person. So, if someone is detecting on your land, have a chat with them, let them know if you’d like to know about everything they turn up; similarly let them know if you don’t require this level of detail. No-one wants to unduly bother a busy landowner with every shell case they found on their land.
Every now and again, a detectorist will find something that has financial worth in addition to it’s historical value. This could be a single coin, a piece of jewellery, a scattering of old coins, or in fact, a great number of things; all of which can be unearthed but are not commonly found. Absolutely everything with financial value will be reported to the landowner; these types of finds are also reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme which helps build an archaeological picture of our countries past, and may even be purchased by a Museum if they fall under the Treasure Act 1996. Don’t get your hopes up too high, people spend years detecting with little financial value to their finds; but if you get an excitable phone call from your detectorist, you may just have struck gold !
