UK based Metal Detecting Clubs
Do you want your detecting club listed here?
last updated 4th January 2009
Central Searchers Metal Detecting Club, based in Northants we cover Northants, Beds and Cambs. We are open to members and non members alike. Membership is £25 a year and your dig price is then £8 and for non members dig price is £12. We try our hardest to have a dig every weekend usually over both Saturday and Sunday, with camping over available during the warmer months. We have a forum which folk can join at http://www.centralsearchers.org.uk/forum/portal.php. We also have a web site which is still being updated at www.centralsearchers.co.uk and we are on a trial basis of Club Meetings every first Monday of the month at Raunds Football Club, Raunds, Northants starting at 7.30pm with Find of the Month Comp, guest speakers etc.
If you want to know more about us then contact Gill on centralsearchers@ntlworld.com
Berkshire
Wessex Metal Detecting Association
website : http://geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/7843/two.html
THE CONSERVATIVE CLUB at CHEAP STREET, NEWBURY. We meet at this very pleasant location on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 8.0pm. New members are always welcome both total beginners or fully experienced detectorists
Buckinghamshire
South Bucks Metal Detecting Club.
Dr.Andy Spragg. spragg.a@sky.com
Treasurer & Membership Secretary
Treetops,
Pinewood Road.
High Wycombe,
Bucks. HP12 4DD
Magiovinivm Milton Keynes Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.magiovinivm.freeservers.com
membership is made up from both experienced and beginners to the hobby - they encourage newcomers and you will find their members friendly and willing to give advice to all.
Monthly meetings are held on the second Sunday of every month a the Roman Centre, 1 Constantine Way, Bancroft Park, Milton Keynes. at 7-30 pm.
Milton Keynes Searchers Metal Detecting Club
website : http://mysite.orange.co.uk/mksdetecting
Meet last Sunday of the month around 7.45pm in Milton Keynes
Please see our website for more details. The membership fee is subject to change and will be increasing in February. Details TBC.
Cambridgeshire
Phoenix Metal Detecting Club (Peterborough)
Meetings held last Thursday of each month 7.30pm for 8pm at Peterborough Sports and Social Club Lincoln Road.
Cambridge and East Cambs Metal Detectors Club
We meet on the first Wednesday of each month.
Contact Derek Fitch, the Chairman.
The club email address is cambsdetectors@aol.com
Cheshire
West Kirby Metal Detecting Club
We Meet On The First Thursday Of Every Month At 8pm ,at West Cheshire Sailing Club situated on Coastal Drive New Brighton Wirral
Contacts:
Phil Moy (Chairman)
Telehone No
0151 638 3450
Sarah Clarke (Secretary)
Telephone No
0151 604 0492
Crewe and Nantwich Metal Detecting Society
website : http://www.cnmds.freeservers.com
The club meets at the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Sandbach on the 4th Monday of the month at 8pm.We have 25 members.For full joining details email paul haslam at paulhaslam@hotmail.com
Vale Royal Metal Detecting Society (Cheshire)
website : http://www.moulton.demon.co.uk
We are a small club of some thirty or so members, whose interest is the hobby of metal detecting.We meet on the third Monday of the month at The Knights grange public house, Grange Lane Winsford Cheshire.
Cleveland
Cleveland Discoverers
website : http://www.fqm.me.uk/
The club meets in Redcar Library at 7.30pm. on the second Monday of each month.
Visitors are always welcome!
Cornwall
Kernow Search & Recovery Club Cornwall
Meetings every last Tuesday of the month 7ish at Hayle rugby Club.
Pretty laid back lot - anyone welcome to pop in and take look or join.
Find of the month, Club land when available.
Co Durham
FREEDOMSEARCHERS MDC
Freedomsearchers metal detecting club based in Darlington, County Durham
A newly established club covering North Yorkshire and north east of england .We have two digs per week mainly on Thursdays and Sundays. We have a limit of 25 members which is now been reached - anyone wishing to apply for membership can email the club at freedomsearchers@hotmail.co.uk and you will be notified by email as soon as a position arrises and will be kept on file .
thanks
THE MANAGMENT
Gateshead Detecting Society
Meetings held fortnightly on a thursday at the Gateshead Bowling Green Club.
Outings every sunday. domino cards, anywhere between 4-6 rallies a year, auctions and of course find of the month..
Ring Terry on O191 2530567 or email tp002c7840@blueyonder.co.uk
Tyneside Metal Detecting Association
website : http://www.tmda.co.uk
The club's meetings take place every two weeks at the Gateshead Bowling Green Club 10 Prince Consort Road Gateshead, on Monday nights at 7.30 pm. You are welcome to visit us, if you first contact the Secretary: Helga or the Chairman: Mel.
Quakers Acres Detecting Club
was established in 2004 by several experienced metal detectorists who wished to create a club that encompassed a limited membership, and whose patrons were genuinely interested in the historical aspect of the hobby and whom all would agree to operate within a strict set of professional guidelines.The club itself is based in Darlington, County Durham, and meets locally on a fortnightly basis with actual "digs" more or less arranged once a week for club members only.
contacts:
Lee Todd julee2@ntlworld.com
Treasurer Colin Henderson susan-colin@tiscali.co.uk
Cumbria
Kendal Detectors
website : http://www.kendaldetectors.co.uk
Kendal Detectors meets at 8PM on the last Thursday of each month, upstairs at the Cock and Dolphin pub in Kendal. If you are interested in Metal Detecting then you are very welcome to join us. For membership information please contact: boots@kendaldetectors.co.uk
Derbyshire
Chesterfield MDC
Contact (for details): Andy Morris by e-mail at cmdc@hotmail.co.uk- ukdn forum name SQUONK
New website: www.chesterfieldmdc.com
Club meets on the first Monday of each month (second Monday if first co-incides with a Bank Holiday) at:
The West End Hotel
Westthorpe Rd
Killamarsh
Sheffield
S21 1EU
Club meetings are often attended by the local FLO and occasional speakers / finds experts.
Club searches take place every 2-3 weeks.
Club membership is limited to 30.
Devon
South Hams MDC
Mike Long. 5 Coppice Wood Drive, Woolwell, Plymouth, Devon. PL6 7QN
email mike@mikelong.fsnet.co.uk
Torbay Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.communigate.co.uk/twc/tmdc
The club meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at The Butchers Arms, Abbotskerswell, South Devon at 8 pm. Prospective members are assured of a warm welcome at any of our meetings or alternatively at one of the club searches.
East Devon MDC
Contact Nick Tucker 01395 232834
Monthly meetings at the Malsters Arms, Woodbury, Devon
Plymouth Detector Club
We meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 1930-2130 - venue is the British Railway Club, Mullet Road, Laira, Plymouth.
Potential new members are always welcome at our club, come down and see what is going on and if you like what you see then simply join our ever expanding club
Dorset
Weymouth and Portland Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.wpdetectingclub.org.uk/
Meetings are held at 8:00 pm every third Monday of the month at Weymouth New Police Station, Radipole Lane (opposite Weymouth F.C.).
Membership is open to all responsible detectorists, who must abide by all club rules. An annual fee of £13.00 is payable on joining the club.
For further details please contact the following people:
Club Chairman: Paul Rainford
E-mail: paul.rainford@onetel.net
Club Secretary: Mike Apps
E-mail: michaelapps@yahoo.co.uk
East Yorkshire
The Metal Detecting Society Cottingham East Riding
NEW MEMBERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME - For further details, please contact: Mr Barry Freeman of Cottingham Telephone: (01482) 843213
Bridlington metal detecting society
Meets at 1930hrs, first Wednesday of every month at the Black Lion, Bridlington old town, all welcome
Essex
Essex Detector Society
We meet on the third Monday each month at:
Hockley Community Centre
Westminster Drive
Hockley
Essex SS5 4XD
7:30pm (ish) to 10pm (ish)
As of November 2007, we are getting very close to membership limit.
Brentwood and District MD Club
Paul Shrubb, PRO, 21 Berry Close, Hornchurch, Essex RM12 6UB
meetings commence at 8pm on the 3rd Monday of every month at Pams Bar, The Essex Arms, Warley Hill, Brentwood, Essex (next to Brentwood Station)
Anyone with an interest in our activities is welcome to come along to their first meeting as our guest before they commit themselves to joining up as a member.
East Coast Searchers Club
website : http://www.eastcoastsearchers.co.uk/
jbar440236@aol.com
The club meets a Mistley Football club. second Monday of each month.
Club secretary is:
Glen (Ginger) Blake,
Tele 01206 251802
Colchester And District Metal Detecting and Artefact Club
website : http://www.colchestermetaldetecting.co.uk/
Meet on the first Friday of every month at the Arena Colchester at 8.00pm.
Club Secretary Maurice Rogers Tel 01206 734763 E- Mail maurice@beehive734.freeserve.co.uk
website administrator Roy Charlton E-Mail pjcrjc@colutd00.fsnet.co.uk
Gloucestershire
Taynton Metal Detecting Club
website :http://www.glevumdetecting.co.uk/
Club Meetings are held every two months.
We aim to have a minimum of one detecting outing a month.
Prizes for Best Finds between meetings and a special annual prize.
We now designate the first 3 people on the waiting list as 'Prospective Members' and they are allowed access to some club facilities ie: to digs for a small fee.
Loads of details on the website, plus pictures of finds.
SevernVale Historical Research and Detecting Society (SHRADS)www.shrads.org.uk
Club meets on first Wednesday of the month in Thornbury (South Gloucestershire) for more details contact the chairman Nick Keeler on nick_keeler@hotmail.com
Hertfordshire
Herts and District Metal Detecting Society
website : http://www.hdmds.co.uk
If you would like more information regards membership, please go to the membership page, where there is a simple form to submit to apply for details.
Isle Of Wight
Vectis Searchers Club (Isle of Wight)
Kent
Canterbury and District Searchers.(C.A.D.S)
Chairman: Neil Allen. - neil@cads1.wanadoo.co.uk
Folkestone Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.masong.freeserve.co.uk/hp/md.html
No longer a members club, just a few friends who have a search together now and then
Mid Kent Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.mid-kent-mdc.co.uk/
The Club meets every second Saturday of the month from 7.30pm. At:
St. Nicholas Church Hall, Poplar Grove, Allington, Maidstone , Kent .
We are a friendly club offering the benefits of regular monthly club meetings at which our members (who come from many areas all over Kent) benefit from information on club matters, (N.C.M.D) matters (both regionally and Nationally the club is affiliated to the National Council for Metal Detecting (N.C.M.D) and any members joining must be fully paid up members of this organisation which is at the forefront in protecting and fighting for the best interests of the hobby). The club also provide members with various other benefits including club rallies (where land is available), and during the course of the year Speakers who are invited to give talks on their specialist subject
New members welcome
Romney Marshland Metal Detecting Club
website :http://www.btinternet.com/~philip.waterhouse/default.html
currently our membership is 74 this being a mixture of Full, Associate and Honorary members.The Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at The Clubhouse, Marlie Farm Holiday Village, Dymchurch Road, New Romney, Kent.
Swale Metal Detecting Club
We have, at present 32 members at all levels of ability and experience and we always welcome newcomers to join us in our fascinating hobby. Our catchment area is the Medway Towns which consist of: Rochester, Strood, Chatham and Rainham, but also include The Isle of Sheppey, and Sittingbourne. Most of our members are from the Medway Towns, although we meet in Sittingbourne, Kent.
Gloucestershire
Cotswold Heritage and Detecting Society
website : http://www.chadsdetecting.org.uk
Club meetings are held on the 1st Monday of each month (unless Bank Holiday) at the Exmouth Arms Public House, Bath Road, Cheltenham, Glos. Guests welcome on the night
Lancashire
Lune Valley MDC
Website http://lunevalley.no-ip.co.uk
Lune Valley M.D.C meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at the Lansil Golf Course Clubhouse, Caton Road, Lancaster. The meetings start at approx 7.30pm and lasts until approx 10.30pm.
Contact Information via our online submission form for membership info & club chairman.
- Meeting Events
- News Letter
- Raffles
- Finds of the Month
- Guest Speaker
- Rallies - Information
- Any other club business
- (twice yearly buffet)
Please come along to our meetings, enjoy friendly conversations with other members & discuss any detecting related issues, problems, hints n' tips,advice, how to clean & conserve your finds etc etc. Find out all the latest news about our hobby and how it might affect you in the future. A club is only as good as it's members and the effort that they put in. We need members like you !
West Lancs Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.westlancs-mdc.co.uk
Based in Blackpool and meets monthly at the St Annes Rd Working Mens Club in Blackpool on the last Thursday of every month. Anybody wishing to join our Club or wanting information about the Club please email or turn up at a meeting
South Lancs and Cheshire Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.slcmetaldetectingclub.co.uk
We now meet at the ROAB 78 The High Street, Runcorn WA7 1JH
Runcorn town centre on the 1st wednesday of the month
New Members still welcome.
The SLC is reputed to be one of the oldest and one of the more successful Detecting Clubs in the UK, and with membership now hovering around the 80 mark, we are probably one of the largest clubs too.
Leicestershire
Hinckley Search Society
The Hinckley Search Society meet on the first Tuesday of every month at Westfield Community Centre in Hinckley. Currently there is a waiting list to become a detecting member and non-detecting members will be given first priority when vacancies occur in the new year.
Lincolnshire
Lindum Searchers Metal Detecting Club
No Meeting place, but digs take place every 2 to 3 weeks - web based so meetings will be sorted online or on the digs
£12 / year membership
Website: http://www.lindum-searchers.com
contact: Michael on 07986 680032
Wolds Historical Research Society
Meet at the George Hotel Spilsby every third Tuesday of every month
All things detecting including talks, detecting days etc. Relaxed atmosphere and good company. Prospective members welcome.
Secretary - Kev Woodward (01507) 534005 kevandjenn.woodward333@btinternet.com
Scunthorpe Metal Detecting Society
Welcome to the "Scunthorpe Metal Detecting Society". We are a small friendly club with around 30 members. We meet every second Monday of the month at the Flixborough Inn in the middle of the village of the same name, at 7.30pm.
Because of our close relationship with the North Lincolnshire Museum, where all our interesting finds are taken for recording under the "Portable Antiquities Scheme", we get several visits during the year from our F.L.O Lisa Staves and also Dr Kevin Leahy who present our members with some very interesting talks. We hold a raffle each month and also find of the month and every other week we hold a Sunday club dig and several club rallys in between.
For further information please contact Ken Jacobs (Chairman) on 01724-734236 or e.mail:- ken_n_jean@hotmail.com
Stamford and Spalding Search Club
website : http://www.metal-detecting.co.uk
If you are Interested in joining Stamford And Spalding Search Club E-mail: New.Member@Metal-Detecting.co.uk We hold a monthly meeting on the last Tuesday of the month at The Lady Anns Hotel. Our members represent a cross section of society. Many of our members have been detecting 15 years + . The Club has a maximum of 35 members.
Lincoln Historical Search Society.
Meet at the Cherry Tree Pub in Cherry Willingham on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Contact Chairman Chris Jones on 01529 413905 or pm BobHoe on UKDN
Nottinghamshire
Warsop Metal Detecting Society
website : http://www.warsopmds.co.uk/
has a fixed membership of 40. The society holds general meetings on a monthly basis, we welcome everyone who actively wishes to share their interests of this fascinating hobby.
Ashfield Metal Detecting Club
Website http://www.ashfield-mdclub.co.uk
Membership held at 30 members
Meet at the Rifle Volunteer Inn, Forest Road, Skegby, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts. NG17 3BL on the first Monday every month unless this is a Bank Holiday, then the following Monday.
email : webmaster@ashfield-mdclub.co.uk
Oxon
Phoenix Archaeology & Historic Group
website : http://www.phoenixarchaeology.co.uk/
We are an amateur group who wish to investigate as much land as possible in the area around Banbury (Oxon) in order to map out the land usage and settlement from prehistoric times to the present day. We do this by document research, field walking to recover items such as flint or pottery and, wherever possible, we use Metal Detectors to recover buckles, buttons and coins ets which are dateable evidence.
The items that are recovered are carefully cleaned, conserved and recorded. Objects of importance are then recorded with the Find's Liaison Officer for the area. This is all carried out in accordance with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Finds are then preserved by members of the society or placed in a museum in accordance with the landowners wishes. All information is recorded by area or farm and a copy of the file passed to the landowner. All our members work within our constitution rules and our health and safety policy, copies of which are available. The society and members are all insured with the Federation of Independent Detectorists, and have public liability insurance up to £5,000,000. Our group also offers a free search and recovery service to members of the public and farmers.
Our meetings are held every first Tuesday of the month at the Flowing Well Pub, Broughton Road, Banbury, Oxon and this includes talks and a chance to share information and discussion of finds.
Scotland
The Scottish Searchers
website : http://www.scottish-searchers.co.uk
A new Scottish club started in September 2007
We have two FREE digs per month
We don't have meetings as we know detectorists have busy life's so we have online meeting on our club forum. As a club we stick clearly to metal detecting as a fun pastime. Our members have years of experience in this hobby and have made some wonderful finds. to find out more please log on to our forum....link above or call Toddy Irvine on 01324876369 or e-mail sales@northernmetaldetectors.co.uk
We charge a yearly sub of £99 which has optional FID
Members 15
The Ayrshire Research and Detecting Group
The Ayrshire Research and Detecting Group was formed in 1980 and meets on the second Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm in Dreghorn Community Centre , near Irvine.
The meetings are very informal and last approx. one hour. There is one outing per month , usually on the Sunday following the meeting. Outings range from beaches to parks and can be anywhere between Dundee and Carlisle.
Usually two rallies are attended each year and these count towards the club championship which is held at the AGM in March. There is also a prize for the best site , best coin and artefact .
The club has 15 members and costs £10 per year to join. There are no other fees to pay but members are encouraged to join the FID to obtain insurance.
If anyone requires other information on the club or would like to join the secretary, Alan Leishman, can be contacted on 01294-466450 or audidoleish@btinternet.com
Highland Historical Search Society- Based Inverness
My name is Len Pentecost-Ingram, you may have seen me often in Treasure Hunting or Searcher in an ad for cordless headphones standing near Loch-Ness . I have been running the Highland Historical Search Society since 1988.
We are a fairly small club of around 25 and hold an evening meeting at Whites Electronics Inverness every other month, and have a club search once a month. We find much the same type of stuff as most clubs but far less amounts due to the low population in the past around these parts. We, also like many other clubs have been involved with "Two men in a trench" and "Time Team" and countless radio interviews/press features.
Some of the highlights in the past for me have been working with archaeologists on an ironage site and finding a hoard .
I caught the detecting "bug"way back in 87' and have never looked back I ,still always enjoy that exciting sense of the unknown every outing and so far have never got tired of this absolutely fascinating hobby.
Len
Scottish Artefact Recovery Group
website : http://www.sargclub.co.uk/
Contact : Lesley Sleith Club Chairwoman, 01698-458340
email Lesleysleith@blueyonder.co.uk
If you are interested in finding out about Metal Detecting or want to join, you would be most welcome to come to our Club meeting which takes place:- On the last Tuesday every month in the Bonnybridge Social Club in Bonnybridge Stirlingshire at 7.30 pm.
The Club is an affiliated member of the NCMD and the Scottish NCMD Region.
The Club consists of 40 members(2006)
We have Club digs once a Month organised by our site officer.
Club Syllabus in place showing all Club events and Speakers for the year, rules, contact numbers.
Monthly newsletter posted to all members.
The Scottish Detector Club
website : http://www.scottishdetectorclub.com/
is Scotland’s oldest established, founded in 1977.
The SDC meets on the first Monday of every month at 7.30 within the Ex- Servicemen’s Club, 7 Smith Place off Leith Walk, Edinburgh.
Everyone has a chance to air their views about the running of the club, and most of all, we have a lot of fun.
Currently, there are 39 members, and our meetings are very informal. We try to arrange outings to farmland on Sundays whenever sites are available, usually in the Lothians and Borders areas, sometimes in Fife. We have also done a lot of work over the past 2 years in East Lothian carrying out survey work for archaeologists at the sites of the Battle of Pinkie (1547) and Prestonpans (1745). The site of the Cromwellian battle at Dunbar (1650) is also scheduled for survey this year – all interesting stuff! Some of our members have appeared on ‘Time Team’ and ‘Two Men In A Trench’, so we think we have a good track record! The club also makes a point of attending a few metal detecting rallies in Yorkshire in August/September each year, and this season’s finds have been impressive, ranging through Roman, Saxon and medieval coinage and artefacts.
Membership runs from the A.G.M. in April until the end of March and currently costs £15 a year, £5 of this going towards NCMD membership and insurance.
If you are interested in joining the SDC, you will be made very welcome. Contact the Club Secretary, Alastair Hacket at: alastairhacket@blueyonder.co.uk
Secretary - Alastair Hacket - telephone 0131 447 5167
Shropshire
Marches Metal Detectorists
meetings held at Stretton Hall Hotel, Shrewsbury Rd, All Stretton.
contact denise.gunn@btinternet.com for any further details.
Somerset
The Weston Historical Research and Detecting Association - WHRADA
Have a website at http://www.whrada.org.uk
We have monthly meeting in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset. We currently have got a waiting list, which is taking on average 12 month plus to get in, but we are willing to add people to the list.
South Yorkshire
Doncaster Detector and Collectors Club
website : http://doncasterdetectors.tripod.com
If you want to get in touch with us please email Vanessa at askiie@hotmail.com
Staffordshire
North Staffs Historical and Search Society
website : http://www.northstaffsdetecting.co.uk
Present membership in excess of 100. We meet at the Smallthorne Victory Club in Hanley Road, Smallthorne, Stoke-on-Trent on the second Monday of every month at 8-00pm.
Suffolk
Ipswich and District Detecting Club
We meet the last Tuesday of every month at the Whitehouse Community Centre, Limerick Close, Ipswich at 7.30pm.
Surrey
Camberley and Bagshot Metal Detecting Club
The club has a limit of 40 members (now fully subscribed) who come from Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. If you would like to be placed on the club waiting list, please email using the following link, including your phone number and address jrhodes31@ntlworld.com
Wales
Rhondda Artefacts & Research Enthusiasts
Website : http://www.freewebs.com/raremdclub/
Rhondda Artefacts & Research Enthusiasts club are currently based at Ferndale Rugby Club, Rhondda Cynon Taff. We are a warm and friendly club. We hold meetings every fortnight (see club meetings on website) and we welcome any new members to join our club.
Wrexham Metal Detecting Club
limited to a membership of 60 and are subject to a waiting list. We meet at the Community Centre, in Frances Avenue, Wrexham and start at 7:30 pm. You are welcome to come as a guest and chat to our long standing and experienced members, so why not come and visit us.
Wrexham Heritage Society
This is a new club recently formed in Wrexham, Wales. Membership limited to 25.
Contact Roy on 01978 352535 or Dave on 01691718878.
Meet on the 1st Monday of the month at Little Acton community centre.
Swansea Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/hall/2643
Swansea and surrounding area is rich in history as is most of the countryside around the UK.
By joining a club, you will share in the vast knowledge within the membership, pick up tips and receive help in identifiying some of those odd bits of metal you regularly find.For further information on our Club, when and where we meet and how to join, contact the Club Secretary
Cardiff Scan Club
website : http://www.cardiffscanclub.co.uk/
The club meets at 7.30pm every 2nd Wednesday of the month at the Cathays Liberal Club, Cathays Terrace, Cardiff - new members are welcome
Gwynedd Recovery and Search Society
website : http://www.grass.i12.com
We are centered in North West Wales but have members from as far away as Oswestry. Our main detecting areas are around Bangor and on the Isle of Anglesey but we like to travel to other areas when possible.
Pembrokeshire Prospectors Metal Detecting Club
website : http://www.pembsprospectors.co.uk
The Pembrokeshire Prospectors Society now meets at The Cricket Club, Dale Road, Haverfordwest on the first Thursday of the month at 8pm
The Historical Search Society (Mold) (North Wales)
website : http://www.geocities.com/hssmold
The original & best metal detecting club, which has been in existence since it's formation by 6 detecting enthusiasts in 1976 is based in the historical town of Mold, Flintshire, North Wales. U.K.
We currently have around 80 members, both men and women.
We meet on the second Friday in each month at St Mary's Church Hall, King Street, Mold. We try to arrange for speakers to give presentations whenever possible on appropriate subjects. A Find of the Month competition is held each month. Displays of members finds are also on show.
Meetings start at 7.30pm for 8 and usually finish around 9.45 to 10.00 pm.
Please feel free to visit us at any meeting without pressure or obligation, If you do visit please ask any member to be introduced to one of our committee members upon your arrival, you will be made most welcome. All our members are members of the National Council for Metal Detecting and are covered by Insurance for public liability for £5,000,000.
To attend our club outings you must be a member of the National Council and so hold the required insurance cover.
Our club Chair is George McKean. The Secretary is Anne Wilkes.
Warwickshire
Long Compton Archaeology Group
website : http://www.longcomptonarchaeology.co.uk
We are an amateur archaeology group which is part of the Compton District History Society. Our aim is to investigate as much land as possible in the area around Long Compton, Warwickshire in order to map out the land usage and settlement from prehistoric times to the present day.We do this by document research, excavations and field walking to recover items such as flint or pottery and, wherever possible, we use Metal Detectors to recover buckles, buttons and coins etc which are dateable evidence.
The items that are recovered are carefully cleaned, conserved and recorded. Objects of importance are then recorded with the Find's Liaison Officer for the area. This is all carried out in accordance with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Finds are then preserved by members of the society or placed in the village museum in accordance with the landowners wishes. All information is recorded by area or farm and a copy of the file passed to the landowner.All our members work within our constitution rules and our health and safety policy, copies of which are available to members. The society and members are all insured, including public liability
Our plan for 2008 is to excavate a double winged Roman Villa and Medieval site.
The group also offers a free search and recovery service to members of the public and farmers.Our meetings are held every second Wednesday of the month at Long, Compton Village Hall and this includes talks and a chance to share information and discussion of finds.
West Yorkshire
Wakefield District Relic Hunters
website : http://www.detectorpro.co.uk
we are a small detecting club, based in the Wakefield and Five Towns ( Pontefract, Featherstone, Normanton, Castleford and Knottingley) area of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Great Britain.We have a monthly meeting, usually the first Monday, to discuss finds, metal detecting issues and to generally have a good laugh. You can contact us via this email link for more information: info@detectorpro.co.uk
Two Dales Metal Detecting Club
Would be members of the Two Dales club go on a six month probationary period. During this period we ask you to attend three club meetings. The minimum time requirement to fullfil the Membership criteria is just three months, after which you can apply for full membership. We meet on the first Tuesday in the month at 7.30 pm in the " Old School Room" Addingham.
Worcestershire
Redditch and District Historical Detection Society
website :http://www.redditchhistoricaldetectionsociety.co.uk
contact Frank Wiley, 21 Penn Manor, Finstall, BROMSGROVE, Worcs
Secretary :- Mark Pugh
admin@redditchhistoricaldetectionsociety.co.uk
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Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Welcome to Our Past History
This website contains a comprehensive guide to responsible Metal Detecting in England and Wales as well as some history and archaeology from England, Scotland and Wales.
This web site is archived by the UK Web Archiving Consortium, consisting of the British Library, The National Library of Wales, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru, JISC, The National Archive, The National Library of Scotland and The Wellcome Trust at:
http://www.webarchive.org.uk/index.html
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Pottery identification
| The Prehistoric Ceramics Research Group Web Site |
| PotWeb - 2000 years of history in ceramics |
| An introduction to Ceramic PetrologyArchaeological Ceramic Building Materials Group |
| The Romano-British Villa at Easton Maudit |
| Spoilheap On this site, you will find information about British archaeology, pottery and other ceramics, burial archaeologyand human skeletal remains. |
| The Medieval Ceramic Industry of the Severn Valley - Alan George Vince |
| Later Prehistoric Pottery Gazetteer |
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Standards in Detecting
If you follow a planned and structured approach to Metal Detecting, it not only shows you are responsible and serious about what you are doing, but also means you have thought about what you are doing and are dealing with a specific area with a purpose rather than random detecting.
If you then present the information both on the site and the finds in a professional manner, it will make it more relevant and also more useful to a wider audience of researchers. The detectorist (you!) will be playing an important part in the provision of information, conservation of the resource, finds, the site and the surrounding land.
You will also benefit from having a more intimate knowledge of the land you detect on, which could give you a better understanding of the continuity of use of the land over a period of time
This article has been written with the idea of helping you apply to detect on land farmed under the Countryside Stewardship agreement - but the ideal is a good standard for a detectorist to aspire to achieve.
Recommended Link : David Connollys excellent Short Guide to Field Survey, Field Walking and Detecting Survey
In a Nutshell
If you wish to detect on land currently under the Countryside Stewardship agreement you need to apply for a permit to do so from Natural England.
This is to make sure that where you detect, that high standards are maintained and that ‘responsible’ detectorist practices are followed.
This is the link to the Natural England website, although its still under development and a lot of info is still linked back to the founding bodies website - http://www.naturalengland.org.uk
The information required by Natural England is:
- A completed application form
- A copy of the agreement of the agreement holder and landowner, if different
- A map of the area to be surveyed
- Details of the purpose of the activity
- dates during which it will be undertaken
- Details of the methods to be used
- Details of the number of people involved
The permission is also granted to the farmer or agreement holder rather than the metal detectorist as it is the agreement holders responsibility to make sure that his agreement conditions are fulfilled. This permission is issued as a one year derogation so will need to be renewed .
If you are granted a permit to detect Natural England will insist you:
- Report all archaeological objects to the Finds Liaison Officer within three months of the discovery.
- Do not disturb ground nesting birds or other features of ecological significance - there may be time constraints on some sites to minimise this disturbance
- Record all findspots for all archaeological objects (including those outside of agreement land) to at least 100 m. square and show all findspots either on a map of at least 1:10,000 scale or provide GPS data.
- Follow the rules of the Treasure Act 1996 and its Code of Practice.
- Work on ground already disturbed and within the plough depth.
- Seek expert help if something large is discovered, or if you think that an artefact is still within its primary context
- Record and report all non metal finds i.e. pottery etc
- Adhere to the principles laid down in the Codes of Conduct of the NCMD and FID, whether a member or not.
- NCMD code: http://www.ncmd.co.uk/
- FID Code: http://fid.newbury.net//html/code.htm
The basic information in the plan should include:
A map outlining the extent of the land with scheduled sites, SSI’s or areas of known archaeological interest highlighted. Your local HER can help provide you with this information if needed.
What your intentions are towards the farm as a whole as well as any special areas already highlighted on the map
If the land includes a scheduled site then you should acknowledge this and indicate what safety no go zone you will leave around it.
If there is a known site of archaeological interest that is currently being ploughed you should specify if he wished to detect within this area.
If the land is part of a Natural England CSS agreement you should indicate that a permit has been given as well as outlining the reasons for wanting to detect this particular area. The reason may be to prove a particular theory or could be to conserve any remaining artefacts from potential agricultural damage.
Any known history of the site should also be included – here again your HER will be able to help with any known information
You should keep a diary of activity showing the times you have detected on the land and at what locations. It should also include finds made, when they were recorded, how they were preserved, where they are kept and any other relevant information.
You should include a copy of the detecting permission agreement of the agreement holder and also the landowner, if different.
Conservation of the site
Conservation of the site falls into two caterogies:
- Areas of archeological interest
- Structured methododical detecting has to be practised
Areas of archaeological interest
It is your responsibility to find out what if any parts of the land are scheduled, have SSSI’s or may have known areas of archaeological interest. Your local HER will be able to help provide this information
It is your responsibility that these areas are conserved and protected. Scheduled sites and SSSI’s should be respected as no-go areas. However there is potential for detecting on SSSI’s – you would need to ask the Conservation Officer dealing with this element of the application totalk to the regional Historic Environment Advisor
You should apply for a permit to detect any areas under CSS with the detecting plan included to support application.
In all areas good detecting practise must be followed at all times.
You should note if any land is under CSS for reasons other than archaeological activity and you should find out what other environmental considerations need to be made - for example are rare flora and fauna being protected? If so it is the responsibility of you to find out what care should be taken in those areas or whether they should be avoided
Structured methododical detecting
Have a disciplined approach to contextual indictors such as top soil and sub soil levels.
Record any indications of physical remains and if found, you should stop detecting until advise is sought from an archaeologist. You shouldn’t intrude into archaeological layers – detecting is the recovery of artefacts in context in the disturbed top soil
On random searches for scattered finds a looser approach to detecting can be practised, however you should take care to recognise contextual indicators and signs of physical remains
Conservation of the resource
Although it is impossible to place a definite figure on the number of artefacts present in any given location, it has to be noted that by the very nature of recovering the finds, the resource is being depleted through the removal of finds by detecting.
There are two ways of looking at this :
- A productive site where a track record of finds have already been made - perhaps there once a representative selection of finds has been made and recorded any further investigation of the site will lead to a depletion of the resource – should you stop?
- An unknown site or speculative field search where the depletion of the resource will not have a marked effect on a known site but could add positive information to other sites in the area and on a broader scale – carry on?
Conservation of the find
Once you have made a find has been made, its now your responsibility for the preservation and storage of the find.
You need to decide whether the preservation and storage is within your capabilities or whether professional advice or services should be sought.
Private ownership of the find is a political/ moral issue and is not the issue in question in this article. The safe keeping of the find is the main issue and you feel that the care of any particular artefact can be better served outside of your keeping, then this should be explored.
If you find you are able to provide suitable care for the find then this should not be an issue in the short term - However the long term custody of the find is an issue that needs to be considered.
Consideration of single finds and collections and their care after death for example, must be considered and arrangements made in advance. This needs to be recorded and there are several avenues open, Ownership may pass to a family member, a museum, or a private collection.
Conservation of Information
Conservation of the information that a find and its find spot may hold is every bit as important as the find itself.
Recording with PAS is essential at whatever level Structured Metal Detecting is practised.
For items or information that PAS will not deal with, its worth building a good rapport with the local HER – they will be interested in scatters of building materials, different colour of soil, non metallic finds like pottery or oyster shells associated with the metallic finds scatters or scatters of material with no metallic finds in association as well as flints/stone tools.
Findspots should be plotted with GPS equipment or NGR
Many thanks to Peter McCrone, Historic Environment Advisor with Natural England for his help with this article
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Identify your finds
Cosmetic Grinders
Lead Cloth and Bag Seals
Identifying your finds
Trade Weights
Medieval Pot Mends
Those rings yet again!
Coins of Roman Britain 1st & 2nd century
Coins of Roman Britain - 3rd and 4th Centuries
Roman Brooches
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Roman Brooches
Brooches weren't just for decoration - they were worn by both men and women to secure clothing and they were similar in their securing technique to modern safety pins.. They were normally made of bronze and were commonly decorated with coloured enamels.
Found by detectorist Dave Ollis
Brooches were already being worn by the native "British" before the Roman invasion, so a number of brooches of the Roman period show a mixture of both British and continental styles.
Most were mass produced - but they are rarely found intact by detectorists, usually at least the pin is missing. Most date to the 1st and 2nd century AD when brooches were fashionable - after the 2nd century the range and number reduce greatly - the only brooch of note to remain is the crossbow, which is seen as a marker of high status. The majority of brooches are of copper-alloy - Silver and gold are rare.
The forms can be split into three main types: safety pin/bow , plate or disc and pennannular.
Safety Pin/Bow-shapedTypes
There are two techniques of tensioning the pin - sprung and hinged. The Sprung Pin - This doesnt need to be as strongly built as the hinged pin as the sprung pin spreads the tension. These are the most common in Britain. The Hinged Pin - The pin swings on an axis and is restarined by a stop on its head.
Dolphin form
common in 1st and 2nd Centuries AD
Named this because it looks like a leaping dolphin. These are simple bow brooches although there are some later hinged examples. Both sprung and hinged forms are found in south and midland England , petering out in the north. They have a transverse head with short wings protecting the spring. In some cases the wings can be long and decorated. The bow which may have a beaded design along the back can be square, D-shaped or V-shaped. The catch plate is small
Aucissa type
Circa AD 50-65
These were imported by the Romans from the continent and are an early example of a hinged pin, sometimes on an iron axis. This brooch type was first made in Gaul during the first half of the 1st century AD, and appeared in Britain, c.AD 50.
There is sometimes the word avcissa or atgivios on the head of the brooch which is assumed to be the maker's name. This type is well known on military sites throughout Britain but seems to have been replaced by British made brooches.
Crossbow form
Circa early 3rd-4th century AD
This is the most complex of the Roman brooches. In the early verions the terminals were more bulbous and part of the bow and wing. In the fourth century the knobs became very large with some being screwed on. A hinged pin ran through the top of the bow holding the top knob in place.
The bow and catchplate could be elaborately decorated with incised patterns - ring and dot, lines, chevrons and spirals. They ahve been found made from most materials from bronze to gold, or gilded bronze. Crossbow brooches were common on the continent, but tended to be hollow, unlike the solid Romano-British types.
Fantail form
Circa 1st to mid 2nd century AD
This is named for its triangular foot. The most famous examples of these come from Greatchesters on Hadrians Wall an also ffrom Tre'r Ceiri, Caernarfonshire.
Trumpet form
Circa AD 45- 2nd century
This is named after the shape of its head which looks like a trumpet and is one of the best known brooch forms of the Romano-British period with the peak of production in the early 2nd century AD. The finest of these brooches were made of silver, sometimes gilt and they were normally worn in pairs. Surprisingly they are rarely found outside of Britain.
The earlier versions have simple waist-knobs with later versions having a waist-knob set between opposing acanthus leaves. These brooches were common in military areas especially in the north in the first half of the 2nd century.
Plate / Disc types
Plate/Disc types
2nd century to end of Roman Period
These were most popular during the 2nd century and there is a huge range of these brooches.
They are usually flat, but may have a domed centre.
They are often decorated with enamel, glass, silverwork or semi-prescious stones with colours that are normally red, blue, orange, green and yellow
Dragonesque
1st -3rd century
In the 1st century these consisted of a plain plate with two arms, one at the top for the hinge and another at the base to serve as the catchplate. They were usually enamelled, very colourful and the patterns were derived from "Celtic" art.
They are mainly found in Northern Britain but were exported as far away as Hungary, France and Germany.
Plate skeuomorphic
2nd-3rd century
These brooches imitate an object - most popular are daggers, axes, soles of shoes, phalluses, swastikas, cornucopiae, wheels and chatelaines. They probably served as amulets or lucky charms
Plate zoomorphic
2nd-3rd century
These were made in a number of designs such as dogs, hares, cockerels, dolphins, flies, birds, fish and horses. Animal brooches in particular are found on religious sites. Many horse and rider brooches have been found at temple sites indicating a cult significance.
Pennanular types
Pennanular
Iron age onwards - so difficult to date
A very common type - used for over 1000 years. They consist of a broken hoop with a pin folded over the rim that can swivel around. Terminals are sometimes folded over or pinched in with simple designs, or are highly decorated, sometimes fashioned into animal heads. Terminals with elaborate zoomorphic designs began in the last 2nd century becoming most popular in the 4th century.
They were made by casting or from a bent rod. The pins were made separately and are either humped or concave.
A roman pin is shorter than the saxon version
(To fasten a penannular push the pin through the fabric to be held, then flip the ring down so that the pin comes up through the gap, and then rotate the ring so as to hold the cloth on the pin.)
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Getting involved
Many responsible detectorists are actively involved in working with the Archaeological community in a diverse number of ways - from detecting on archaeological digs, giving talks and presentations on detecting, attending archaeological conferences, helping with displays at History Fairs and Museums plus many other areas.
The following are a flavour of the kind of activity undertaken with the Archaeological Community - more to come.
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PAS Conference 2007
In April 2007 four of us like minded Essex detectorists spent two days at the British Museum at the annual Portable Antiquities Conference.
This year the theme of the conference was to demonstrate the impact that the Scheme and analysis of collected data, has made upon the archaeological world.
The speakers presented papers which clearly demonstrated the research being undertaken using PAS data and these talks covered the spectrum of periods recorded by the scheme.
The papers from this conference are to be published -and a number of the powerpoint presentations are available on the PAS website blog
Of all the papers presented, the one which really caught my imagination was Torksey: Finds from a Viking Winter Camp))suggest that the army and its followers were actively trading, using silver and gold bullion as well as coinage and engaged in some metalworking in copper and perhaps silver presented by Mark Blackburn from the Fitzwilliam museum and Finds Liaison Officer Rachel Atherton. This research on the finds which points towards a Viking Winter Camp has been the result of a large volume of detectorists finds. The Vikings had spent the winter of 872/873 at Torksey after campaigning the previous year. The finds from the site of the camp (including Arabic dirhams
The conference was a great opportunity to be able to talk to the other delegates as well as the speakers - there were a number of detectorists in the audience. Its also always a pleasure to meet up with the PAS folk themselves.
All in all an excellent couple of days - and a reminder of the benefit and value of recording your finds with PAS - we are in effect an unpaid army of recorders for the academic world who conducts this type of research - a point well made by one of the speakers.
Roll on 2008!
Some of the guest speakers at the Conference
Andrew Richardson and Laura McLean
Some of the PAS folk
Laura and Caroline
FLO Angie Bolton
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Getting Started
Some pages to help you on your way to responsible metal detecting
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What are you throwing away?
a cautionary tale from a detectorist
Its easy to just chuck away what you might think of as junk - but many detectorists also keep all their finds - including items they havent got a clue what they are and are unaware of what the object represents. The following article written by "Sukisal" brings home an important message..........
This find has been recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme and was subsequently submitted to Mark Hassell who is a Reader in the Archaeology of the Roman Provinces at University College London. Finds of this nature are submitted by Sally Worrell, Finds Adviser: Prehistoric & Roman Artefacts to Britannia and produced by The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.
Sukisal's Story.....
Linda and I had recently been given permission to search a known Roman Villa site. I will just add that permission had been given to a couple, and they had been very regular visitors to this site for a few weeks previous to our first foray. This site has also been regularly detected in the past when it was in different ownership.
We were going to spend all day on this site, which was large, had quite a steep slope to it, and had two woods either side of it.
We spied many holes from the 'other ones'. and did not find much really at all. Loads of lead, a lot of it just dropped back onto the field as junk by them.
We went back to my car for a cuppa and a bite to eat, as we were chatting we were comparing finds, a few grots, and with a sigh we both cursed all the lead we were digging up.
I was just showing Linda a folded flat piece, when something stopped me chucking it in our waste bin, I could see an 'X' scratched into it. I said to Linda " is it me or has this got some sort of writing on it?" We both looked closer and could make out a few more scratched marks. I said "ooh, I think I will keep that and have a closer look at home".
Well I later showed it to someone else who said that it could be important, and could have more writing inside the fold. He took it away and very carefully opened it for me. He rung me up later very excited and said there indeed was more writing and clearer as it had been protected from the elements on the inside.
I handed it over to my Finds Liaison Officer and the rest is in the Portable Antiquities database report on the link here. (This link tells you what the object is - and its rarity and importance)
I will just add again, please look at your lead very carefully, I could so easily have chucked this tatty bit of important history. I do think that the detectorists on there had, in all probability chucked this piece back onto the field, if not I know they would have done so if they had dug it up.
I think by the very nature of what these are made of, that this is the reason they are so rare, I bet you many have been discarded as rubbish.
The Find
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Record your finds with PAS
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Treasure in the Field
by Mary Chester-Kadwell
photo by Alan Radley
(Mary uses PAS data from detectorists in her research at Cambridge University)
First published in the Streetwise magazine with the theme of 'treasure', December 2004
Metal-detecting started to become a popular hobby in the 1970s when lighter and less expensive machines became available. Since then it has become a pastime that enthrals all ages, including children who go out detecting with their families at the weekend, and retired people enjoying the exercise and excitement through the week. At the moment there are probably about 30,000 active detector users in England. That's a lot of people, and a lot of finds - probably about 400,000 a year!
Finds can be from almost any period in history when they had metal. This means you could find a lead shot ball (from a gun) from 300 years ago, a Roman coin from 2000 years ago, or even a rare Bronze Age axe head from 3000 years ago! The main problem is telling this exciting treasure from all the rubbish, because the soil is stuffed full of bits of agricultural machinery and rusty iron nails. Luckily, that's quite easy to do because most metal-detectors have what's called a 'discriminator' which can tell whether the metal is iron, bronze, or even gold. But despite that, metal-detecting isn't really about treasure in the usual sense. It isn't all gold jewellery and pieces of eight.
Most of the things that detectorists find are broken, rusty or corroded, and quite small, but that doesn't mean they have little value. All finds have the potential to tell us about where people lived or were buried in the past, what they were doing and why. Artefacts may also be beautiful because of the quality of the craftsmanship or fascinating because they are very different from the modern objects we are used to seeing today. As with many things, the value is in the eye of the beholder.
Metal-detecting is quite easy to do. It's possible to buy a metal-detector for as little as £100, though the most expensive ones can be anything up to £800. You just have to have a lot of patience and a strong arm because you might be waving the detector over the land for hours! The hard part is getting permission to use someone's land, because without that permission you're breaking the law. In fact, during the 1980s, there was a massive campaign to make metal-detecting completely illegal, as it is in many other countries. This is because some archaeologists considered metal-detecting to be 'stealing heritage', and they even suggested detectorists were 'pillagers'.
It is still true that some people raid fields and even archaeological sites with metal-detectors in the middle of the night, leaving giant holes, and stealing objects. It is very difficult to know how many of these people there are, but they probably number in the thousands. Only a few are ever caught and brought to justice. However there are also many law-abiding detector users who enjoy the discovery of ancient artefacts, learning about history, and having fun together.
All this fuss in the 1980s eventually lead to the Treasure Act in 1996 which, among other things, set up the Portable Antiquities Scheme to make it easier for the law-abiding detectorists to report their objects. There is a Portable Antiquities Scheme Officer for each county, and they borrow objects for recording, making a description and a photograph or drawing available on their online database: www.finds.org.uk. This site can be searched by anyone - try it! This means that everyone can have a chance to enjoy the objects, rather just the person who found it. What happens to the artefacts is then up to the owner, but at least some of the information about the objects will be saved for future generations, because once these finds are gone, they will never be replaced.
It's thought that in about 30 years time, those archaeological sites that are currently in ploughed fields will be gone, churned up in the soil, scattered and broken down into tiny pieces. No more treasure. The past will be lost. So in a way, the law-abiding metal-detectorists are doing everyone a favour by recovering the artefacts that would otherwise be ploughed away. Some of the most dedicated detector users even work closely with archaeologists to uncover sites such as Anglo-Saxon cemeteries from 1500 years ago in order that they can be properly looked at and recorded. It's such a shame that, as with all things that promise gold, there will always be those who are only interested in how much they can sell the objects for and will willingly destroy sites to get at them. By stealing these objects they prevent other people from enjoying them. The thieves are so preoccupied with treasure and financial value they forget that other people treasure and value these objects too.
Mary Chester Kadwell website and information
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Metal Detecting Clubs
There are some advantages for those who join a club - although you may question the need to do so.
A number of detectorists are fully independant and prefer their own company. A number would also find it difficult to attend meetings, functions etc because of other commitments.
Metal Detecting clubs have members from a wide variety of backgrounds and age groups and at all levels of ability and experience .
For those who choose to join a club, monthly Club meetings are an essential part of club life, it is during these meetings that members are kept up to date on all areas of club life, including what is happening within the hobby at a national level. The benifits of membership are normally access to club sites, club library, club outings and "find of the Month" competitions which often lead to the " Find of the Year" contest
A number of clubs will negotiate for club sites with farmers and landowners to have access to land, enabling members to enjoy a days detecting on a new site.
Each month all the members are asked to bring along their best coins and finds to the meeting, and to submit them for entry to the Find of the Month competitions
From time to time, guest speakers are invited to talk to the club members on a wide variety of topics. The type of speakers could be Archaeologists, Bomb Disposal Officers, Manufacturers of metal detectors, Local historians, coin collectors etc
A lot of clubs have waiting lists.
The standard and quality of detecting clubs vary greatly - from the very good to the downright boring and un-informative - it's worth asking around on the online forums guidance.
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Young Archaeologists Club
Terry and I joined up with Young Archaeologists' Club - Colchester Branch in May 2006 to help them in their quest to find a long lost farmhouse. The youngsters spent their time doing a geofizz survey, metal detecting, learning how to use GPS for recording findspots, and some field/hedge walking - everyone had a go at everything
It was good fun, totally rewarding - and it's encouraging to see how enthusiastic these youngsters are.
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Essex History Fair 2006
Terry, John and I were at the Essex History Fare in July 2006 which was held in Braintree town centre. We were in a group of three local detectorists and the Essex Finds Liaison Officer , Caroline McDonald who had been asked by Robert Rose of Braintree Museum to host a display for the day.
The objective for the day was to let people see and touch finds made in the areas of Kelvedon (by Terry and myself), and for Castle Hedingham and Sible Hedingham.(By detectorist Jon Adkin)
Our first port of call after setting up the stands, tables and finds pit was to sneak upstairs in the museum to see the display of finds made by members of the public - which included a very unusual gold phallus (a must see !!)
After that it was back to the tables for John and me and into the finds pit for Terry.
Terry was kept busy all day long with his detector and trowel in the find pit we had for the children - they were able detect for badges and coins in the finds pit which also contained large sherds of real roman pottery.
We all had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves - and I think our visitors did too
Information board on our Kelvedon finds
Terry at the sand pit
More customers!
FLO Caroline McDonald talks to a visitor
Terry and John admire the finds
One of the PAS information boards on display
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My Treasure Diary
In August 2005, less than a year after starting metal detecting I was lucky enough to find my very first Treasure Item. This is the story and diary of my journey through the Treasure Act for a very small but very important piece of gold........
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Whites MXT
The detector I use is a Whites MXT (or as I call it my "wee noisy!")
Roger has written some in depth articles on using the MXT - well worth a read!
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Selling your finds?
Selling archaeological finds is one of the most controversial aspects of metal detecting and is regarded as highly unethical by those of us to whom artefacts represent a historical archive.
Though many detectorists now work closely with archaeologists, there is a huge market in artefacts for private collection and sale. This is directly opposed to the traditional archaeological view that artefacts should be valued by what they can tell us about the past and not by what they are worth financially.
So.........Does a responsible detectorist sell their duplicate or unwanted finds for example on e-Bay?
Some facts.......
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Find spot location
Recording findspots accurately (using a Ordnance Survey map or hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) device) whilst in the field are really what counts when recording your archaeological finds
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Use the PAS Database
Using the search engine on the PAS database is daunting for some - these pages will show you its do-able and also how to do it!
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Researching your site
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Where can I detect?
Some hints and tips on finding land to detect on as well as information about where it is legal to detect or not
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Using PAS database
From the Portable Antiquities blog by Dan Pett.
I believe the best thing for you to do is register with the database. This opens up some of the more useful features to you. To do this, visit:
http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/registration.php
Fill in your details, and then by return email, you will be activated. This email expires after 24 hours, so if it doesn’t arrive, check your spam box. Once activated, you can now access the following:
1. Save your searches (either for reuse on the system each time you visit, or as an RSS feed that you can use as an alert system – this needs some special feed reading software, or for reuse in your own website – see the home page of this website http://www.ourpasthistory.com)
2. Change preferences, such as viewing thumbnails in search lists, changing the number of thumbnails that you can view, changing the number of records per page.
3. Enable tracking of your experience. I can see what people want to search upon and therefore identify problems. You cannot be identified by name as it just logs searches by auto-registered groups.
Once registered, you might need some help searching the database to get the best out of it.
There are 3 main areas for searching the database:
• Quick search – via the box in the header or the single search box from the search menu.
click here for instructions on how to use
• Advanced search – most popular across all user groups and requires a modicum of effort to construct a search.
click here for instructions on how to use
• Image search – perhaps most useful for quick searching for visual recognition.
The fourth type of search – “visual” – is to become obsolete soon as so few people use it. The quick search box in the header is limited on the fields that can be searched within the database. These fields are:
• Object type – for example coin, brooch, axe
• Period – for example Roman, Early Medieval
• Ascribed culture – this is only used for Early Medieval objects
How do I search the image bank?
This is very simple and requires very little input to gain lots of output. However, it is hampered by the labelling terms entered by our recorders. To find coins of Trajan, enter Trajan in the filter box and press filter as shown below. You can then scroll through pages of anything attributed to Trajan. More often than not, you’ll get mostly coins back for that particular search.
How do I use RSS feeds?
These are perhaps the most powerful feature of the database and also the most underused feature. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and it is a way for one to share content easily. You need to download some software (see http://www.finds.org.uk/news/rss.php for more information) and then create and save a search as an RSS feed. I currently use some software called “Feedreader”, simple and easy to install from http://www.feedreader.com.
Once you save the search as an RSS feed you can paste the address you are presented with into your feed reader. Every time a new find that meets your search criteria is added to the database, the software alerts you to its existence. Lazy man’s surfing! If you don’t fancy creating your own feeds, try some of the ones that I have already created. You can also get RSS feeds from a whole range of other sites, for example the BBC, Google’s news pages and many more.
The other advantage of RSS, is that these feeds can be reused in your own website. If you want to do this, email me at the British Museum for more details. It could invigorate your web site with finds for your parish, county or even your own finds!
How are these data used?
These data that we collect are used all over the globe by archaeologists and the layman. Example projects include:
1. English Heritage funded Night-hawking study conducted by Oxford Archaeology
2. VASLE based at the University of York (AHRC)
3. The Tribal Hidage project at University College London (Leverhulme)
4. AHRC funding for 3 PhDs in 2006-2007
5. Over 50 individuals completing research for higher level degrees worldwide (Japan, Australia, USA and of course the United Kingdom)
Can I get more help?
Yes of course! Speak to your FLO or call the Central Unit on 0207 323 8611 or email us at info@finds.org.uk Don’t forget to register! You’ll get more from the database!
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
PAS Advanced Search
How do I make an advanced search actually work?
Well this is a frequently asked question, and quite simple to answer. With the current interface you need to do the following as shown in the examples below. Before you begin, determine what you would like to retrieve. One caveat that has to be remembered; we don’t pluralise objects types. We record everything in the singular; therefore coins are incorrect – coin is correct. Brooches are incorrect; brooch is correct.
Let’s do a search for Roman coins from Lincolnshire recorded by Adam Daubney our Midlands rock star.
Step 1: choose object type is exactly coin and then press the more button.
Choose AND as the operator term.
Step 2: choose county is exactly Lincolnshire and then press the more button.
Choose AND as the operator term.
Step 3: choose broadperiod is exactly ROMAN and then press the more button.
Choose AND as the operator term.
Step 4: choose created by is exactly adaubney.
Now press search.
This returns results as follows:
This will allow you to find all records that meet these search terms. If you have registered and logged in, you could save this search and access this from the saved search menu every time you login to the site. Another hint to save you getting page expired message is this: right click on a link and open in a new window.
To save the search click on the save icon - this will trigger a pop up window as shown here:
Here I have created a new search with the title of advanced search results - I have also requested that the results are made available to me as RSS feed - and also for PAS to email me about new finds which match this search criteria.
Click on the save button!
The following text now appears in the pop up window:
This tells me that my search have been saved. I can either retrieve it by using the Search > Saved Search option on the left hand menu option, by waiting the emails to arrive from PAS - or by my favourite option which is using the RSS feeds.
I click on the live link on the save search pop up window and the following appears on my screen:
I click on ok and this RSS feed now shows on my toolbar - all I need to do to see new items added is hover my mouse on the bookmark as shown - any new finds are added to the top of the list - click on the one you want and it opens the database at that page
When the new advanced search facility launches, the above steps should be rendered obsolete, as the steps will be far more obvious.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
PAS Quick Search
Quick search – via the box in the header or the single search box from the search menu.
If you use the quick search menu option, check the radio button for which type of object you want to search for. For example if you check coins, then you could enter the ruler’s name and get back all coins for Trajan.
this will bring back result which look like this:
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Medieval Harness Pendants
One of the best resources on the net for Medieval Harness Pendants is CJ's webpages which can be found here by clicking on the image below:
The following images of pendants are artefacts to be found in the British Musuem
Pendant - enammeled on both sides. On one side is a rampant griffin with white body and red wings, claws and beak, and on the other side a rampant red leopard with white face and spots
14th or 15th Century.
English
Pendant with the arms of Courtenay and de Bohun
14th century
English
Sir Hugh Courtenay, later 2nd Earl of Devon married Margaret de Bohun in 1325
Pendant with the arms of England
early 14th century
Pendant with the arms of the Trublevile family
aerly 14th century
Pendant with the arms of the Valence family, Earls of Pembroke
early 14th century
found in Surrey
Pendant
early 14th century
English
Pendant
14th century
Italian
Pendant
14th century
Spanish
Trefoil pendant with 3 crowns and probably represents the arms of the abbey of Bury St Edmunds
14th century
English
Pendant with the arms of Corbet
14/15th century
English
found at Buckinghamshire
Pendant - the roundel shows a bear and two stars under a mitre. This roundel has been later cut down and mounted in a sexfoil frame
15th century
French
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Cosmetic Grinders
Cosmetic grinders are unique to Britain, where they have been found in dated contexts from the 1st century BC -5th century AD although the majority belong to the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
They are looped for suspension centrally or at one end and the sets comprise of a solid rod like pestle and a grooved mortar, both of which often display signs of wear. The two piece kit is for grinding up small quantities of an unknown commodity – study of associated evidence suggests that this was probably pigments for eye or facial colourings.
There is a great variety in size and decoration, especially on the mortars, some of which have stylised animal head terminals or coloured enamel inlay. Most have been discovered as single finds but there are now known to have been widespread and common.
Five sets have been found in the relatively secure undisturbed context of graves, but within the overall distribution there are concentrations at the south-east towns, western military sites and temple sites.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Lead Cloth and Bag Seals
by Stuart Elton
Online image gallery maintained by Stuart
If you have any seal you would like included in this image gallery please contact us using the comments feature at the bottom of this page
Online Links and articles
Charles Cater - MD found lead seals
Dr Dianne Tillotson - Medieval Writing, Seals
Jamestown Verginia cloth seals
Seals, Prosopography of the Byzantine World
Publications
Leaden Cloth Seals
Egan, G
Publisher: Finds Research Group 700 -1700 Datasheet 3 1985
Lead Seals of Russian Origin in Fife
Journal Article, Sullivan, J. p. 211 Vol.6, 2000
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Roman Military and Associated Pieces
This site is simply to assist in the identification of Roman Military Artifacts. I welcome any addendum, suggestions or constructive input in relation to the descriptions, which are in my own words.I have tried to avoid “Technical Jargon”. This is an ongoing project so please look in from time to time for updates.
All artifacts are in my collection and originate predominately from the Rousse Region of Bulgaria, they are for the main, associated finds ,unless otherwise noted in the description.As there is a uniformity of Roman military equipment, the description of an item from Bulgaria will be ,for example the same as one from the Northern most extent of the Roman Empire (subject to local tribal influence). There are some UK finds described, but on the whole Eastern European Metal Artifacts are better preserved (due to soil conditions and less intensive farming methods), and therefore are the preferred item when photographing.If you wish to make any comments, or criticism please feel free to contact me at a.appels@ntlworld.com
- 1 Roman Cavalry Copper Alloy pendant
- 2 Amphora Shaped Strap or Belt Terminals x 3
- 3 Silver Legionnaire Belt Buckle
- 4 Large Copper Alloy Junction Phalera
- 5 Copper Alloy Buckle Plate
- 6 Large Gilded Copper Alloy Mount or Phalera
- 7 Ornate Copper Alloy Buckle
- 8 Copper Alloy and Iron Roman Legionnaire Buckle
- 9 Spear Butts or Ferrules
- 10 Armour or Helmet Decorative Copper Alloy Floral design Studs and Ties
- 11 Double Headed Copper Alloy with silver inlays Chicken Mount
- 12 Propeller Shaped Copper Alloy Belt Mounts X 5
- 13 Copper Alloy Bird Mount and a Pendant
- 14 Copper Alloy Phalera Copper Alloy Phalera
- 15 Copper Alloy Cavalry Pendant heart shape with bulb terminal
- 16 Tin Apron Button
- 17 Copper Alloy Belt Plate
- 18 Copper Alloy Carrying Handle for an Imperial Gallic Helmet or Similar
- 19 Copper Alloy Chip Carved Buckle Plate
- 20 Copper Alloy suspension Loops for Cavalry pendant streamers x 3
- 21 Copper Alloy Legionnaire Buckle
- 22 Copper Alloy Lorica Segmentata Buckles X 2
- 23 Copper Alloy Phallic Legionnaire Pendants or possible strap terminals
- 24 Copper Alloy Decorative Studs X 5
- 25 Iron Decorative Stud
- 26 Tin Apron Button
- 27 Copper Alloy Arrowheads various Designs
- 28 Copper Alloy Knife
- 29 Copper Alloy Dolphin Belt Mount
- 30 Copper Alloy Belt or Apron Studs X 4
- 31 Copper Alloy Amphora Strap end
- 32 Copper Alloy Legionnaire or Auxiliary Cavalry strap Buttons or decorations
- 33 Copper Alloy Buckle Plate
- 34 Copper Alloy Cavalry pendant
- 35 Copper Alloy Cavalry Pendant
- 36 Copper Alloy Cavalry Pendant
- 37 Copper Alloy Cavalry Pendant
- 38 Copper Alloy Cavalry Pendant
- 39 Iron Spear Tips
- 40 Copper Alloy Amphora Shaped Strap end
- 41 Copper Alloy Bulletti
- 42 Copper Alloy Phallic Military Pendants
- 43 Copper Alloy Cavalry Pendant
- 44 Copper Alloy Propeller Belt mount
- 45 Copper Alloy Cavalry Pendant
- 46 Copper Alloy Strap Decoration
- 47 Copper Alloy Leaf Shaped Pendant
- 48 Copper Alloy Belt Appliqué
- 49 Copper Alloy Lorica Segmentata Hinged Bracket
- 50 Copper Alloy Lorica Segmentata Fitting
- 51 Copper Alloy Tie Hoop from Lorica Segmentata
- 52 Copper Alloy Propeller Shaped Mount
- 53 Copper Alloy Lobate hinge from a Lorica Segmentata
- 54 Copper Alloy Spoon Fragment
- 55 Copper Alloy Belt or Apron Terminal
- 56 Copper Alloy x 2 Belt decorations
- 57 Copper Alloy Pugio sheath Inserts or Mounts
- 58 Copper Alloy Pendant
- 59 Copper Alloy decorative Strip from a Gladius or Spatha Sheath
- 60 Copper Alloy Shield Binding
- 61 Copper Alloy Decorative strip from a Gladius or Spatha Sheath
- 62 Baked Clay Ballista Onager ammunition
- 63 Iron Cavalry Pendant
- 64 Copper Alloy Pendant
- 65 Copper Alloy Belt Fitting or Plate
- 66 Copper Alloy belt Plate
- 67 Copper Alloy Belt Plate
- 68 Copper Alloy Belt Plate
- 69 Large Fragment of Copper Alloy Roman Dividers
- 70 Terracotta Torso of a Legionnaire
- 71 Iron Legionnaire Spearhead
- 72 Copper Alloy Amphora Strap End
- 73 Copper Alloy Zoomorphic Strap End
- 74 Copper Alloy Cavalry or Belt Pendant
- 75 Copper Alloy Scabbard Slide
- 76 Copper Alloy x2 Cavalry Strap Decorations or Mounts
- 77 Copper Alloy x 2 Testicular Pendant or Mount
- 78 Copper Alloy Legionnaire Belt Decoration
- 79 Copper Alloy Mount from a Gladius or Pugio Belt
- 80 Copper Alloy Apron Terminal or Pendant
- 81 Copper Alloy Armour or Belt Studs
- 82 Axe Belt Mount
- 83 Iron Lance or Spear Tip
- 84 Copper Alloy Belt Mounts
- 85 Copper Alloy Chariot or Cart
- 86 Copper Alloy Dolabra Sheath fragment
- 87 Copper Alloy Rectangular Belt Plate Set of about the 1st Century
- 88 Copper Alloy Circular Cavalry Harness Fittings
- 89 Copper Alloy Propeller Mounts
- 90 Copper Alloy Baldric or belt Mount
- 91 Iron Pendant
- 92 Copper Alloy Cavalry Harness decoration
- 93 Copper Alloy Apron Terminals or Pendants
- 94 Copper Alloy Belt or Strap terminals
- 95 Copper Alloy Hook from a Harness junction loop
- 96 Copper Alloy 2nd Century Buckle
- 97 Copper Alloy Suspension Loops for Cavalry Pendant Streamers
- 98 Copper Alloy Legionnaire Phalera
- 99 Copper Alloy Baldric Terminals
- 100 Iron Lobate Hinge
- 101 Copper Alloy possible piece of Scale Armour
- 102 Copper Alloy and Iron Fragment of Iron Lorica
- 103 Copper Alloy Hanging Ornament
- 104 Copper Alloy Cloak Fasteners
- 105 Copper Alloy Decorated Stopper from a small oil lamp or oil flask
- 106 Copper Alloy Late Roman Military Belt Fittings
- 107 Copper Alloy Junction loop from a copper alloy Phalera
- 108 Copper Alloy Carrying Handle for a Roman Helmet
- 109 Copper Alloy fragment of Helmet edging
- 110 Copper Alloy Scutum or Lorica Segmentata Breast plate edging
- 111 Copper Alloy Sword Chape
- 112 Copper Alloy Cavalry Horse Harness Decorations
- 113 Bone Sword or dagger Pommel Fragment
- 114 Copper Alloy Votive Model of a Sudis (Sudes?) or Palisade stake
- 115 Copper Alloy Cuirass Hinge from a Lorica Segmentata
- 116 Copper Alloy Collet or band from a Pilum
- 117 Copper Alloy Tri Lobed Strap Attachment from a late Legionnaire Belt
- 118 Copper Alloy Baldric mount
- 119 Copper Alloy Fragment of a Sword or Dagger Sheath Mounting
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
1 Roman Cavalry Copper Alloy pendant
Broken in three parts.
Longest piece 43mm Width by 57mm length.
Bar plate 58mm width
11mm @ central hole.
Adjoining piece 16mm length.
This site is simply to assist in the identification of Roman Military Artifacts. I welcome any addendum, suggestions or constructive input in relation to the descriptions, which are in my own words.I have tried to avoid “Technical Jargon”. This is an ongoing project so please look in from time to time for updates.
All artifacts are in my collection and originate predominately from the Rousse Region of Bulgaria, they are for the main, associated finds ,unless otherwise noted in the description.As there is a uniformity of Roman military equipment, the description of an item from Bulgaria will be ,for example the same as one from the Northern most extent of the Roman Empire (subject to local tribal influence). There are some UK finds described, but on the whole Eastern European Metal Artifacts are better preserved (due to soil conditions and less intensive farming methods), and therefore are the preferred item when photographing.If you wish to make any comments, or criticism please feel free to contact me at a.appels@ntlworld.com
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Trade Weights
from UK DETECTOR NET
Guest
I am attaching a weight that I have had a long time. I have over the years found many of them and I have made the effort to research them and learn. There's one thing about this hobby and that it is if you are really interested in your finds you will learn more in this hobby that you ever learned at school.
I have misplaced most of my notes on my finds, and as time catches up with me the memory retention is not as it should be, but I am placing this onto the site as a kind of learning curve for some that may be grateful for the info: I know that there are some knowledgable persons on here who could help everyone to understand a little more about what they are finding.
The W & M are probably self explanatory. the A is something to do with when we separated the Troy system and switched to Imperial. The Dagger is maybe a guild marking, The Ewer (or coffe pot) has lots of meanings and I believe the position of the spout in relation to a clock face is only one of them, the two G's in the boxes I have forgotten, as with the centre punch mark. Bring on the Big Boys.
732 - reign of Ethelbert II (king of Kent)
The 'acre' is in common use.
~960 - reign of Edgar the peaceful
It was decreed that all measures must agree with standards kept in London and Winchester
1215 - reign of King John (lackland)
An agreement to have a national standard of weights and measures was incorporated into the magna carta.
1266 - reign of Henry III
An act of this date established that a penny (money) should weigh the same as 32 grains of wheat, twenty pennies to make one ounce, and twelve ounces to the pound. Eight pounds was to be the weight of a gallon of wine. You will notice the link between money and weight, and that 240 pennies equals one pound.
1304 - reign of Edward I
This is where things got complicated. A statute declared that for medicines a pound would be of 20 shillings, or 12 ounces. All other things would be weighed with a pound containing 15 ounces - in all cases an ounce being 20 pennies.
1352 - reign of Edward III
A statute of this year established the stone as 14lb - a value it has kept ever since.
1532 - reign of Henry VIII
An act of this year laid down that butchers should sell meat by haver du pois weight - from where we get avoirdupois.
1707 - reign of Queen Anne
The wine gallon, which was fixed at 231 cubic inches. This is the basis of the liquid measures still in use in the US of A. It must be said that this gallon is actually of Edward the first's time, the 1707 act really only clarifying its size.
1824 - reign of George IV
The famous 'weights and measures act (5 Geo IV c 74) established the 'Imperial' system of weights and measures. The act comes in to force in 1826.
1878 - reign of Queen Victoria
The troy pound was declared illegal. For avoirdupois weights, commercial weights could only be the following: 56lb, 28lb, 14lb, 7lb, 4lb, 2lb, 1lb, 8oz, 4oz, 2oz, 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz, 2dr, 1dr. Until this date, it was common to see other denominations in trade use, especially 8lb.
1969 - reign of Elizabeth II
The apothecaries system was outlawed for dispensing medicines, in favour of the metric system.
1971 - reign of Elizabeth II
The 'L.s.d.' system of money was replaced with the 'decimal' system.
1972 - reign of Elizabeth II
The passing of the European Communities act hands over 'competance' for weights and measures legislation (and everything come to think of it) to Brussels.
ceejay -
You probably know most of this but as you say useful information for others:-
Crowned 'WM' = the royal cypher for William & Mary
Sword of St Paul = London Guildhall mark
A = Averdepois (avoirdupois)
Ewer = London Founders Company mark
These marks tell us this is a trade weight verified during the reign of William & Mary (1688-1694) and it is was tested and marked by the London Founders Company for use under the Averdepois system - hence the 'A'. The Averdepois system used for normal trade goods was based on a pound (standardised in 1588) which was divided into 16 ounces and weighed 7,000 grains. Other weights in use from 1588 were based on the Troy system used for precious metals etc. which had a pound divided into 12 ounces totalling 5,760 grains.
The 'GG' marks are interesting but I do not know there significance. They can only be a maker's mark or a later mark put on for regional use. I have a list of the latter and it does not conform to any of those.
petethedig -
So what can you deduce from this one Ceejay? I'd appreciate some help with the detail please! There's a C with a crown above it, a sword and a ewer at the 7pm spot. Interesting post this!
ceejay -
Pretty much the same applies Pete. The crowned 'C' though for Charles I or II. There is a way to differentiate between the crowned 'G' of the three Georges but not as far as I am aware between the two Charles. So your weight was marked some time between 1625-49 or 1660-85. The 'A' is often missing from the smaller weights of one ounce or below so that might explain the absence on yours.
The basic unit of weight in the British system is the grain - originally based on the weight of a grain of barley (but note that money was based on the grain of wheat - and that three grains of barley weigh the same as four of wheat). This grain is the troy grain - there is no other weight of the same name. The weight of one grain is constant throughout the many different systems of British weights. As you will see below, the ounce and pound are anything but contstant, but have altered to meet circumstances over a period of over a thousand years.
The avoirdupois pound is the pound in general use today. As its name implies, it was intended to be used for weighing heavy goods. This pound is of 7000 grains, and is split into 16 ounces (each, therefore of 437.5 grains). Each ounce is divided into 16 drams (which my calculator makes of 27.34375 grains each - much more fun than metric isn't it?).
Throughout this history of this land, laws have been made relating to weights and measures. At first, these were necessary both to protect the consumer and to facilitate free trade. Since joining the EU/EEC/Common Market the emphasis has changed - trade is protected from foreign (that is: non-EU) competition, and to suit big business it is necessary to restrict choice by the consumer to essentially EU goods. This has the happy (for the EU that is) consequence of enabling the EU to have more control over what is bought and sold.
Roman times
A lot of the Imperial/Customary measures trace their origins back to Roman times (which explains the similarity of most pre-metric European measures), and no doubt laws were enacted in those times relating to weights and measures. At the moment, I know little about these laws.
Saxons to Stuarts
Written copies of many laws still exist (or are referred to in later documents) which relate in some ways to weights and measures. The domesday book, being in effect an asset register for the Norman kings uses the contemporary measures. The most important document in this time period is Magna Carta (i.e King John's Magna Carta of 1215 - there were quite a few others), which famously sets out the requirement for there being just one sytem of weights and measures in use throughout the land. Strictly speaking Magna Carta is not a law, but more like a contract between the King and his subjects (in this case the Barons), and cannot be overruled by a mere act of Parliament.
Orange, Hanoverians, Saxe-Coburg etc.
As we get more modern, it becomes easier to find, read, and understand the laws of weights and measures. Weights and Measures acts per se were passed in 1824, 1834, 1835, 1861, 1878, 1889, 1892, 1893 and 1904.
Currently, the major topic is the 'outlawing' of most of the Imperial system, which was meant to have come into power on 1st Jan. 2000. This isn't a 'law' in the way one would normally understand the term, merely an instruction from our leaders in Brussels. Contrast this to the way things were done in the past - the Assize of Bread and Ale, a law passed in 1266 (51 Hen. 3, stat.1), which among other things says '... by the consent of the whole realm of England, the the measure of our Lord the King was made, that is to say, an English penny, called a sterling, round and without any clipping, shall weigh 32 wheat corns ...'. It would seem that 750 years ago medieval kings of England had a better notion of democracy than than Brussels ever will.
In practice, many places seem to continue pricing and selling goods in units that the consumer wants (i.e. Imperial), rather than the 'metric' units that Brussels and its departments (especially the BBC) wants us to use. A recent court case has agreed with Brussels, and decided that the weights and measures act 1985, which allows trading in Imperial units is overruled by the 1972 European Communities act - an act which in effect says that whatever Brussels wants Brussels gets.
Where it leaves us is trying to decide whose country it is. The people like to think it belongs to them. The Government and the courts thinks it belongs to the unelected and unelectable elite in Brussels. At the moment, evil bannana sellers are being perscuted, drugs are being legalised, 'double jeapordy' is being brought in so that people can be tried for crimes they've already been found not guilty of committing...
Time for a quote:
... the only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over its government.
avoirdupois weights
16 drams = 1 ounce
16 ounces = 1 pound
7 pounds = 1 clove
14 pounds = 1 stone
28 pounds = 1 tod
112 pounds = 1 hundredweight
364 pounds = 1 sack
2240 pounds = 1 ton
2 stones = 1 quarter
4 quarters = 1 hundredweight
20 hundredweight = 1 ton
NB: The sack is not in common use. There was a 'Butchers stone' of 8lb until the end of 1939.
The Troy pound was of 5760 grains, and was divided into 12 ounces, so a troy pound is lighter than an avoirdupois pound, but a troy ounce (at 480 grains) weighs more than an avoirdupois ounce. The troy pound was declared illegal in 1878, but the troy ounce continues in use today for weighing gold. The troy ounce is split into 480 grains, and you will see 1/2 ounce weights marked both '240 grains' and '0.5oz'. However, the apothecaries system also has an ounce weighing 480 grains, being divided into 8 drams (sometimes spelled drachms) of 60 grains, each dram being split into 3 scruples, of 20 grains. To make things more fun, a 2 dram weight would be marked '3ij' - I think that '3' means 'scruples' (there being 3 to the dram), and the 'ij' being an old-fashioned way of quoting the Roman numeral 'ii'. It doesn't end there - there are 20 penny-weights to the troy ounce, so the 1/2 ounce weight mentioned above could also be marked as '3iv' or '10dwt'.
Troy & apothecaries weights
1 ounce = 480 grains
1 ounce = 24 scruples
1 ounce = 20 pennyweights
1 ounce = 8 drams
ceejay Posted:
[25] One measure of Wine shall be through our Realm, and one measure of Ale, and one measure of Corn, that is to say, the Quarter of London; and one breadth of dyed Cloth, Russets, and Haberjects, that is to say, two Yards within the lists. And it shall be of Weights as it is of Measures.
petethedig -
Thanks Ceejay, your right it fits the Charles II just right for this site! Its also under the ounce in weight! Brilliant as usual!
rufus -
I'd like to know how to differentiate one crowned 'G' from another..they are Georges, but which one? When did the circular bronze official weights make an appearance..the earliest I have seen in the flesh has a crowned 'H' presumably for Henry VII or VIII.
Guest -
How are you coming on Rufus??.
Because as you can now see the coin was a precious commodity (Silver) and directly related to its weight. this then leads to the clipping of them, and obviously then the need for coin weights.
ceejay -
rufus wrote:
I'd like to know how to differentiate one crowned 'G' from another..they are Georges, but which one? When did the circular bronze official weights make an appearance..the earliest I have seen in the flesh has a crowned 'H' presumably for Henry VII or VIII.
I'm getting my info from a useful little book 'English Weights - An Illustrated Survey' by Norman Biggs. Well worth getting if you are interested in weights - it's a small book and I don't think it is too expensive.
Earliest round brass weights have a crown stamped incuse and date from the late-14th to 15thC.
Earliest stamped with a royal cypher (crown over 'h') are indeed Henry VII/VIII.
George I - - crowned G at 11 o'clock- sword at 12 o'clock - A at 1 o'clock - ewer at 6 o'clock.
George II -- crowned G at 9 o'clock - sword at 12 o'clock - A at 3 o'clock - ewer at 6 o'clock.
George III - crowned G at 3 o'clock - sword at 12 o'clock - A at 9 o'clock - ewer at 6 o'clock.
The latter also for George IV up to 1826.
rufus - Posted:
Thanks for the info CJ...I'll have to get the book.
Here's my most interesting weight ~
Official 4OZ lead trade weight with various marks. a. Royal cipher 'G' under crown b. Sword of St Paul (dagger - City of London Guildhall) c. Circular Libra mark of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers.
George I too...crowned 'G' at 11 and sword at 12 o'clock.
Was this weight used exclusively by plumbers? It was found on a site with evidence of lead working everywhere....and why is it perforated?
wildmantel -
I thought that you may be interested in knowing what some of your weight were used for....
I did not think you needed to weigh bras - this must have been an early cross your heart complete with two birds
Roman bras weight Pic 0018
6 Unciae Semis "r s"
157,7 gram
sign with a cross and two birds.
http://www.scales-and-weights.com/index.htm
rufus wrote:
Thanks for the info CJ...I'll have to get the book.
Here's my most interesting weight ~
Official 4OZ lead trade weight with various marks. a. Royal cipher 'G' under crown b. Sword of St Paul (dagger - City of London Guildhall) c. Circular Libra mark of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers.
George I too...crowned 'G' at 11 and sword at 12 o'clock.
Was this weight used exclusively by plumbers? It was found on a site with evidence of lead working everywhere....and why is it perforated?
The mark is St Michael with scales and is that of the Plumbers Company who were given the right to check and stamp all lead weights in the City of London from c.1588. Interestingly the grant of their official crest in 1588 mentions “an Archangel holding a Sword and Balance” – no sign of a sword in the mark on any of the lead weights that I have seen?? Not sure what the hole is all about but earlier shield-shape weights often seem to have this feature too. I haven't noticed this on any other round lead weights though. The link below has a lot more info and will explain what the plumbers were responsible for:-
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/LONDON-COMPANYS/2000-09/0968758186
And a few more quotes gleaned:-
From earliest times the Church of the Plumbers Company was St. Michael's, Crooked Lane and for this reason the Patron Saint of the Company is St. Michael (the mark on lead weights).
The former Hall stood in Chequer Yard, Bush Lane from 1532. After destruction in The Great Fire of 1666 it was rebuilt but was demolished in 1863 to make way for Cannon Street Station.
Today the Company is no longer a trade association instead existing as a charitable institution.
petethedig -
Just to pick up on a small point you made Ceejay? On my Charles weight I too have a small hole that looks deliberate any ideas? Do you think some small amount of weight might be removed this way to make them precise?
ceejay -
Some of the brass weights have file marks on the bottom which I would imagine is the way that most would have been adjusted. Your weight appears to be holed near the outer rim - is that what you mean?? It may have become damaged or it may be a casting flaw that has come apart at a later stage but it certainly would not have been verified in that condition.
petethedig
Well the lights not good now I'm looking at it, but it may be a casting fault as you say! Thanks
rider -
Here are more Weights to get your teeth into, the square one with four dots and crown has the same on the back the one next has a letter or figure but i dont know what it is, the two small lead ones at the top are blank on the back these two are the oldest i think, will post more later when i sort them out.
Guest -
Can anyone kindly sort out the markings on this for me please
rufus -
Rider, I too have one of those square weights that looks like a domino, in your picture. Mine is exactly the same as yours but with five dots, not four. Also has the same punched mark both sides, but I cannot decipher it. I thought it might be a game piece if it was not a weight.
Rod_Blunt-
rufus wrote:
Rider, I too have one of those square weights that looks like a domino, in your picture. Mine is exactly the same as yours but with five dots, not four. Also has the same punched mark both sides, but I cannot decipher it. I thought it might be a game piece if it was not a weight.
These are bullion weights, Rufus. Each annulet (or dot) represents a pennyweight, so yours will be five, and Rider's four pennyweights. Some, like Rider's, have a lion or other countermark.
rufus -
What date are they Rod? Mine was found in an area where the finds are mostly 12th - 13th Century, but this weight looks later to me.
Rod_Blunt -
rufus wrote:
What date are they Rod? Mine was found in an area where the finds are mostly 12th - 13th Century, but this weight looks later to me.
The date range given by Norman Biggs in Bullion Weights is c1600-1850, Rufus.
rufus -
That's interesting though...a penny weight of silver bullion? Given that the price of bullion is unstable and subject to market forces, how can a weight like this function properly? A five penny weight might be equal to four penny's worth in a few years! Or am I getting the wrong end of the stick?
rufus -
If bullion weights is what they are and they are tied to the arbitrary value of a penny, a unit that fluctuates in value all the time, then that makes these weights very unusual doesn't it? All other weights are measures of definable quantities, even coin weights which are stamped with the denomination.
I wonder if they could be a Civil War effort to define and standardise the currency, which at that time was in a state of flux? Troops were being paid with hastily struck irregular coins made from recycled church plate, and no doubt also they were paid in hunks of silver in the absence of a regular coin supply. A 'penny's worth' would make sense only in such a situation, don't you I think?
Rod_Blunt -
The pennyweight is a constant unit of weight, equivalent to 24 grains (approx. 1.56 grams), or one-twentieth of a troy ounce. Although originally based on the weight of the silver penny, it was later standardised.
The English troy standard is first mentioned in documents of the late 14th century.
rider -
Rufus
The punch mark is a crown but as you say a game counter could be on the cards as they say, will see what comes up on the net.
digger john -
heres a weight , that I think I posted some time ago, been reading this thread, and also find it a fascinating subject
rufus -
Thanks Rod, I had a feeling it would be based on the medieval penny somehow.
Ill chuck my Civil War theory out of the window!
IB1 -
Have a look at this site if your interested in coin weights.
http://www.galata.co.uk/
rider
Thanks also Rod at least that is one lot sorted
ceejay
If you look on this page you will see what the 5(Pwt) * 8 (Gr) one is all about:-
http://www.netmarshall.co.uk/Coinweight2.htm
Comment [2]
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Medieval Pot Mends
from UK DETECTOR NET
Banished:
found this yesterday on a roman site. I remember seeing something similar in the press but cant remember what it was.......anyone any ideas?
Georgian Tim:
It is a medieval pot mend rivet.Ceejay ID'd one for me a few weeks ago.I think that the reference was the MOLAS Medieval Household book, page 170.
Banished:
thanks tim, i remember now.........how would it have worked tho? i can't work it out!
Georgian Tim:
Sorry, I can't help on that one.Maybe Ceejay can enlighten us?
ceejay:
These sheet metal rivets are folded from cut lozenges and were used alone to repair small splits and together to apply patches to larger areas of damage in all kinds sheet metal vessels . They have been found in contexts from early-12thC to late-15thC.
Source:- Egan G. (1998) - The Medieval Household Daily Living c.1150-c.1450: Medieval Finds from Excavations in London:6
Georgian Tim:
I think that I understand.The one that Banished and me found are used mends.The final wings being folded back after being inserted into the hole.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Those rings yet again!
from UK DETECTOR NET by Ceejay
First of all we had better show the artefacts we are discussing - these are my own finds from just one field over a number of years - varying approx. between 20 and 30mm in size and being slightly flat in profile.
Gordon Bailey in 'Finds Identified' identifies the purpose of these crudely made bronze rings as personal adornment and in particular for suspending items from the waist belt. He illustrates the simplest means of attachment by leather thongs and more substantially by metal attachments (below). This evidence is from Germany and I must say I have never found one of these rings with anything attached so I would be particularly interested to hear from anyone who has.
The evidence of suspension by leather straps is backed up in a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (The Peasant Dance c1568) in which rings can be seen suspended from a pouch on the belt of the male figure - second from the right in the foreground. You will have to click on the link below for this picture - it is too big to put on here. These rings may be functional (they do seem too low but note the key and pouch suspended from the lady's waist on the extreme right) or they may be purely decorative. Another purpose might be (much as bells and spurs in other times) as 'jinglers' to make a noise when moving.
That evidence seems fairly compelling but doubts remain - why are they so crudely made. Part of the reason for this may be that they were simply cast in multiple moulds, often on a local basis, and only received a rudimentary clean up with a file to remove the roughest edges. Here we must be careful to define the type - observant readers will have noted that there is an interloper in my first picture - the ring in the top row, third from left is a different type - more rounded in profile and much smoother in finish. This one may have had an entirely different purpose and does in fact appear to be more like the ones in the painting.
Other uses may be as links in leather harness and as suspension rings for curtains and hanging fabrics. Both of these suggestions are feasible possibilities and in the case of harness I think distinctly so. You might also consider that rings sewn into the top hem of a hanging fabric for suspension by hooks would not need to be particularly well finished off. As to dating we have the evidence of manufacture by hand suggesting a pre-industrial age and of course paintings. Other evidence comes from our own hobby and indeed from this forum. This picture was posted by MARTYN and as soon as I saw it I thought of the close dating of the group as all the artefacts in it appear to be of the 16th-17thC. Does this give us an approximate date for the rings?
These leather bound buckles were sold on Ebay –it would have been interesting to have bought those and cracked open that ring second from left on the bottom row!!
Comment [1]
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Coins of Roman Britain 1st & 2nd century
Many different denomination of coins were issued for use in the Roman Empire, but only a relatively small section found their way to Britain.
The sestertius was actually introduced as a silver coin at the same time as the denarius. It was only issued intermittently, however, until it was struck as a base-metal coin under Augustus.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme website has a very good section on identifying Roman Coinage which you can find here http://www.finds.org.uk/romancoins/
Denarius
A silver coin, of about 20mm in diameter, issued from before 200BC to about 280 AD , making it the longest surviving denomination of the Roman Empire. During this period , the Denarius was the only coin that could be used for paying state taxes. To give some idea of its value in present day terms, during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD Roman Legionaries were paid 300 Denarii per year.
Sestertius
A large coin of about 30-35 mm in diameter, usually struck in orichalcum (a Roman brass type alloy) and valued at 4 to a Denarius. First issued by the Emperor Augustus in the early 1st century, it remained in use until the late 3rd century.
Dupondius
A coin of about 25-30 mm in diameter, also made from orichalcum and with a similar period of issue - valued at 2 to a Sestertius. From the time of Vespasian, AD69-70, the portrait of the Emperor was usually depicted wearing a "radiate" crown representing the rays of the sun.
As
A similar coin to the Dupondius both in size and period of use but struck in copper - valued at 2 to a Dupondius. It is often difficult to distinguish between the two coins, particularly when found with the green patina common to copper alloy coins found in British Soil conditions. The As was the most common coin of the 1st and 2nd centuries and was extensively copied, probably by the Roman Army. When in circulation, the As would buy a haircut - so it would be worth a few pounds at today's values.
Semis
Similar in size and appearance to a Denarius but struck in brass - valued at 2 to an As. Never a common coin even when in circulation.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Coins of Roman Britain - 3rd and 4th Centuries
The coinage of the 3rd and 4th Centuries is complex and confusing.It was a time when the Roman Empire was under attack on many fronts and the economy was in decline. Many reforms of the coinage were attempted and few lasted more than a short time. The most significant coin issues are described below:
Antoninianus
First introduced by the Emperor Caracalla in AD 214, this coin was initially struck in silver and valued at 2 Denarii. The coin was named after Caracalla's official name - "Antoninus" and showed the Emperor wearing the radiate crown, hence its more common name "Radiate". When first issued, this coin was about 22mm in diameter and struck in reasonably good silver (about 50% fine). As the 3rd Century progressed, inflation reduced it, both in size and silver content until it became a bronze coin, sometimes only 10 mm in diameter, until production finally ceased at the end of the century. This coin was issued in vast quantities by both legitimate and usurper Emperors.
Many illegal copies were produced, mainly of poor quality, hence their common name - "Barbarous Radiates"
Follis
Issued by the Emperor Diocletion in about AD 295, this was, initially, a large coin of about 25-30 mm diameter struck in bronze with a thin silver was applied. Within 20 years or so the Follis had been reduced to a small bronze coin of about 18-20 mm with no attempt at silvering.Coins of the 4th Century
The names of the common 4th century denominations have not been recorded in history so modern terminology is used to classify the coins struck as Ae1, Ae2, Ae3 and Ae4, Ae1 being the largest. All these coins were struck in bronze with no silver content.Ae1
from 25-30 mm diameter, this coin was issued by the Emperor Julian II, AD 360-363, possibly in an attempt to revive the original Follis.Ae2
About 22mm in diameter, issued by the Emperors Constantius and Constans in AD 348, possibly known as a Centenionalis, but discontinued in AD 354.Ae3
About 18mm in diameter, this coin was probably the final version of the Follis , although coins of this size continued to be issued well into the 5th Century.
Ae4
Below 17mm in diameter, coins of this size were issued throughout the 3rd Century and almost to the end of the 5th. Found in large quantities on most Roman sites their value must have been very small.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Recording your finds to your FLO by email
Some FLO's have accepted emailed submissions of finds from finders - but in a variety of formats. This format should ONLY be used where you have NO access to a FLO.In order to standardise the way this happens and to make it available for all users of PAS and all FLO's, a word document which can be completed and emailed your FLO has been formulated to send your find details together with images to your FLO.
The template to use
The completed example
The Central Unit at the Portable Antiquities Scheme has checked and agreed this form before release
Descriptions, dimensions etc. need to be done in full. Full NGRs are recommended, but voluntary. You must also include quality images as detailed below.
Areas for completion:
- Finds code - in header section (double click to open it) - your own personal record number(see also note on Images below)
- Information sent to PAS on - the date form sent
- National Grid Ref (8fig) - quote actual NGR
- National Grid Ref - quote the NGR you want shown on the public database
- Name of Finder - your name
- Address - your address
- Tel - your phone number
- Type of Find - tick relevant box
- Type of Material - tick relevant box
- Depth of find - tick relevant box
- Ground Type - tick relevant box
- Is the find part of a group?- Yes or no
- Other finds in group (numbers) - specify numbers found
- General Description - describe the find in as much detail as possible - example here
- Width - specify
- Length - specify
- Weight - specify
- Diameter - specify
- Images attached from all angles and including scale? (required) - yes or no
- Map attached? (optional) - yes or no
The most important point is making sure that if you are submitting images, that they have a scale, and that all angles are photographed.
Images must be a minimum of 400 x 400 pixels and be at least 300dpi. These images must be emailed as a separate attachment to the form and not embedded into it.
However you may want to save a further form with your images and maps inserted for your own records
You should name your images the same as your finds record number to make the FLO's life a bit easier - i.e.:
Record Number 006
attachment: 006.jpg
Copyright of Images
If the image is taken by an individual who is not covered by the Scheme's remit, then they retain the copyright. PAS ask the owner of the image for the rights to publish online, and will attribute copyright to them.
They make no money from image licenses.
NB. This is the result of liaison between Phil Dunning , Corinne and PAS
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Selling finds outside the uk?
Although this can be done legally it's wise to stop and think........
What do British detectorists's think about the export and import of Iraqi antiquities? About the exploitation of sites by the poor in Iraq to supply that market? The export and sale of Egyptian antiquities? Or Greek ones? We all "tut-tut" about that of course but often do not simply see this as in any way connected with what we do in Britain. It's easy to take the ostrich approach and say if its not forbidden by law it must be ok.
Recording of Items you intend to sell with PAS:
Although the Recording of items with the Portable Antiquities Scheme is not mandatory we strongly recommend that if you do export any finds that these are recorded with the PAS before being sold.
Any finds over 50 years old need an export license.
When must I have an individual export licence?
If you are intending to export a cultural object, regardless of its destination (within or outside the EU), you must apply for an individual licence if your object is valued at or above a specified financial threshold. To determine whether you require an individual licence,
How do I obtain the required licence application form?
Telephone the Export Licensing Unit on 020 7211 6164 or 6167 and request either an EC licence application form or a UK licence application form. If you are unsure, the staff of the Licensing Unit will be happy to advise you. You should apply as soon as you know that an object is to be exported and the name and address of the consignee to whom it is going
How soon will I receive my export licence once I have submitted my application?
This depends on whether your application is referred to an Expert Adviser in a national museum or gallery for scrutiny as to national importance. If an Expert Adviser needs to be consulted, the papers will normally be referred within five working days of the receipt of your application. We ask our Expert Advisers to respond to us within 15 working days.
How does an Expert Adviser decide what is of national importance?
An Expert Adviser may object to the granting of a licence if he or she believes that an object satisfies one or more of the Waverley criteria (see paragraph 25). This can include an object by a living manufacture or producer. Expert Advisers are entitled to view an object before reaching a decision.
What should I do if I discover that I have inadvertently exported an object without the required licence?
You should make a voluntary written disclosure of the facts and circumstances to the Head of the Export Licensing Unit. DCMS may then refer your written disclosure to Customs and Excise who are responsible for the enforcement of the export control. It is then for Customs and Excise to consider what action is appropriate.
You should be aware that if an object is presented to Customs for export without an export licence where one is required, the exporter and any other party concerned with the unlicensed exportation may be subject to penalties including criminal prosecution under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. The unlicensed object may also be subject to seizure under the provisions of the same Act.
What if I learn that Customs and Excise have stopped the export of my object?
You should speak to the office of Customs and Excise concerned.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
How to plot a National Grid Reference
The very least you should do is reference finds to specific fields - But Recording findspots accurately (using a Ordnance Survey map or hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) device) whilst in the field are really what counts when recording your archaeological finds
Portable Antiquities website
link to all you need to know from the PAS website
How to plot a National Grid Reference
Ordnance Survey website
Interactive Guide to the National Grid
Learn how to use the National Grid
Streetmap.co.uk
There's a facility on the Streetmap.co.uk website that lets you convert OS and Landranger to Lats and Longs and vice versa.
To get to it you have to go onto the site, type in say your postcode or OS co ords, it will come up with a map.
The facility can then be accessed by pressing the click here to convert link lower down the page
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
GPS
Why buy a GPS?
GPS is extremely accurate, locations are given to 10 figures (5 Eastings and 5 Northings). This pinpoints the location theoretically to within 1 metre, however due to satellite reception quality and other errors is more typically reliable to within 10 metres.
Such an accuracy is much appreciated by PAS for find spot location and would be most difficult to achieve using a map, tape and compass.
The display can show the location stored in OS format or at the press of a button will convert to Lat and Long format.
Convenience
GPS is very convenient to carry and use, it is light weight, waterproof and doesn't need to be unfolded in the rain and wind like a map. It will give your position any where in the world, saving the cost of a map or downloading map images off the Internet.
Just press the 'Mark' button and your location is displayed without the skills needed to master map reading and use of a compass. There's no measuring or pacing out needed and little chance of an error occurring.
The information it safely stores for you can be viewed or downloaded later at your convenience.
Other advantages
Even basic GPS is great for jogging, cycling, in car navigation, skiing or flying, it tells you your current speed, average speed, time moving and distance covered as it records a tracklog of your journey.
The tracklog can be downloaded onto your PC as a record of your route or to analyse your performance.
It will record a tracklog of your steps so you can return along the same route, particularly useful if caught in the dark or you are prone to getting lost in the wilds.
The completed tracklog can be saved for use another day instead of using a map * or email the route to your friends.
Tracklogs of other peoples routes, eg MTB routes can be downloaded off the internet.
It will also record your altitude and decent speed if you are walking in hilly areas or paragliding.
It's useful for recording and with software available on the internet (some free), mapping accurate finds locations and identifying hotspots.
From the internet, enter sufficient route waypoints and in the navigate mode it will guide you to your destination, on or off road, without reference to a map*.
Enter the destination waypoint only and and in the navigate mode it will be of valuable assistance as you near to your destination.
In the Navigate mode It tells you your distance remaining and ETA at your destination.
It could also save your life one day.
* GPS performance can be effected by weather conditions, trees and buildings which can interfere with the satellite link up, so a map and compass should be carried just in case. Spare batteries should also be carried if prolonged use is a possibility.
How does GPS work?
Garmin GPS Guide for Beginners & Using Garmin GPS with paper maps (PDF's).
Understanding GPS, map reading & survival
GPS Software
The GPS can only store limited amount of information, say 500 waypoints, maybe 20 reversable routes and perhaps 10 tracks, so at some point it is going to get full and to add new information you would need to delete some of the information you have put in already , ie delete routes you have spent precious time creating. So instead of losing them, you can save your tracks, waypoints, routes on your PC and then delete them from your GPS to make way for more
Over the counter
Global Positioning Systems
OziExplorer
Tracklogs
Share Ware
Easy GPS
Expert GPS
GPS Trackmaker
Useful GPS links
Garmin hints & tips
GPS tutorial
Understanding GPS
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
The Perfect Partnership
By Dynamite_Davis
You may think this a funny title for a piece on metal detecting, after all am I talking about two machines? Me and my detecting partner? Or indeed the partnership between me and my own machine.
The answer is simply all three!! I have been detecting since the age of eight, I was truly destined for this hobby, as it had already been my dad’s passion for many a year before me. I’m now rapidly approaching my 30th year on this earth, and we have spent the last twenty two years together as a detecting partnership, to be honest growing up I simply could not have wished for a better person to learn from.
Knowing what I know now I would recommend all newcomers to the hobby to try to get a detecting partner, someone who has experience would be ideal but above all someone to share those priceless moments with! Those times when you shout out across a field that you’ve found something nice, are times you will never forget! Certainly for me detecting on my own does not give me quite the same thrill and buzz as being out detecting with my dad.
If you are not overly competitive, you can really reap the rewards of working as a pair, purely because this means you stand more chance of discovering those hot-spots on your search areas (afterall two coils has to be better than one).
We like a lot of metal detectorists have thousands of acres of land that we have permission to search on….. Over the years how many of our finds would still lay undiscovered if either one of us were detecting alone? The mind boggles believe me.
You think about walking on to just a 10-acre field…. You look down at for arguments sake at an 11” coil, now think how much of this field am I really going to cover? The simple answer is a tiny fraction of it! You could spend hour after hour, month after month on a field that size, and not even scratch the surface when it comes to finding coins and artefacts.
We have had smaller pasture fields that we have detected for 5 or 6 fruitless years only to suddenly find they start producing roman finds. It’s almost as if from nowhere finds have been magically transported into the soil. I firmly believe I would not of had anywhere near the number of good personal finds, if I worked my current sites alone, purely because I may never of walked over the hotspots on my own.
Pooling of resources
When we first started detecting as a partnership we always used different machines this was 100% down to the fact I was using my dads old machines when he upgraded! It was the only downsides to being a schoolboy at the time rather than having a job, and earning money to plough in to my hobby I got the hand me downs.
This trend of us using different machines continued quite accidentally but we have since discovered it to be of great benefit to us. My dad currently uses a Minelab Explorer and I have and Explorer in the cupboard and an XP Goldmaxx Power as my preferred machine.
May I add that this is not down to individual performance it’s down to the fact that the XP complements the Explorer perfectly! Both of these machines will find the hard to find items, but both have different characteristics and overall strengths. By that I mean in difficult circumstances one of these machines may find that elusive hotspot that bit easier than the other.
Both have similar performance but the XP must be used very slowly to get extreme depth whereas the Minelab will need to be used very slowly to get items amongst trash! You can therefore see that as a pair, these machines work as a great combination towards finding those elusive targets and hotspots.
There are many great combinations, one of our past favourites was an Arado 120b and the Fisher 1265X (admittedly you didn’t particularly want to go to close to a Fisher with an Arado though, crikey that was painful on the ears).
Being as one with your machine
Just as I have described my partnership with my Dad to be the number one key to my success in this hobby to date, the wisdom that he has passed on to me regarding learning my machines has stood me in good stead.
There are three things you need to learn when you get a new machine :-
1) What are the good signals like (either sound or sound & meter reading)
2) What do the ferrous/iron items sound like (either sound or sound & meter reading)
3) What does an iffy signal sound like and if I have a meter where does it register
Remember that all machines will give an iffy signal to good targets that are next to iron, on edge or at the limit of the detectors detection capabilities. This makes digging iffy signals essential to being successful in this hobby. Deciding what is iffy and what is outright terrible and thus iron, is the hardest thing to learn in metal detecting.
This is purely because you cannot teach this to someone; you can only learn it by using your machines and digging quite a bit of rubbish to start off with.
I firmly believe that the ability to recognise iffy signals is one of the things that sets certain detectorists apart from others… Why does Joe Bloggs always come in to the club meetings with a hammered coin??? Yes he may have good sites… but then why does he always find hammered coins on club digs and rally’s??? Maybe he’s just lucky!!! Remember by knowing your machine you too will become that little bit luckier.
It’s like the old golf pro Gary Player’s famous statement “the more I practice the luckier I get”
Dynamite’s Tip :- When judging iffy signals always look for excuses to dig not an excuse to walk away… if you look for an excuse to leave a signal you will always find it whether it’s really there or not.
I feel I now have my current machine setup perfectly for me! Other people have tried to use the Goldmaxx Power the same way as I do and they can’t get on with it…. This is because my ears have adjusted to the settings I’ve chosen.
I chose to set my machine up from day one at settings I knew from both in air tests and test beds were maximising it’s ability to both go deep and find coins close to iron.
I then stuck with these settings and struggled for the first few weeks, but simply by sticking with them and digging lots of signals both good and bad I managed to train myself to recognise what is good and what is trash.
I have now been in fields where I’ve checked signals with people who own the same machine… they have said signals were rubbish when I said I’d dig them! The items have always turned out to be non ferrous (not iron), one certainly turned out to be a cut half (hammered), and the other that I remember was a less impressive horse brass but very deep. This does not mean I am using superior settings to the other chaps, it just means I’m hearing something in that signal that makes me think “that sounds dodgy but it’s not quite like an iron signal”
This is a saying I use and I think I’ve made it up “A good detectorist is a nosey detectorist”
Reasons for this :-
1) A nosey detectorist will dig the dodgy (iffy) signals because he simply can’t resist finding out what it is.
2) A nosey detectorist will try every setting on a new machine in the hope of finding the best balanced performance.
3) A nosey detectorist will listen at length to what other people are doing with there machines. Remember you may think someone is talking rubbish but there is no harm in experimentation. If you feel your settings are wrong believe me your doomed to end up hating your machine.
Dynamite’s Tip :-
If someone gives you some new settings for your machine don’t fully commit to them but do try to give them a fair chance.
There are two types of people that usually give you advice on setting up a machine:-
1) The person who basically doesn’t have a clue and who will say black is white simply because they want to believe that there way is best.
2) The chap that has studied his machine endlessly and has discovered what he considers the best settings for finding small items in tricky English conditions and longs to share his knowledge.
Now how can you tell who’s genuinely offering good advice?
If you are totally new to the machine then I’d recommend listening to everyone and asking as many questions as possible. Those that really know what there talking about, can usually backup there settings by describing what they are doing and why.
On the other hand those that are trying to offer you settings and cannot back them up with a decent conversation about them are usually full of hot air.
Beware of the person that says give me your machine then proceeds to adjust everything without explaining what he’s doing and what the positive affects and maybe even negative affects are.
Summarisation :-
In my opinion the key thing with metal detecting is knowledge. There are two ways I recommend learning and both go together hand in hand! You basically need to talk and learn from as many experienced detectorists as possible. But what people tend to forget is the person you learn from most of all is yourself…. We all make mistakes in life but we all learn from them too. If you question every signal you get throughout your detecting life you will not go far wrong! Remember "Why should I dig?, NOT why should I walk away?"
Even the guys who have been detecting for over 30 years are still learning so your never going to be alone! I consider I will be learning this hobby right up to the day I give it up, hopefully many years down the line.
Whether you choose to detect on your own or with a partner like myself I truly hope you are having or end up having as much fun as I have so far.
My aim is to write a book on the subject of metal detecting in the future but maybe I’ll increase my own years of experience from 22years to nearer 35 before I do.
Cheers
Chris Davis
(Dynamite_Davis)
This article reflects my own ideas and thoughts on the hobby
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
What Accessories?
Search Coils
There are a variety of coils in different shapes and sizes - some are just a few inches across up to about 18 inches. The coils can be "polo" shaped, elliptical - some are even web shaped. A number of makes of detector allow the ability to change from one type to another so it worth checking before you buy a detector that this is possible.
The smaller coils are easier to use on rough ground and overgrown sites where its difficult to manoeuvre and they also tend to have better pinpointing capabilities.
The advantage of larger coils is that you can cover more ground in a shorter space of time and they often have greater depth capabilities. However it also means that these are heavier to wield and are suited to flat ground surfaces
Headphones
Its best to use headphones with your detector (although most have built in speakers) as they help to reduce any outside noise which can mask any faint signals.
Although you can use mostly any type of headphones - its best to use some with volume control and also comfortable generously padded earpieces - this prevents headaches after several hours use and are more user-friendly for spectacle users.
Digging Implements
Buy the strongest that you can afford - whether you choose a simple 4" archaeologist's trowel or a long handled foot-assisted spade - a cheap digger won't last long in the field! That said there are some very reasonablly priced stainless steel spades to be had!
For grassland a sharp knife or a sturdy garden trowel can be used to remove a plug of soils. Detector retailers also sell special beach scoops for retrieving finds from sand.
Coin probes
These are electronic probes which are hand held - these are useful when searching in hard compacted ground as they enable you to locate a find in a hole without further unnecessary digging.
Finds bags
Most detectorists wear waistband type pouches to carry any "good" finds. You don't want to place your good finds in beside all the odds and ends you would find - this will do more damage to them than the centuries of argiculture and corrosion could ever do! The most rugged and reliable is ex-military equipment - you can buy a webbing belt with ammunition pouches from an army surpus store. These can contain your GPS unit, marker pen, finds bag, spare batteries etc. Use one pouch for good finds and the other for junk.
Its best to carry a selection of self sealing bags to keep all finds separate from one another - all the finds should be individually bagged and numbered - use the type with a write on strip - you can then write the precise grid reference on this.
- Basic Kit
- Sturdy boots or wellies!
- Warm or waterproof clothing!
- Gloves
- Basic First Aid kit
- note pad and pencil (or the finds record sheets available on the downloads page)
- mobile phone
- spare batteries
Other items
Quilted suits from fishing tackle shops are useful in really cold weather!
A number of detectorists also take along with them a digital camera for recording important finds in situ if professional help cannot be summoned.
GPS unit - more and more detectorists are now using these to plot their finds
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Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Search methods
If you are detecting a large area with no particular concentration of finds then a more rapid rate over a wide area might be appropriate. You can then assess whether it is a potentially good site by adopting an explorative search technique.
One method often used is known as the "Union Jack" system. This is done by detecting around the perimeter of the field and then searching corner to corner as in the diagram. This can help ascertain whether there are any productive areas that you might want to concentrate on.
If you do find a productive area a more methodical search pattern and approach can be used to maximise your find rate. One way of achieving this is to use a "criss-cross" technique. Use pegs and string to mark out the area and search by slowly overlapping each sweep of your detector. For optimum coverage repeat the process at right angles
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Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Newcomers guide to the Whites MXT
by Roger
The Whites MXT is in my opinion one of the best value detectors on the market today, and once mastered will give a no nonsense performance that will match most other machine on the market, and will beat most when it comes to finds rate because its built more for sensitivity to the low conductive targets like cut quarter and half hammered coins etc., rather than for extreme depth on larger items.
If you’ve just purchased one of these machines and need a bit of help, I’ve put a few tips below.
Mode Switch
Prospecting
In my opinion the prospecting mode is not the best to use when searching for small coins in the UK, in tests I did, this mode would reject small coins if any iron was close by, as the discrimination in this mode is working on the percentage of iron in the target, and always seemed to favour the iron over a nonferrous target that was close to it, can be used if you pay careful attention to the meter readings, but this takes great patience and slows you down to a crawl, therefore reducing your finds rate dramatically Coins/Jewellry
This mode to me is more for general coin shooting in parks, picnic area’s etc., where pushing the trigger forward in this mode will reject some types of pull tab, with trigger in centre you get the conventional discrimination, where the audio will be suppressed on any target that’s set to be rejected on the dual control, I found this mode needed the gain to be set carefully to get the best out of it, I have used this mode with success on farmland, but found I had to use reduced gain for best performance on my sites. Relic
This is the one I find a real killer on UK farmland, very sharp and sensitive, with the trigger in the centre position you get a low tone for ferrous and high tone for nonferrous, this gives a lot of feedback on what’s under the coil without having to check the meter, I found if I set the threshold at about the 9oclock position I could use this mode with gain set at +3 most of the time without the machine getting erratic, this mode is what gave this machine the reputation of being “noisy”, its not that the machine chatters but the fact it gives a signal for every target, after a while you get used to the constant low tone farts and the high tones really do bang through when over most good targets, but like some other machines you sometimes get an iffy high tone signal, I found the best way to treat these signals was to see if I could get any kind of “two way” signal from them while moving around the target, if I could I’d dig the target, if I could only get a “one way” signal I’d leave it, obviously at first I checked a lot of the one wayers to be sure, 99% turned out to be iron, not a bad percentage, scraping some soil off the surface with your boot to get the coil closer to the target can also help suss out iffy signals.
If the constant low tones are annoying to anyone its just a case of pushing the trigger forward, which switches the machine to the standard discrimination mode where the audio is suppressed on all rejected targets, again I found I had to reduce gain in this mode, I didn’t notice any real loss in performance by doing this though, so its really a matter of personal choice as to whether you want to hear the iron or not.
Dual Control/Discrimination
This setting is the most important when hunting those small thin hammered, Saxon sceats etc., until you get to know the machine a setting of around 2.5 should be about right, at that setting the machine won’t discrim out even a cut quarter hammered, but will take care of all but the largest iron, after getting to grips with the machine I found it best to set the discrim up using a three inch nail, I balance the machine and then lock the tracking, placing the machine on something nonmetallic I pass the nail over the coil about two inches away, turn up the discrim until the nail is just rejected when its passed over the coil in the horizontal and vertical position, on my machine that’s about the 1.9 mark, this can vary quite a bit from machine to machine, using to much discrimination can cause target masking on iron laden sites, although the lightning fast recovery speed on this machine helps separate the targets, also the more you increase the discrim the more depth you will lose, as the old saying say’s “the more you use the more you lose”, and anybody who digs no iron at all, is definitely leaving finds in the ground.
Gain Control
This controls the sensitivity of the received signal only, as the transmit power uses a fixed setting, i don't think many people realise this and think that raising the gain actually pumps more power out on the transmit side, it just adjust's the gain on the receive side and overdoing this setting on bad ground can distort the audio signal without actually gaining any depth at all, in fact you can lose some of the fainter signals because they wouldn't be heard over the extra noise generated, the gain setting obviously has an effect over the depth at which a target can be heard, it has a big affect on the stability of the machine, especially when detecting on very mineralised ground and/or ground that has a high amount of iron present.
The MXT has what I call the standard 0 to 10 gain/sensitivity setting, it also incorporates three + numbers, moving into the + numbers also starts to boost the machines audio, which helps to pick out those faint deep targets.
There may be times when working in severe ground conditions that a setting of 6-7 is needed to keep the machine stable, but in general I would always advise to try and set the gain to at least +1 if at all possible without distorting the audio, in the 0-10 range the audio to me sounds a bit weak (may be my bad hearing lol), then again when increasing to the +3 mark, the audio can be very loud, so its pretty vital to have a decent pair of headphones with a volume control, the volume control on full when working in the 0-10 range, and reduced a couple of notches when in the plus numbers, this works well for me with my nugget-buster phones, which are pretty loud on most machines.
Although experienced user's of the MXT will want to take advantage of the added depth gained by using high gain settings on good ground, I would advise newcomers to the machine to use reduced gain to start with, as this will give a "cleaner" signal and more positive discrimination.
Trac
The MXT has a very fast auto-trac system, under normal conditions this is best left in the ground position, although the manual states to “pump” the coil up and down to set the tracking, its so fast that two or three swings over a clean piece of ground will soon have it setup, you’ll hear the machine settle down as you swing, even if you forget the ground balance procedure before you start, the machine will find the optimum setting before you’ve gone a couple of yards.
In highly mineralised ground or ground that contains a lot of iron debris, I found it best to “lock” the tracking, this prevents small deep targets being tracked out under these conditions, it will also quieten the machine down as the tracking is not continually “hunting” for the optimum setting with iron under the coil, afraid I can’t comment on the salt setting as I’ve never tried the MXT on the beach. Threshold
For the newcomer this is best set so the hum is just audible, and adjust the gain while detecting so the threshold is reasonably stable, after getting used to the machine you can try the trick mentioned above, turning the threshold to about the 9oclock position so its set just below sound, then turn up the gain to get top performance out of the machine, high gain settings will generate some background noise but I found the increase in performance outweighed having to put up with some slight noise, setting the threshold just below sound is just like using silent search on the DFX, doing this hides a lot of the noise generated by using high gain levels below the threshold, without losing any performance, there’ll always be a trade off for running a machine on very low discrim settings coupled with high gain, but when testing this machine on my sites it was one of the few that actually performed better when set to run “hot”.
Meter
I found it best to treat all meters as mainly just a gimmick, ok their handy for giving battery voltage, and i use mine to suss out coke when its a big problem on a site, it will accurately give a 0 reading on most coke, this is mainly because the vast majority of coke is near the surface and the meter can id it correctly, if you get an iffy signal in your headphones its no good looking at the meter for help, as the meter uses the same signal as the audio, an iffy signal in the phones will give an erratic reading on the meter, i mentioned earlier my way of dealing with iffy signals.
You may hear people who use multi-tone id say that you should pass different metals over the coil to get used to the tone they give off, this is all well and fine, but when those same objects are buried in mineralised soil, probably with iron close by the tone they give may well be completely different, or even several tones together (duelling banjo's lol), also the depth of a target can change the tone it gives, thankfully the MXT has only two tones, ferrous and nonferrous surely that’s all we need to know, i certainly don't want to know what type of nonferrous metal it is when getting a high tone, digging it out not knowing is half the fun.
The labels on the MXT i.e.: button, buckle, bullet etc. are more for the American market, and a bit of a joke in my opinion, so if you must use the meter use the vdi numbers, and only when you get a good clean high tone, as that’s when they are most accurate.
Tips
Coke
Coke can be a big problem on some of our sites, but using the meter you can eliminate most of it, I would never be tempted to discriminate coke completely out, as this could eliminate some tiny coins, if I’m on a site with a coke problem I check every high tone on the meter, a loud high tone with a meter reading of 0 and showing foil will be coke, a faint or iffy high tone that gives a two way signal and a reading of 0 should be dug, some will be small pieces of coke but others have turned out to be fairly deep cut hammered, using this method you can eliminate around 90% of the coke and lose very few finds. Iron stone (hot rock)
Iron stone or hot rocks as the Americans call them can be a big problem for some machines, not so the MXT, they give a double bouncing signal nothing like a good target signal, also the meter after a slight delay will show hot rock, if in doubt they can be checked in pinpoint mode, the signal will null when the coil is centred over the hot rock. Iron
The whites machines in my mind have discrimination second to none, but like most machines will give a good signal on certain shaped iron and any iron object with a hole in it i.e.: steel washers, iron rings, horseshoes etc., although these give a low tone its usually accompanied by a good high tone as well, you can suss out most of the large iron by switching to pinpoint mode, large iron gives a very wide signal even if buried deep, got to be careful though, a hoard in an iron pot would also give a wide signal lol, personally I dig these signals and have found some interesting iron artefacts by doing so, better to be safe than sorry.
Coils
The three coils I’ve decided to keep for my MXT are the 5.3 eclipse, the 10 X 5 elliptical, and the 14 X 8 elliptical.
The 14 incher has replaced the 9.5 stock coil on my machine, covers a lot of ground with no loss of sensitivity to small finds, only gets defeated when the iron gets heavy, the only drawbacks I’ve found with this coil so far are it doesn’t like to get within thirty yards of anything electrical, and it’s a tad on the heavy side, mind you I personally have got used to the weight now, and have got through a few six hour sessions with no problems, even though I’m not built like a brick outhouse lol, I’ve found this coil very stable even on max gain, and I reckon its added a good three inches at least to the depth of the MXT, you do get more low tones with this coil as it can sense more of the deeper iron, also more high tone “chirps” as the coil approaches the edge of iron, luckily these chirps are only one way and can be safely left, I reckon this coil is a must for the MXT/DFX.The 10 X 5 elliptical is the choice if the iron gets heavy, its narrow footprint limiting the amount of iron under the coil at one time, therefore target masking isn’t a big problem, again being a DD coil its not affected by bad ground like a concentric coil can be, another must have coil in my opinion, its always returned a higher finds rate on my sites than the 9.5 stock coil.Finally the little 5.3 concentric coil, I love using this coil on stiff stubble, being a round solid coil its fairly easy to brush through the stubble, although a bit more weight would help, good depth too for a small coil, also use it to check heavy iron patches that I’ve been over with my other coils, surprising what it can pull out if used slowly.
There is also a small DD shooter coil, haven’t found the need to purchase one, but did try one for a couple of hours a few months ago, personally I couldn’t see any advantage over the 5.3 coil.
Detecting Sites & Hotspots
Every half decent field where we hope to find those ancient coins/artefacts will have a few “hotspots”, these usually consist of patches of soil large and small containing man made iron debris, a variety of stages of decomposition will be found, from tiny particles to large chunks, these “hotspots" believe it or not are the detectorists best friend, they show clearly where most activity has taken place on a particular field possibly over many hundreds of years.
Now these “hotspots" may well be the detectorists best friend but their certainly not the detectors friend, many detectors are rendered useless by these patches of iron, the MXT takes them in its stride, especially with the correct coil fitted and settings to suite the conditions.
Over the years I’ve seen detectorists avoid these hotspots like the plague when their machines have become erratic and unusable, or the user can’t put up with a bit of chatter from their machine, the trouble is by avoiding such places their missing out on the very spots that hold the vast majority of finds on farmland.
When I had more time to spend detecting a few years ago, I used to do what I call a union jack search of a new site, this entailed putting a large coil on my machine and searching the field fairly quickly from corner to corner then side to side etc, marking down on a home made map of the field where the hotspots were, for use on subsequent visits.
Nowadays I start with the 9.5 stock coil (now replaced with the 14 inch DD), as I find a hotspot I detect it very slowly to get the easier targets, then mark the spot on the map for future reference, I’d normally do the whole field in this way, returning in the future armed with smaller coils to check out the really heavy iron laden patches that the large coil couldn’t cope with, and to winkle out the tiny coins etc that the iron masked from the larger coil, this exercise is repeated each year as the plough stirs up the iron and finds.
Technique
There’s only one way to go here, sloooow and slower still, I always swing the coil straight across the front, covering about a three foot width rather than in an wide semi circle, this way I find I can cover every inch of ground, cos if you miss a small piece of ground, you can bet it will hold a find of a lifetime lol, just covering a three foot search path also ensures the coil doesn’t lift at the end of the swing, and the obvious one, keep the coil as near to the ground as conditions allow, on grass and growing cereal crops etc you can scrub the ground for maximum depth.
My personal settings
Mode: Relic
Trac: Set to ground position ( balanced on clean ground and locked if working a heavy iron site)
Dual Control (Disc): 1.9 (Varies from one machine to another, just high enough to eliminate a 3” nail)
Gain +3
Trigger: Centre Position (2 tone id)
Threshold: Just below the point of sound (around the 9 o’clock position on my machine)
Good hunting.
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Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Finding those elusive hammered coins with the MXT
by Roger
So you’ve got permission to search a farm with your metal detector, your mind pictures all those ancient hammered coins just waiting to be found, you set out full of hope and expectation, only to end the day tired and disappointed, with a pouch full of coppers and non-ferrous junk, can’t be anything on that field you think, I’ll try another one next visit.
Yes that describes me perfectly 30 years ago, but things change, your experience grows, and after a year or two you think more about the methods you use, and the machines that better suite the mineralization and iron content of the sites you hunt.
Any metal detector will find coins etc, some are far better suited to some conditions than others, the frequency, recovery speed, sensitivity, discrimination etc, play a big part on whether you consistently find these elusive coins, or just find the odd one or two now and again.
An example of this is shown in an article published in TH magazine several months ago, where a dealer took out a very expensive machine to try on a badly iron contaminated site and found very little, next time he took the cheapest Tesoro he had in stock and found plenty, you would have thought it would have been the other way around, I took an interest in this article, because its exactly what I’d found when testing machines myself, so don’t think you’ll find more if you spend more, people who think like that are best left with their heads in the clouds, an expensive machine won’t make up for a bad technique, the fact is the mid range machines are the best value buy's, they usually have the same circuitry as their expensive relations, but not as many bells and whistles, which tend to be mainly gimmicks anyway, with the money you save you can get some accessory coils, to enhance the versatility of your detector.
Right, where are we going to find these hammered coins then, well I’d say just about anywhere on farmland, due to the casual losses by farm workers many years ago.
I cannot remember a site over the 39 years I’ve been detecting, that hasn’t produced at least a few hammered coins, and one of my sites that I call “Silver Field” has produced an amazing amount of hammered over the years.
So where do we start on this new farm, don’t be tempted to flit from one field to another, pick one and draw a rough plan of the layout, then slap on the biggest coil you’ve got for your detector and do a union jack search of the field.
This entails going from corner to corner, side to side etc, you can move pretty quick when doing this, as all we’re looking for is where the iron is, or hotspots as they are known to many, make sure your sensitivity is turned up fairly high, so when the head is over iron the machine spits and cracks, you can use all metal to suss out the iron but I prefer to do it in discrim mode, make a note of where the patches of iron are on your plan of the field, as this is where the hammered and other goodies are waiting to be found, I know its hard to ignore positive signals when doing a reccy like this, but if you stop to dig every signal while sussing out the iron patches you’ll never get the job in hand done.
If you used a large coil to find the iron, now’s the time to switch to a more suitable coil, over the last year or so, first using the DFX and then the MXT, personally I start by using the 14 inch DD on my MXT, going over the iron patches very carefully, this is important as a tiny coin like a cut hammered quarter can sometimes only gives a blip of a signal when on edge which can very easily be missed, and usually is if your not concentrating and moving slowly, surprising what the 14 incher can pull out even with a fair amount of iron in the soil, after going over the area with the big coil getting the easier targets its time to change to a smaller coil, I found the 10x5 DD coil to be a top class coil for this type of detecting, with its narrow footprint you don’t get to much iron under the coil at one time to cause target masking, also the DD type coils handle mineralised ground better than concentric type, the small 5.3 eclipse is the one to go for if the iron is really heavy, it also gives good depth for a small coil, and obviously very good target seperation.
As far as machines go, any machine will find hammered on the cleaner sites, but from my experience machines that transmit on frequencies between 10 KHz and 20 KHz are the best at finding hammered coins consistently on contaminated sites.
With the DFX capable of transmitting on a single 15 KHz frequency and the MXT on 14 KHz, both these machines fall into this category, and have so far proved deadly at picking tiny hammered coins from amongst the iron debris that litters most good sites in the uk, a couple of other machines worth a mention are the XP Goldmaxx, and Tesoro Tejon, all these machines have a lightning fast recovery speed which is vital when working amongst iron, some machines are just to slow for this type of hunting, and will only get the odd hammered that’s not to close to the iron.
The other important thing a machine must be capable of is finding the tiniest items, all the machines I use at the moment have found me Roman minims, the smallest coins ever made as far as I know, the last one I found a few weeks ago with my MXT had me on my knee’s trying to find it in the soil, a hammered coin on edge in the ground is a very small target, and cut halves and quarters even smaller, and a lot of machines just don’t see them when their in that position, with the right machine and coil to suit the amount of iron contamination, its amazing what you can pull out if you work very slowly and patiently.
A trick to make a machine more sensitive to smaller finds is to set the ground balance slightly positive, on manual ground balance machines this means the threshold rising slightly as the coil is lowered to the ground, on the whites XLT and DFX this means setting the Trac offset to at least +1, unfortunately on factory set ground balance machines and a few other auto-balance machines this is not adjustable, also with the XLT and DFX turn modulation off, to increase the audio on deep faint signals, when I say deep, 4 to 6 inches amongst heavy iron is a very good depth indeed on hammered, although you can’t manually set the trac positive on the MXT, the way it plucks the small stuff from the iron, suggests it may be factory set slightly positive, and it certainly has a very quick recovery speed, nothing between the DFX and MXT as hammy hunters in my opinion.
The one thing that stands out about these machines is, their not renowned for extreme depth capabilities, which is a lesson in itself, forget depth when looking for hammered amongst iron debris, the majority of coins are in the top 6 to 8 inches anyway, that is a fact as all experienced detectorists know, digging deep holes slows you down, which reduces your finds rate. And any deep ones will be nearer the surface the following year anyway, after the turn of the plough, best to concentrate on getting every thing out of the top 8 inches, than worrying about the odd deep find that may or may not be there.
Now we are set up and ready to go, sloooow is the word from now on, I usually move forward about a third of the coil width at a time, which believe me is slow, keep the coil very close to and level with the ground, and don’t try and swing to wide as this will cause the coil to lift at the end of each sweep, as we’re working on iron contaminated ground any iffy two way signals need to be checked out carefully, if working on ploughed land scraping a couple of inches off the surface with your foot and rechecking the signal usually does the trick, on firmer ground checking the signal from different angles can usually sort things out, another trick is to check an iffy signal in all metal, if its a faint and narrow response dig it, if wide and loud leave it, as its pretty sure to be deep iron, but if your ever in doubt always dig the target, I’ve found coins below fairly large pieces of iron by digging signals I’m not sure about, my finds increased when relying on my ears rather than meter readings to decide whether to dig or not.
Don’t forget when you’ve done an area say from north to south, to go back over it from east to west, its amazing what you find doing this, most coins found on the second sweep of an area at a different angle, are usually at an acute angle in the soil, showing more surface area to the coil on the second sweep, all this takes a lot of patience and willpower, but will show far more returns than someone who speeds around a site swinging the coil like a maniac, these people stand out at the end of the day when comparing finds, the smallest find they have to show is a plough shear, complete with plough lol.
If the finds are slow to come, don’t be tempted to try elsewhere, stick with it, keep concentrating and moving slowly, Its no coincidence that the best days are when you get a decent find early in the day, it makes you concentrate even more, and the finds usually start to flow nicely for the rest of the day, if you lose concentration or interest you may as well pack up and go home.
Well that’s the method that works for me, I’ve lost count of how many hammered I’ve found over the years since I started detecting, but if I’d kept them all, it would have been a hell of a collection by now.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Depth and the MXT
by Roger
Although I wouldn't recommend comparing different machines using "in air" depth tests, comparing different coils on the same machine would in my opinion give a very good comparison of the depth capabilities of each coil.Looking at the above figures its pretty obvious to me the MXT performs better "in ground" than "in air", this is based on depths of finds out in the field, for instance the MXT fitted with the 14 incher found a hammered penny on rough plough at 11" with a good strong signal, but would only get it at 10" in air.
The figures also show what a cracking little coil the 5.3 is, matching the 10" X 5" DD on three of the targets even though its only about half the size of that coil.
In my write up about the 14 incher I reckoned it had a 2" to 3" gain in depth over the 9.5 stock coil, seems the bigger the target the bigger the gain.
These tests were done after the machine was ground balanced and then the tracking "locked", the gain was set to max (+3), discrim at 1.9, in fact it was set up exactly as I use it in the field, all measurements were taken while still getting a good two way signal using headphones.
Obviously this test is only a rough guide to compare the coils capabilities, and certainly not set in concrete,it obviously doesn't take into account mineralised soil, or the presence of iron, if someone else tried this test they would probably come up with a different set of figures, there are so many variables when doing these tests, like the amount of interference, type of headphones used, where the cut off point for a good signal is etc etc, but it does give a reasonable idea of performance for each coil.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Some Q & A's
My signal has disappeared when I dig!Check the following:
- Make sure that you havent excavated the find and placed it over a large piece of buried iron which is cancelling out the signal
- Check it hasnt fallen back into the hole you have excavated
- Check its not stuck to your shovel
What should I do if the landowner insists that finds should not be reported?
You have a difficulty. The landowner is within his rights - unless the finds are treasure, in which case you have no choice. However, our advice would be not to detect at all on land belonging to someone who wishes to withhold information about finds. If you are not in a position to report finds it is best not to seek them.
Why are recording and reporting important?
Even objects apparently loose in ploughsoil have an historic setting. Some items will be genuine losses and could appear anywhere, but many will come from archaeological sites (e.g. settlements, cemeteries, buildings) where the remains may survive under the ploughsoil or nearby. The plotting of finds can produce patterns which are of historical significance including pottery scatters etc.. The reporting of even a single find can add to existing knowledge. If you suspect that an object is undisturbed in its original context (for example. in a container, or below the ploughsoil) leave it where it is and call for help from your local archaeology unit.
Non-Metal Finds
A broken piece of plain pottery can be just as interesting and important as a brooch in excellent condition. If you are out detecting, surface scatters of non-metallic materials such as pottery, flints and bulding materials should be reported, even when detector results are negative.
Can Archaeologists seize finds ?
No! Museums and archaeological bodies do not have the power to confiscate finds.
Human remains
Human remains and disused burial grounds are also protected by law. A licence from the Home Office is required before disturbing any human remains where their presence is known or suspected. If you disturb or discover human remains accidentally then you must inform the Coroner as well as the County Archaeological Service.
A lot of detectorists are going to come across cemeteries in the course of their activities - you must bear in mind that it is an offence to exhume any human remains without first obtaining the necessary lawful permissions - see the following:
http://www.lincsheritage.org/lincs/radio/remains.html http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/section.asp?pageType=1&docId=28081 (scroll down).
Weapons
If you dig up a firearm you must immediately hand it in to the police
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Getting permission
If you wish to metal-detect on land which is not your own, you must get permission from the landowner, regardless of the the status or perceived status of the land, before you do so. This includes land that is publicly accessible such as beaches, parks, commons and footpaths.
A number of local authorities have specific policies restricting the use of metal-detectors on their land. You are therefore advised to contact the County Council and relevant District Councils to seek permission before detecting on any Council owned land
If you metal-detect on land without consent, you may be charged with a criminal offence and you could be sued for damages.
Knocking on doors brings more results than letters, but many people like to follow this form of introduction, then follow it up with a personal visit or phone call.
Some tips :
- Eye to eye is the best contact method.
- Take along a few samples and offer to make up a personal box for him.
- Explain to him that all you find he owns but a 50/50 arrangement is the norm.
- Try to show him what you have found every trip - most like that sort of contact.
Typical permission request forms and letters
Click the links below for typical permission request forms and letters (you will need to amend to suit yourself)
Example 1
Example 2
Who owns the land?
In most cases its easy to find out who owns the land - but there may be occasions when you just can't find out.
Most but not all land is registered with the land registry. To acquire this information requires filling in a form and applying at a cost of £4 per individual application.
http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/assets/library/documents/lrpg051.pdf
(Will give you the Land Registry office dealing with specific areas of the UK.)
General information on www.landregisteronline.gov.uk or www.landregistry.gov.uk
Land is sometime not owned by the farmers and is leased to them, hence the information you acquire may not directly relate to the occupier of the land you are interested in searching. This can also involve getting multiple permissions to search some properties.
Agreement with landowners
To avoid disputes you are advised to enter into a written agreement with the landowner regarding the possible ownership of any finds subsequently discovered, before detecting on his/her land.
Click here for a typical agreement form
Beach detecting
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/metal_detecting
Just over half of the UK's coast is owned by the Crown and the other half is in private ownership. Technically you have rights of access to the beach, but not to search. Anyone wishing to go metal detecting on Crown Estate foreshore will require a permit .
The standard permit will be valid for twelve months and for this they charge an administrative fee of £20.00 (inclusive of VAT).
The Crown Estate own everything between mean high and mean low tide. Above high water will be in private ownership. They also lease the coast line to third parties and can advise who currently has the rights.
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Digging
When you have located a target and then pinpointed it with the search coil, the last thing you want to do is damage the find by digging and hitting it with your spade or trowel.
Its best to start digging about 6 inches away from the target and dig towards the spot of maximum signal strength.
Some detectorists use electronic probes - these are hand held detectors which are useful when searching - they enable you to locate a find within a hole without unnecessary digging.
For grassland its worth investing in a sharp knife to remove a plug of soil around a signal (but be aware of the law concerning offensive weapons!)
If your signal disappears when you dig, check that the find has not slipped back into the hole - or that it is not stuck on the back of your spade. Anomalous signals can be caused by pieces of coke or loose cabling on your detector.
You should always fill the holes in afterwards - many landowners make this a condition when giving permission to detectorists to search their land. Unfilled holes can be dangerous to livestock - always make a point of leaving the site in the condition you found it.
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What is the Portable Antiquities Scheme?
Until now many important metal detecting finds have gone unrecorded as those lucky enough to unearth such treasures have often not declared them for fear they will be taken away from them. The worrying result of this was that a huge amount of information was lost as objects fundamental to recording the history of the local area remained unavailable for academic use.
Metal detectorists have recovered a huge amount of new material for archaeological research, and metal detectors have been responsible for assisting some major advances in archaeological knowledge. Progress would be even greater if more finds were reported, and the information derived from them was made more readily available.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme (often called PAS) is an entirely voluntary scheme for recording archaeological objects found by metal detectorists as well as members of the public on a national database. The Scheme was set up to promote the recording of detector and chance finds and to broaden public awareness of the importance of such objects for understanding our past.
(The scheme covers the whole of England and Wales - Scotland has different heritage/treasure laws and in Northern Ireland a licence is now required even to search for archaeological objects.)
The aims of the scheme include strengthening the links between metal detector users and archaeologists and also to encourage all those who find archaeological objects to make them available for recording.
The heart of the Scheme is its network of Finds Liaison Officers, who have a role in publishing the Scheme, recording reported finds, giving advice on finds recording, conservation and the Treasure Act, giving talks and lectures and encouraging liaison between members of the public, metal detector users, archaeologists and museums.
They may also wish to photograph or draw your finds.
They would like to know about everything that you have found - not just metal objects - however trivial the finds might seem.
They record all objects made before about 1650 and may be selective in recording finds of later objects. It is often best to let the Finds Liaison Officer see all your finds, especially if you are unsure what they are: for example, a nondescript lump of copper-alloy may turn out to be a fragment of an archaeologically important Bronze Age ingot.
They would like to record details of the objects that you have found, including a description, weight and measurements. They would also hope to record where and how they were found, including how the land is used; for example a ploughed field or in a garden.
Normally the Finds Liaison Officers prefer to borrow the finds for a time, so they can research and record them properly. You will be issued with a receipt whilst they are in their care. Finders contributing to the Scheme will be fully acknowledged.
Although the scheme is entirely voluntary, you must report finds which are Treasure, or which you believe may be Treasure. If your find counts as Treasure under the Treasure Act (1996) a museum will have the option to acquire it.
If a museum does wish to acquire treasure that you have found you can expect to receive its full market value, provided you had permission from the landowner to search on the land where it was found and abided by the Code of Practice on the Treasure Act.
If you have any other questions about them, then have a look here: http://www.finds.org.uk/involved/faqs.php
YOUR FINDS WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU
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National Council For Metal Detecting & the FID
The National Council For Metal Detecting
is the hobby organisation recognised and consulted by national and local government as The Voice of Responsible Metal Detecting. It consists of a countrywide network of metal detecting clubs, grouped into regional bodies, with local officers and committees elected to protect, promote and encourage the well being of clubs and their individual members. In addition, the regional bodies arrange exhibitions, rallies and other social events, provide advice and information, and elect knowledgeable and enthusiastic delegates from their number to represent local interests at the table of the influential National Council Executive Committee.
Associate Membership is a facility provided by the NCMD, which allows individual detector users, who are unable or unwilling to join local metal detecting clubs, to benefit from becoming part of the NCMD organisation.
Benefits include representation at Council meetings by experienced people with the good of the hobby at the forefront of their considerations, free Civil Liability insurance cover for £5 million with no excesses payable on claims, NCMD membership cards, regular postal newsletters, and official copies of audited accounts so that you can see where your money is being spent.
The cost ? A commitment to the aims and objectives of the NCMD, an agreement to keep to the agreed Code of Practice, an affirmation that you are free from conviction for any offence connected with metal detecting activities, and £5 per NCMD year (1st April - 31st March). There are no signing-on fees and no special terms.
There is also a facility for whole clubs to enjoy membership of the NCMD via its Central Register.
For application forms and further information please contact: Trevor Austin, General Secretary, 51 Hilltop Gardens, Denaby, Doncaster. DN12 4SA
Tel: 01709 868521
website address - http://www.ncmd.co.uk/index.htm
forum address - National Council for Metal Detecting forum
The Federation of Independent Detectorists
Quarterly postal bulletins, keeping you up to date with all the news, your own personal identity card with your photo on it, if you live in the United Kingdom you also have free public liability insurance for £2,000,000
FID will accept any responsible detectorist (whether beginner or experienced) as a member, there is no waiting list, and they will answer snail mail by return of post. The joining fee is £5, plus an annual membership fee of £3.00, There is a discount for senior citizens and the unwaged of £2, simply send a photocopy of your pension or benefit book with your application.
Just send your completed application form and self addressed envelope to : Colin Hanson, Detector Lodge, 44 Heol Dulais, Birchgrove, Swansea, West Glamorgan, SA7 9LT
http://fid.newbury.net/html/fid.htm
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MD Code of Practice
In May 2006 a Code of Practice on Responsible Metal Detecting in England and Wales was launched. This new code has been agreed by all key archaeological bodies and metal detecting and landowners’ organisations.
This is the first time that these bodies have joined together to precisely define responsible metal detecting and provides a clear and unambiguous definition of what constitutes good practice
Code of Practice on Responsible Metal Detecting (pdf file)
link to online article here
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Preservation and conservation of your finds
Many detectorists lack the specialist resources to conserve/preserve their finds, and may unintentionally treat them in ways that harm them.
One of the most frequent questions detectorists ask is how to care for their finds. Many of these objects may eventually be donated to museums. But inappropriate "kitchen table" treatments and storage may jeopardise their long-term survival or remove important associated material, such as mineral preserved organics. How should we tackle these issues?
The online PAS webpages on conservation can be found here.
Protecting your finds
PAS have also designed basic 'preservation kits' or "Dry box kits" containing special packaging and storage materials you might need which can be bought (i.e. air-tight box, silica gel, finds bags, humidity indicating strips etc).
For details click here
For a list of suppliers for individual items click here.
Conservation Register - you can feed in what you want conserving and where you are and it will give you a list of possibles
UKICAS would recommend the use of silica gel as a desiccant for the long-term storage of metal objects. Health and safety guidelines must be followed. The only disadvantage being that the gel will have to be regenerated every 6 to 18 months depending of the levels of moisture in the object and the moisture migration rates of the container.
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Phil Dunnings tips for researching a site
I got a new site recently, the builder that block paved my drive was a really friendly guy, we got talking and it turned out he lives in the countryside and has loads of contacts. I asked if he could ask around and see if I could detect somewhere, and bingo!
Ideally you should research areas and then go and try to get permission on the juicy ones. Life doesn't always work that way though as in my case.
I thought I would 'research' my new site. I had no idea what to expect. What I did was to create a document on my PC with the name of the farm as the title.
I pasted O/S maps, Magic Map, old maps, very old maps, aerial photos, local history and local archaeological finds records into the document and checked to see if the Romans had had a fort or major settlement nearby.
The O/S map I got from;
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap/ , the map showed footpaths across the fields, one leading to a church built in 1840 and the other leading to a nearby village.
The Magic Maps I got from;
http://www.magic.gov.uk/website/magic/ , the beauty of this site is you can customise the map to your own spec, it can if you want show all the no go areas such at SSI's, scheduled monuments, heritage sites, forestry commission etc.
It's a great website, you can zoom and zoom down to 1/1 if you like, and narrow a findspot location down to 10 figs (1 metre). There weren't any no go areas on the site, so I know I am not breaking the rules.
The old maps (1854) and aerial photo's I got from:
http://www.old-maps.co.uk/ , these maps are in great detail and can be downloaded in 4 mb bmp format. Amazing!
In one of the fields the aerial photo (my geo-phys) showed there had been a building there at one time. An another field showed evidence of enclosures and in another a disused pit.
The very old maps I got from;
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/badeslade/ Counties,
cross roads & roads from London, as at 1741.
http://www.yourmapsonline.org.uk/
Counties and city street maps.
http://www.livgenmi.com/gardinertitle.htm
England, Europe & World maps and battle maps.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/
Thousands of maps of all types and ages.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~genmaps/ Hundreds of maps of all ages.
One map showed existence of the village in the year 1650.
The local archaeological finds records I got from;
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/search/index.cfm
http://www.pastscape.org/homepage/textpage.asp
http://www.digital-documents.co.uk/archi/archi_xtra.htm (membership needed for full details)
They revealed the discovery of a nearby Roman Beehive Quern and probable other iron age settlement.
The Roman history I got from;
http://www.roman-britain.org/
Unfortunately it showed no history of major Roman settlement or forts in the area. But a superb website never the less, ideal for learning about roman occupation!
For all detecting issues including research, this site is invaluable: http://ourpasthistory.com/
I surfed the internet using Google, re the village name and the word 'history' and found websites by local historians that revealed that in nearby villages two Iron Age settlements and some bronze axes were unearthed during the late 19th century, giving proof of the presence of early settlers. These people found food and other requirements in their immediate surroundings in order to survive.
Also the above church was pre dated by a wooden church built in 1050 with a preaching cross in the church yard probably dating back to the 7th century.
It stated that monks were very industrious in the area, producing supplies for a nearby monastery and their own needs and that gradually small businesses developed and by the mid 16th century each area had its own mill, blacksmiths, stonemasons, clog makers, tailors and seamstresses, joiners, carpenters, wheelwrights, besom makers and many small cottage industries, e.g. spinning and weaving.
So this isn't just a piece of land anymore, when I detect there I will have this picture in my mind of the iron age settlers, the Roman's and their quern, the monks and the community of the 16th century all beavering away, I'll be treading the very ground they trod.
I am very optimistic and even more enthusiastic now, it is not just a field anymore, it's a field of dreams, where so many different communities lived out their lives.
I will record my finds with PAS so that more gaps in the history can be filled and a fuller picture revealed for posterity.
I also intend to give a copy of all the above information to the farmer in appreciation of him letting me onto his land.
PS useful Websites not visited were http://www.yell.com and http://www.maps.google.com which if you type in the word 'farmer' will list the name, addresses and tel numbers of the farmers in any given area.
Also the Land Registry Online website http://www.landregistryonline.gov.uk gives details of 20 million properties in England and Wales for a small fee.
I hope this whets peoples appetites for researching sites, I found it really enjoyable.
PhilD.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Aids to researching your site or locality
Libraries
Books - These come second in importance to your detector - you will need them to learn how to identify and understand what you find - and also to help you research your intended area of detecting.
Most central libraries will have a good selection of local history and landscape archaeology books - these in turn will give you further sources in their bibliographies for you to follow up on. A number of libraries also hold maps in stock.
Victoria County History Volumes
These volumes which began in 1899 are a mine of information on parish histories. They are not cheap to buy , however your library should hold a copy for your county.
You can read more about them online at http://www.englandpast.net/
British History Online
This is a digital library of text and information about people, places and businesses from the medieval and early modern period which also has a section of online Victoria County History volumes (not all counties) which you can access here http://www.british-history.ac.uk/subject.asp?subjectid=23
Archaeological Journals
These may give locations of sites which if not scheduled may be worthy of attention. Most libraries and record offices hold copies of local journals.
Maps
Maps and plans are a very important source of information about the development of a place, or an area, through time. Enclosure and tithe plans, mostly made during the period c. 1750-1850, often provide the best map of a village or neighbourhood prior to the appearance of large-scale Ordnance Survey plans. Many local record offices also hold copies of such maps.
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How do I find some land to detect on?
There are basically three choices - Rallies, Join a club which has land available exclusively to members , or ask permission yourself at farms etc.
Gardens
Good place to start and to try out your machine! Lots of modern houses have loads of building material and junk. If you have an older house you may make some interesting finds of historical interest
Parks and Commons
A number of local authorities have specific policies restricting the use of metal-detectors on their land. You are advised to contact the County Council and relevant District Councils as whether you will be allowed to detect in your local park ect will depend on the attitude of your local Council towards metal detecting.
Older parks and commons have been used by people over the years for a number of reasons - fairs etc - so there must be a large amount of finds beneath the surface. Good places to search are around very old trees in parks and areas where people will have sat.
Find local council websites throughout the UK, listed alphabetically
Ploughed Fields - only within the depth of ploughing
These are probably the most preferred sites for detectorists for making good finds covering every period of history and are normally easy to dig. The reason for this is that they are being regularly turned over by the farmer which brings new finds to the surface and top soil. Because of this though, many of these finds are damaged by the farm machinery and are also in danger from corrosion from argicultural chemical.
Make sure you know where the farm boundaries are and check with the farmer if you can detect on drilled crops or not. Be aware of field drainage - some fields have buried pipes under the ploughsoil to run water off into ditches.
Pasture
Tricky one this and the subject of some animated discussions between detectorists and archaeologists. For the detectorist the advantages are that you can search these sites almost all year round and finds will probably be in better condition due to lack of ploughing etc.
From the archaeological viewpoint - they would prefer detectorists to avoid undisturbed pasture or other grassland where there are likely to be significant archaeological deposits.
for example: if a field has been ploughed for twelve years, and then set to pasture, it would be seen as a responsible practice to detect on it since the artefacts are unstratified.
Footpaths and Woodland
You don't have a right to search public footpaths - they are rights of way only and you must obtain permission from the landowner.
Apart from lots of modern rubbish you are likely to find coins and items dropped and lost by walkers. The older footpaths (some are hundred's of years old) - those which link villages to local landmarks and churches are worth examining. Its best to search the area of ground to each side as well as the path itself.
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Where can't I detect and dig?
Scheduled Monuments
Some archaeological sites are protected by law - These are called Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs).
These Monuments and areas are of national importance and are protected areas. It is advisable to keep well away from scheduled monuments, not only to stay within the law, but to avoid archaeological remains which may extend beyond the legally protected area. (An exclusion zone around monuments is gradually being introduced) It has been suggested that you stay at least 100 metres from any boundary.
It is an offence to use a metal detector on a Scheduled site without the written agreement of the Secretary of State.
It is a separate offence to remove any archaeological object from a scheduled site by the use of a metal detector. The same restrictions apply to land within zones which have been designated as Areas of Archaeological Importance. (In England these are all areas of historic towns: York, Hereford, Chester, Exeter, Canterbury.)
Always research your permitted site to familiarise yourself with boundaries and scheduled monuments - Find out where Scheduled Monuments are to avoid breaking the law. Please also bear in mind that archaeologists often react guardedly to enquiries about the location of sites, particularly in areas where there is a problem of looting. You may like to consider offering a reference.
A landowner should warn you of the existence and location of Scheduled Ancient Monuments on his/her land - but to be on the safe side, contact English Heritage
English Heritage keep records of scheduled monuments, but you can also find out if a monument is scheduled by consulting the local Historic Environment Record or County Archaeological Service.
Historic Environment Record (HER) - Used to be called the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR)
The information quoted below, comes from "A Survey of GIS Standards for the English Archaeological Record Community" written by Tyler Bell and Andrew Bevan of Oxford ArchDigital. This was a report commissioned by English Heritage and is not totally comprehensive as some HER/UAD did not reply to the survey [76 bodies actually did.]
Page 18 of the report states that:
- 83 % of HERs that responded are not online.
- 5.6% have a searchable online database.
- 5.6% have a searchable online database with a Global Information System attached. (GIS)
- 3.7 % are selective about the data that place online.
- 1.9% have their data available via an ADS data dump.
A lot of these plan to go online in the near future, either by using grants from the HLF or other grant bodies. It is an expensive business.
National Monument Records are also available from English Heritage, RCAHMS, RCAHMW and the Environment and Heritage Agency, Northern Ireland.
In addition ADS also contains a vast listing of records from various sources, including hosting many of the HERs.
To use ADS follow these instructions
Click on this: http://www.magic.gov.uk/website/magic/
click select topic
Click on 'design my own topic and select.
when window opens, select box called scheduled monument then click 'done' in the top right of window.
Click in the circle below called 'place'
Type in the nearest place (village or town) to your field.
click open map
run the cross over to your field and click. This will zoom you in each time you click on the area involved.
If there is a scheduled site there you will see a area highlighted by a red outline and with a beigey coloured infil. Just keep clicking on this and you will see just where it is.
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How deep is plough soil?
It is best practice to detect on ploughed land, where the finds recovered are already removed from their original archaeological context. Recovering objects from below the plough soil can damage archaeological layers and should be avoided.
The differences in plough soil will vary according to the area and soil constitution. Plough soil is usually darker... and looks like topsoil.
You will notice a difference in soil density for a start, the sub soil is very compact. It will differ in colour.
"if in doubt, don't dig it out"
Subsoil will vary...
Sandy soil, will look lighter and sandy'ier
Clay soil, will look lighter and Clay'ier
Stoney soil......... if you get my drift
The action of the plough creates a pan, a hard surface that is difficult to penetrate. It is often at a lower level on land deep ploughed for potatoes.
Sub-soiling with a spike to a depth of approximately two feet on heavy land, helps to break up the solid pan & provide drainage. This sometimes bring to the surface grave goods that would not normally be in the plough soil.
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Beach Detecting
By Stuart Burgess
Why Beach detecting? Well for a start sand is easier to dig than clods of earth, and the take-home pay is better.
The population of these islands have always had a fascination for the sea, many people to this day, aspire to live near the sea and be able to go down to the beach whenever the mood takes them. All the coins and artefacts that you find in the fields are also waiting to be found on the beaches. The coins and artefacts found on beaches are normally in remarkably good condition, considering that they have been submerged in salt water for many years, unlike some inland finds that I have seen, which had been contaminated by the use of chemicals and fertilizers on the fields. As with all detecting sites, you will have to do a bit of research depending on what you are hoping to find. Most beach detectorists, myself included, are happy to walk away at the end of a session with a pocket full of lose change plus a few items of jewellery, which, depending on quality, can be sold on to a pawnbroker. Older losses, although not prolific, are not uncommon finds to the beach hunter. Indeed, there have been many historically important finds made on our beaches.
Once you have decided on what you would like to find, be it modern losses or older artefacts, you need to know where these losses would have occurred, so it is important to know a little bit of the coastal history, the following is a condensed history lesson just to stimulate your appetite. As you all know, we live on an Island and the coastline is our visible and physical boundary, in order to venture past this frontier, we have over the millennia become a maritime nation with a proud history of exploration, other nations, envious of our cultural and economic wealth have attempted to invade and conquer, some successfully, others not so. The defence of our Island was paramount to our ancestors, who put an enormous amount of time, labour and materials into building up the coastal defences that we can still see to this day.
There are many medieval castles dotted around our coastline, as are many older settlements, and fortifications. These sentinel outposts, having been established to defend our shores from invaders, expanded and grew into large villages and towns in just a few decades. These communities not only became reliant on the sea as an additional source of food, but also for trade routes to other communities. The road system at the time was almost none existent, and what roads they did have were very rough tracks at best, and susceptible to attack from roaming bands of robbers. The traders who took to the sea were also at risk from being attacked by pirates, or being driven ashore by storms.
Some of the vessels that came to grief around our coast during the last millennium can still be seen to this day, unfortunately, due to the natural erosion and corrosion of the sea, sand and wind, the remaining visible wrecks will eventually be reduced to mere memory.
The Romans 1st expedition here in 55 BC was a disaster for them as they were beaten back by the local tribes, Julius Caesar launched a 2nd expedition the following year in 54 BC, this was slightly more successful than the first but again they had to withdraw back into Europe. Claudius, learning from the shortcomings of the earlier expeditions gathered a vast flotilla and invaded in 43AD they opened up the country with a marvellous system of roads, the like of which had never been seen before, these roads encouraged the spread of trade and commerce amongst the indigenous tribes, however, the Romans used the roads primarily for troop movements and to get their merchandise to the nearest port. There are many Roman forts around the coast with access to the sea; they circumnavigated the country to determine that it was indeed an Island. I have found no records of how many ships or men, nor where they departed from, but being a voyage of exploration they would have made frequent runs ashore for provisions and fresh water during their voyage, also to check out the most likely sites where they might position an outpost.
They would have sought refuge from the storms in sheltered coves and bays. I am sure the local tribes would have objected to these intruders and attacked them as they came ashore. The Romans would also have collected sand from the beaches adjacent to their settlements, they did invent concrete, and sand is the main ingredient for the manufacture of glass.
The Vikings raided the country frequently, and attempted a full scale invasion during September 1066 with a fleet of 300 ships, King Harold defeated this force at the battle of Stamford Bridge, he then marched his army 250 miles south to face another invader, just 3 weeks after defeating the Vikings he had to face the Normans.
The Vikings on their excursions across the North Sea, favoured the tidal estuaries and sheltered coves where they could sneak in and practise their trade, also to beach their vessels to make repairs. They often left behind them Viking place names, so look for a coastal village with a Nordic name, they are most prolific along the east coast, although they also circumnavigated the country in their quest for plunder.
The 100 Years War 1337-1453 saw many sorties back and fourth across the channel and around the Thames estuary, with many a skirmish on the beaches.
Jump to the 16th century and we have the Spanish under the rule of Philip 2nd who made an attempt to invade with the Armada, but thanks to the endeavours of our own navy, they were routed and their fleet dispersed, the only way home was for them to sail around the north of Scotland, many of their ships came to grief on the rocks and shoals around our coast while trying to make it back to Spain, some of the wrecks have been documented so check out your library.
During our altercations with the French, and the subsequent battles of Trafalgar 1805 and Waterloo June 1815, more commonly referred to as the Napoleonic wars, many of the French prisoners of war were put to work constructing our coastal defence system; there have been many French military buttons, badges, coins, and personal items belonging to the prisoners found adjacent to the defences they worked on, many of the fortifications they built can still be seen to this day.
There are artefacts from the Romans, Vikings, Normans, Spanish and French , 1st and 2nd world wars, plus what the early tribes left on the beaches, either by way of casual lose or spiritual offerings to the deity of the sea, not to mention the many modern losses.
I should warn you, before you decide to throw your gear in the car and charge off to the seaside. It is forbidden to detect on MOD property, there are many military firing and mining ranges around the coast, and some are still in use to this day, they will be well signposted, although some are open for walkers and for bathing, metal detecting is strictly forbidden, you will no doubt find various bits of ordnance on any beach that you search, be it empty cartridge cases, spent bullets or shrapnel, The firing range may still have live artillery shells lying around, although they are periodically cleared away, more are washed ashore during storms, despite their advanced state of corrosion they are still capable of exploding. It is important that they should not be tampered with, should you find anything that looks suspicious, you should clearly mark the area and notify the police, who will in turn, contact bomb disposal.
Having found your beach, the next step is to visit the beach and get a mental picture of where any vessels would have come ashore, is there a settlement or fort nearby? Where would they have launched their ships? Get to know the beach, the wind and tides have an effect on the amount of sand you will encounter, you don't want to turn up and find that there is an extra three feet of sand covering the beach. Look for the end of the beach that is sheltered from the weather; avoid any rocky outcrops unless you know of a vessel that actually sank on them. You should be looking for a gentle sloping part of the beach that would offer an ideal place for a vessel "to put ashore" next step is to check out the tide tables for that part of the coast and try and plan a visit during the low spring tides. (With over two thousand years of coastal erosion, you want to be out as far as you can get) You will need to arrive an hour or so before low water and follow the tide out as it recedes, this will give you a bit of breathing space for when the tide starts to flood back in, you just nip back up the beach to where you started and work in the opposite direction. (There's nothing worse than digging a signal at the waters edge to have it suddenly swamped under an incoming wave) I should say at this point, I always work parallel to the sea, so as to alleviate the need to keep changing the sensitivity settings to compensate for the saturation level of salt water in the sand.
It is a good idea to get some postcards of the beach if you can, they often show where the visitors congregate and bathe, which is where you need to be for the more modern losses.
Most designated bathing beaches now have lifeguards/beach patrols during the summer months, they usually patrol an area between a pair of flags set out along the beach, bathers are encourage to stay within this area for safety reasons, it is a good place to start your search. A lot has been said about "Black sand", all of which is true, but not all beaches have a sub strata of black sand, some may have hard packed stone as the sub strata, while others may have black, grey, yellow or orange clay and some will have a solid rock shelf It is always prudent to look for areas where the top covering of sand has been temporarily eroded away; I once found a Bronze Age spearhead that would have normally been covered with over a meter of sand, this is currently on display in Aberystwyth museum.
Should you just want to do a bit of coin shooting on the dry sand, (I know some detectors don't like wet sand) look for the most likely places that visitors will flock to, again, check out the postcards. It has to be in direct sunlight, nobody sunbathes in the shadows, so under a cliff is out, so are any areas shaded from the sun by either buildings, breakwaters, trees, or harbour walls.
Large rocks, boulders and groynes are good places to search, sunbathers use these as wind breaks and clothes hangers, look to see which way the ebb tide runs along the beach, items will be swept along in this direction and come to rest against any obstructions such as groynes or rocks, also look for patches of small stones and shells that have come together and been left by the tidal action, invariably you will find a like sized coin or ring has come to rest in the same area. Look for anything unusual on the beach, where a stream meets the sea, look to see how it has eroded its way down to the sea, it will give a good hint of what the sub-strata is like beneath the sand, look for the remains of stakes and piles that may indicate a landing stage or dock, a stone and shingle bank that juts out at right angles to the beach, all are good indications that the area may have been used for the loading and unloading of cargo. When up on the dry sand, look for the remains of beach parties, barbeques, sandcastles, where the ice cream van parked, where the Donkey rides are, hot dog stands, anywhere people would have reached into their pockets for money, they are all good indications of where you will find the spoils, again in the sand dunes, look for where the picnics have taken place, also where the courting couples have been romping around in gay abandonment.
Check out under the pier if there is one, most were built by the Victorians and some very nice finds can be made under them, one word of warning, beware of fishing hooks, broken glass and junkies needles, I have been finding more and more of these items recently so don't dig in the sand with your bare hands.
Talk to the beach attendants, bait diggers and fishermen that you meet on the beach, they often have some interesting local information regarding the beach, like what wind direction will stir up the sea and sand to expose the lower levels, or an interesting story to tell about their Grandfather who witnessed a shipwreck as a boy, and the bait diggers might tell you where they have seen broken pottery.
I personally think that the smaller the beach, the better the find rate. But having said that, a really big beach that stretches for miles along a popular coastline can be very profitably as well, a few years ago I searched the beach from Southbourne in Dorset, past Boscombe and Bournemouth to Sandbanks at the entrance to Poole harbour, (a distance of seven miles) I picked up the princely sum of £118:67 plus a mobile phone that had £22 credit on the SIM card, assorted items of jewellery, and enough die cast model toys to open a shop. I don't do that very often, I was periodically plagued by hoards of children all taking the micky, and it was a long walk back to the car with a very heavy finds pouch and pockets stuffed to capacity, all in danger of splitting at the seams.
I tend to favour the small beach because the finds are more concentrated, I can arrive at first light and get most of the beach searched before the first visitors arrive. I normally start on the dry sand before any sunbathers spread their towels out, then work my way down to the sea, unless it's a low spring tide, then I start at the waters edge and follow the tide out. Its always a difficult choice to make, wet sand or dry, I always try and keep a mental note of what the beach looks like after a good storm has stripped the sand away, if I think that too much sand has built up on the beach, I content myself by just searching the dry sand, however, after a good storm you will always find me down at the waters edge.
During the height of the summer season, I can expect to take home at least £20 in cash plus some assorted jewellery and other bits and bobs. On the other hand, if I have the misfortune to pick a beach that has been searched the day before by another detectorist, I end up with diddlysquat. That happened quite frequently during the foot and mouth outbreak when there was a ban on detecting over most of the countryside. Fortunately most of the detectorist who migrated to the beaches during the ban have now returned to their farmland again.
I often get asked if I can help find someone's car keys or other such items they have lost on the beach, I normally oblige and have a quick search of the general area that they think the items may be in, I don't ask for a reward, but neither do I refuse one should it be offered, we all have to cover our running costs.
I am probably more fortunate than most, as I live within a two hour drive of 42 good beaches here in South West Wales. I am semi retired which means I can "get out" three or four times a week during the summer months.
I shouldn't think that anyone in the country lives more than a three-hour drive from a beach; they make an interesting diversion from digging in dirt and pasture.
One final word of warning, don't get yourself "cut off" by the incoming tide, it is so easy to lose track of time, and on some beaches the tide floods in at a phenomenal rate. Should you opt for a beach where the tide ebbs a great distance from the shore, it would be prudent to take your mobile phone with you, better to be safe than sorry.
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Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
The Thames Foreshore
The Port of London Authority is responsible for safety on 150km (95 miles) of the tidal Thames from the sea to Teddington, including the foreshore area up to the high-water line.
If you were to look out onto the banks of the Thames at low tide, you might well see men and women combing the foreshore, metal detectors in hand, stooping only to pick up finds they’ve uncovered from the murky Thames mud. These are modern mudlarks and they are following a tradition that goes back to Victorian times.
The Society of Thames Mudlarks was founded in 1980 - you’ll find no website, phone number or postal address listed for this club. Not just anyone can go onto the mud of the Thames and search for finds and the Society does so by special licence. The members have to declare anything historically interesting to the Museum of London. The museum now has around 1000 of their finds, including miniature cannons of copper and pewter – the oxygen-starved mud of the Thames bed may not be good for wildlife, but it’s great for stopping the metal tarnishing and decaying.
However you don't have to be a member of the mudlarks society to obtain permission to search.
Dates and permits structure
- Permits will be issued from 1st April 2005 for one year only.
- Permits will have two parts - an ID/permit card and a "conditions" card
Permit types and use
There are be two types of permit:
- A standard permit (of which there is also a One Day permit available). This allows you to dig to 3 inches (7.5cm) down and has restrictions on location
- Mudlarks digging permit (you need to be a current member of the Society of Mudlarks). This allows you to dig up to 3 feet (1 metre) down and has less restriction on digging location.
Permit Costs
The costs of permits are as follows:
- Standard £35.00
- Mudlark £40.00
- Day permit £7.50
Reporting and recording regime
All objects of archaeological or historical interest must be taken to the Museum of London for identification and recording , along with details of the locations and circumstances of discovery
The museum will return the objects to the finder with a copy of the identification and PAS record
This information needs to be passed onto Port of London Authority (i.e. the PAS record) at the time of the expiry of the holders permit.
The PLA and The Crown Estate reserve their rights in relation to the ownership of objects found.
If an object is believed to be treasure the Holder must notify the find to the Coroner within 14 days
Digging Restrictions
The areas that are restricted can be viewed in this NCMD document
http://www.ncmd.co.uk/docs/pla%20permit.pdf
Notes:
- Metal detectors : May be used on the foreshore. Whilst these new Permits do not cover the use of metal detectors when searching the foreshore, any digging resulting from such use is always subject to the requirements of this regime.
- Renewals : Application for renewal of Permits should be made at least one month before its expiry to the PLA.
- Safety : Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published guidance on safety in excavations. It is recommended that Mudlark Permit Holders obtain copies of the relevant information for their safety.
Contact and for further Information:
The Port of London Authority
Marine Administrative Support (Foreshore Permits)
London River House
Royal Pier Road
Gravesend
Kent
DA12 2BG
- Tel 01474 562284
- Fax 01474 562277
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Rallies
Rallies allow the less experienced to detect alongside more experienced detectorists - who are normally only too willing to help.
Some of these are day events - and some are held over weekends and there is a cost for attending. Rallies are often money raising ventures for charities - thousands of pounds has been raised over the years for worthy causes. The size of rallies varies greatly - some can be quite small affairs with 20-30 people with the larger ones being attended by hundreds of detectorists.
When you arrive most rally organisers will give you a print off of the field map showing where you are allowed to dig - mark each of your find spots on these for your records.
There is often a Finds Tray/cabinet with the organisers - it is good to display your finds in this (you are given a receipt for them) so that others can see what is being found on the day.
Finds Liaison Officers and Rallies
Lots of rallies nowadays have a FLO in attendance - they can help you identify your finds there and then in most cases - but will want to take details of which field they were found in - and most will have a digital camera with them to photograph the finds.
We should remember that the Portable Antqiuities Scheme is voluntary and often going to a rally for the FLO the priority may not just be on recording, but to meet people, hand out leaflets and chat through any issues with the hope that when the detectorists go to their next rally they might think about recording, or even record when they get back to their own county FLO.
Rally organisers can make a huge difference in promoting recording. Simple things like a designated table and sign can make the FLO's more visible, which really helps. Its really easy for them to be mistaken for another bod milling about!
It also helps where there is a clear sign from the organiser at a dealers table saying anything found on the day would not be bought unless it had been recorded with the FLO first.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Metal Detecting in Scotland
by Colin (toddy) Irvine
I remember the days well! My brother and I out with our first metal detector. It was a budget detector my mother had bought our father for his birthday. We dreamed of finding hoards of gold coins and treasure chests! That was eighteen years ago and I am still looking! I have redefined my views on treasure as most persevering in this hobby will through time and dedication. Through this hobby I have gone from someone who had no interest in history to someone who constantly reads about our Nations history. I also love just being out in the country or on a beach metal detecting. I also have kids of my own who through my love of metal detecting have gained an interest in this hobby, archaeology and history.
The hobby of metal detecting is world wide. There are countries that do not allow metal detecting at all. We in the United Kingdom are fortunate to be allowed to practice our hobby whether it be the twice a year detectorist or any possible given time detectorist! I fall into the last category.
There are different types of metal detecting like Land, Beach, Underwater and Gold nugget hunting. The two most popular in the UK are Land & Beach detecting
I have made mistakes over the years in this hobby and hopefully by the time you have read this you will be more aware of what types of objects you should expect to find in Scotland.
The hobby has grown more popular since I started and the advent of programs like Time team, Two men in a Trench and Hidden Treasures have put metal detecting in the public eye. It has also shown people that they too can not only read about the past but actually touch it and contribute to our nations heritage.
Over the years I have found objects from Bronze age, Roman, Medieval to modern times. These are the type of finds, if you are dedicated enough or lucky enough, you can expect to unearth in Scotland on land. Let me explain dedicated. To be successful you have to put a lot of work into researching the potential area you would like to search. You can do this by spending a lot of time reading about your potential area. Find out everything you possibly can about it. You can also research on the Internet. My best advice is to join a online Forum There you will find links and advice on what is available to help you research your site.
Once you have found the area you want to search you have to make sure that it is not scheduled, by this I mean under the protection of the Ancient monuments Act. You can find out if your area is protected by registering here www.rcahms.gov.uk . If your area is protected then choose an area that is not protected. Once you have pinpointed your area and if it's Farmland, Park or Estate you will need to gain permission!! Yes that's right - all land is owned by someone. If it's a farm, then visit the farmer and tell him of your research and what you have found out about his area. He might already know or he might not. ASK his permission to search his land DON'T demand it! If he refuses leave with a smile and thank him for his time. Most beaches are OK to search but some are protected as nature reserves for wildlife.
Now you have found an area HOW are you going to find stuff? what detector do I choose? This is where your local metal detecting shop will be invaluable. My advice is to decide on a budget that you can afford. Metal detectors can be as complicated and as simple as you want them. I started with one at £15.00 second hand and to tell you the truth it was JUNK! Most manufacturers make models from £100 mark upwards. There are also cheaper models available that will get you started if you are not sure if your going to stick the hobby. Now you will need to ask yourself do you want to search land or beach or both? The reason I mention this without going into the technical side is some detectors work best on land and some are designed for the beach. Most manufacturers make an all round detector that will operate no problem on both. For a local Scottish dealer - http://www.northernmetaldetectors.co.uk/
Hopefully you are now kitted out with your first metal detector and all the kit you will need. You will have purchased a beginners guide to metal detecting These books are invaluable in telling you the best method of retrieving finds i.e.; leaving the land as you found it and not like the surface of the moon with holes!!
You are on your site and are full of enthusiasm you haven't slept all night dreaming of the finds you are going to make!! You go to your farm in the morning and you start getting finds but what are these bits of stuff you are finding?? DO NOT throw anything away when you start out in this hobby. It might not look like treasure to you but to an archaeologist it could be treasure! yes you have a responsibility now as you are retrieving our national heritage you are it's guardian only. The find you have unearthed belongs not to you the land owner but to the Crown. You can find out all about the Treasure Trove laws in Scotland here www.treasuretrove.org.uk. My advice to you is to take all you finds into your local museum apart from tin cans, ring pulls or send them to Edinburgh until you are familiar with what you are finding. If the TT department keep a find and it is claimed treasure you will receive the current market value as a reward. If it's not treasure you will get it back but your not doing this for MONEY RIGHT!! it is the joy of finding and touching the past that drives me on.
Scotland is rich in history and if you persevere and put the effort in you will be rewarded with some nice collectables. You will also, I guarantee, be putting stuff in museum display cases. If you meet another detectorist on a site that you have permission - have a chat to him/her as they have probably done the same research as you to find the site and you might learn something.
I hope I have explained the basic starting guide to the hobby of metal detecting in Scotland. The hobby does entail a bit more work than just walking out and finding Gold coins! so hopefully I haven't put you off. There are some local clubs in Scotland and it is a good idea to meet other like minded folk. The forum I mentioned above is a great place to find out info. It is adults only.
Happy hunting
Colin (Toddy) Irvine
Scottish (scottish crown) silver royalist medal of Charles II - the only
one known in existance found by Colin Irvine
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Disposing of your finds?
The collecting element of Metal Detecting introduces the emotive subject of selling or buying finds. Selling archaeological finds is one of the most controversial aspects of metal detecting and is regarded as highly unethical by those of us to whom artefacts represent a historical archive.
Though many detectorists now work closely with archaeologists, there is a huge market in artefacts for private collection and sale. This is directly opposed to the traditional archaeological view that artefacts should be valued by what they can tell us about the past and not by what they are worth financially.
So.........Does a responsible detectorist sell their duplicate or unwanted finds for example on e-Bay?
If they are sold on the antiquities market, they mostly lose all association with their find-spot and therefore lose all of their significance to archaeological research. You should consider donation or sale of objects of particular interest to a local museum rather than sale on the antiquities market. If you must sell you should make sure that your find is recorded with PAS first.
Donating or selling an Artefact to a Museum
Museums may sometimes be glad to have the opportunity to acquire your non-treasure finds, but this could only happen with your agreement and that of the landowner. People give things to museums so that they will be preserved for future generations to enjoy and for future research.
The Museum staff will be more than happy to talk to you about an object you would like to donate. However they often have strict collecting policies, so don't be disappointed if the museum you approach cannot take the object. Most museums collect things which are relevant to the history of an area. You may also find that the museum already has a number of similar examples. The bulk of museum collections are not those you see when you visit a museum - but those which are kept behind closed doors - however these are then available and accessible to anyone with a valid reason to study them.
Its worth remembering that donating items to a Museum often presents several problems to the institutions that are left to look after these objects:
- Conservation of the objects - very expensive and time intensive.
- What to display, after all some collections may have objects which aren't display worthy.
- Storage space.
- Provenance - the objects are of more archaeological worth when they have NGR details and even PAS numbers attached or associated (stops dual recording!)
Some museums, while not wanting an object for their collections may want your object for its ‘education’ or ‘handling’ collection. These objects are not given the care that the main collection is given – they may be picked up and felt by children and visitors – and inevitably damage and wear means that the object will eventually be ‘loved to death’, and discarded.
This is one Detectorists viewpoint on selling finds
If a find has been fully recorded I do not have an issue with selling.
If I still had all my finds I would have some serious security and storage issues that would be difficult to resolve. Every find that I have ever made has either been donated to a museum, sold to a museum, or sold to a collector or dealer and I do not intend to keep any of the finds that I make in the future.
I do not have a problem with this but I certainly would have if the finds had not all been recorded first. I don’t expect everyone to agree with this selling viewpoint but that’s the way it is for me.
I don't feel I have to justify my actions to anyone either. I have seen quite a few of my artefacts published and no doubt in the future I will spot a few more. Richard Hattatt's brooch catalogues are widely quoted by archaeologist and detectorist alike - if it was not for the brooches becoming available to him for research his catalogues would most likely not be available to us now. If anyone doubts that the detector can be used as a tool for research then take a look here - there were very few of these around (or recognised) before I did something on them in Treasure Hunting magazine in 1986/7:-
The Medieval Tumbrel
Selling to a Collector
Collectors have contributed immensely to the scientific study of artifacts such as coins and seals, providing essential information used in dating and cataloguing these artifacts, which probably never would have been developed if they had been inaccessible to collectors. Good examples of this are the databases which have been put together such as The Celtic Coin Index and the Corpus of Early Medieval Coin Finds
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
What is a Finds Liaison Officer?
The Portable Antiquities scheme operates through a network of locally based ‘Finds Liaison Officers’, who can offer identification and recording services as well as advise on how to conserve archaeological finds and how to tell if what you have found may be classed as treasure .
Since the scheme came into operation, over 100,000 objects, which may otherwise have gone unrecorded, have been examined by Finds Liaison Officers across England and WalesEach county of England and Wales now has an F.L.O. whose role it is to identify the objects for the finder and then to record them, thus making the information available to both academics and the general public through means of a website. Contrary to popular belief, objects recorded under the Portable Antiquities Scheme are returned to the finder. It is this unawareness of museum practice in regard to personal finds that the Finds Liaison Officer is attempting to overcome.
The Finds Liaison Officers role is dependant upon building and maintaining relationships of trust with finders, so they are encouraged to record their finds - an important part of their role is to make contacts with local finders, meet detectorists, and explain the aims of PAS so that more about the history and archaeology of the area can be recorded and made available.
They do this by attending club meetings, seeing independant detectorists, and giving talks to local societies, colleges and other groups - definately not a 9-5 job!
It is essential for them to record as much information about the find as possible - when the object was made, what it is made of, how it is decorated, whether it is broken, what it was used for.Your local FLO will be able to offer you a wide range of services: indentifying your finds - either personally or after consulting a specialist
- recording your finds on the Finds Database
- giving you advice on conservation and storage
- giving you advice on the Treasure Act
- telling you about the importance of your find for the understanding of our history
- if you would find it useful, they will pass you a copy of the information they have recorded
They deal with huge quantities of finds from the Palaeolithic period onwards - Many of the objects fall into particular categories and are easily identified through their similarity with published examples, but unusual or unique objects are also well represented.
They have regular meetings and training days on artefacts of different periods
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Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Behind the scenes
You would normally come into contact with the Finds Liaison Officers when you record your finds, or if they visit your metal detecting club - but they are also responsible for promoting the work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme amongst detectorists, archaeologists and the general public through exhibitions, outreach and the media. This can involve giving talks to local history groups, schools , higher education and various other outreach areas.
Veteran Rock Star Bill Wyman - who is an avid metal detectorist and very much into archaeology chats to some of the Portable Antiquities staff
Blue Peter presenter Simon Thomas encouraged viewers of the programme to show any archaeological finds to the Portable Antiquities Scheme to help our understanding of the past. Here he is being shown a hoard consisting of over 15,000 Roman coins found by someone digging a pond in their garden
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Self Recording with the Portable Antiquities Scheme
The actual concept of allowing members of the public enter data onto the database, was one of the requirements of the Scheme's funding. This aspect of the scheme is in the very first steps of it's evolution and will only improve. If people are interested, contact your local FLO
Workflow diagram of how Self Reporting works - click on the image for more details
I went along to see Essex FLO, Caroline McDonald and was gently introduced to the arcane arts of finds description and recording! As an exercise we described a pencil that had been repeatedly sharpened to the point of it being very nearly a stub, in exhaustive detail. An awful lot of work for such a seemingly mundane thing! Let me tell you, recording finds is not an easy task by any means and the work that goes into each & every one is quite staggering! Us detectorists might remember this next time we feel that finds are going a little too slowly through the system for our liking?
Self-recording is challenging and rewarding, but far from easy. Anyone who thinks it will be a simple task had better think again. A really good find can take hours to prepare and even a scrap of a brooch or a broken buckle must be tackled with equal energy and enthusiasm.
Being able to upload data and build a comprehensive record of a find, site or landscape is a great thing..but it is no cakewalk. Rules must be adhered to otherwise what we will get in the end is unintelligible babble, loads of people describing the self-same thing differently, rendering the database more or less unusable. Luckily there is a comprehensive manual that clarifies most anything and helps understand what is required. Follow the rules laid out there and there are fewer problems.
Describing objects is difficult, but it does become easier with time. I think many detectorists will like this part of the process very much. Here we can lavish attention upon our finds and have the record of them fully available for others to enjoy and use whichever way they please. The description process is logical and reasoned, you start at the top and work your way down to the bottom describing every feature in a jargon-free and minutely detailed way, and then flip the find over and describe the back in the same way.
All photos are uploaded, then registered. Copyright will in our case be with the individual who makes the record. References are linked to from a bibliography, findspot details entered and the find record saved. You can go back at any time and edit the record, enter more details, whatever. When the record is finalised to your satisfaction the record is sent to your FLO for validation and it is either cleared or returned for update.
I'm starting out on a process that should in time see my entire collection, dating back 14 years, catalogued, recorded in detail for public comsumption, uploaded and available for future research. I think that is an exciting and worthwhile thing to do. It's not for everyone, like I said it takes great deal of work that many cannot afford, but the records that issue from those who are able to expend the required time and effort, will be exemplary I'm sure, and the experience gained, of real use to others who cannot. I would urge those who feel that they need to extend their detecting practise right now, to have a go.
by Jeff Hatt
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Recording your finds
Any metal detectorist will tell you that finds of gold, silver , hoards of coins and metalwork are few and far between! However all the non-treasure items are potentially of great importance to our history. By recording these finds, we learn more about where people were living, what they were wearing, who they were trading with and how these things changed over the years. This is something that as a responsible detectorist - or as a new detectorist you should be keen to contribute towards.
Recording your finds is one of the most valuable contribitions metal detecting has to offer and its recommended that you give the time and effort to contact a finds liaison officer - the credibility of the hobby depends on this. They are all young and enthusiastic and very approachable
I can give you two of what must be many examples of why it is important to record (or at least to log) every find be it scabby Roman grot or piffling artefact.
I take as my first example the villages in my area of the Lincolnshire Wolds. These have for the most part Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian names and it might therefore be natural to assume that is when these sites were first settled. In fact most of the sites that I have searched have had a scattering of Roman coins on them suggesting that they must at least have had a single farmstead on them in the Roman period. The major Roman settlements are well known and it is no surprise to find Roman coins and artefacts on and around them but in many ways metal detected random finds are just as important because they are pointing to settlement patterns that we know very little about. Roman grots can often be roughly dated and that can give some idea of the date the site was in use. The coin itself might be intrinsically worthless but combined with other evidence it might be historically priceless. Multiply my finds by x number of people detecting in the area and you would have when collated what would amount to a landscape survey. Without the use of metal detectors and the people that use them responsibly we would have very little of this evidence.
My second example would be the distribution patterns of certain objects and/or the decorative elements on them both of which might suggest more than is at first obvious to the untutored eye. Find spots for say Viking style artefacts outside of the Danelaw would be of interest to more than the art historian. To spot these patterns and to give them meaningful analysis requires lots of finds and of course they need to be recorded. I think most if not all detectorists like to identify and date their finds and to do this other similar finds will need to have been recorded and published. It has to be admitted that in most instances the only way to achieve accurate dating of finds is by conventional archaeology and excavation from context. Although the metal detector cannot be used to directly date artefacts the quantity of finds that they make can be used to date sites by comparative means. The evidence that this supplies - very often from areas of seemingly little archaeological interest – can be very important indeed.
In the second example the PAS is probably best placed for recording as the more decorative items are bound to be ‘cherry-picked’. The absolute quantity of the more mundane items is unfortunately likely to swamp the system but that is not to say that your own records should not be kept or even submitted to the local museum where they can be kept and available for future research. I feel that in one way or another all finds should be recorded and if we can keep this on a voluntary basis rather than by legislation then so much the better.
Ceejay
You should also keep your own home record of finds too so that you can easily refer to them. Over a period of time, a pattern of similiar types or ages of finds develops, leading to further finds. Plotting individual finds will often produce a pattern of loss and this will help identify areas where there may have been occupation or activity of some sort. Its therefore important that you are able to check your records of finds.
Your basic home records for each find should include:
- The exact location of the find using National Grid references
- Type of find
- Type of Material
- Depth found at
- Type of ground
- Map of the area
- A photograph or drawing of the find
- A General Description of the find
- A description of the site
- The date the item was found
However help is at hand in the form of recording sheets which can be used as follows:
These have been road tested by Detectorists - some find them useful - Using them in the field it causes you to stop and think a while, put those thought's on paper and carry on - some prefer to take a small note book to record details to be entered onto the main recording form at home. Its also useful to put your finds in numbered bags . then reference the notes to match the find number.
Main form (filled out once to save duplicating things like dates, names county etc) A5 Main Field Recording form (PDF format)Finds Form (each object or group - with lots of quick tick boxes) A5
Field Recording Form (PDF format)Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
When to call in the Archaeologists
If you find an object, which is below the plough-soil, please be prepared to contact your local FLO to see if an archaeologist can help you dig it out. The same applies to any find within the plough soil where it is evident that its particularly complicated or fragile - or an important find.
It’s useful to carry a contact card around with you with the phone numbers of your local archaeological unit and FLO on. However the chances are that you will be detecting at weekend’s which doesn’t tie in with their working hours so you need to think through very carefully what you are going to do. It won’t do any harm to cover the find up and make a record of where it is for a few days. This will then give you time to contact your local FLO for assistance and guidance
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording
Findspot Info on the Portable Antiquities Scheme Database
4 figs = 1km
6 figs = 100m
8 figs = 10m
10 figs = 1m.
Q: What level will a findspot be shown on the website?
A: When you give PAS information to enter on to their database, PAS enter into an agreement with you to publish the NGR to 4 figures (eg. SU XX YY) or to hide the grid reference entirely. This will produce an alias for your findspot, whilst still ensuring the integrity of the object record itself.
Therefore you will see findspot data rendered in two ways for the public. See two findspot diagrams below for hidden and full findspots as seen by public users of the database.
Q: Why do you hide the findspot?
A: The aim of PAS is to make as much of the information available as possible while protecting your personal details and protecting archaeological sites from damage. Precise details of findspots will be made available to the Finds Liaison Officers, the Sites and Monuments Record, and other statutory bodies such as English Heritage, Cadw and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.
PAS hide the findspot by asking the finder if they would like to have the details hidden. If the answer is yes, then the FLO will enter an alias into a database field entitled "known as". When this field is filled in, you will see the findspot displayed as above (hidden). If left blank then the findspot is 4 figure, and will say SU XX YY [limited].
Q: Who can see findspot details in full?
A: If you report a findspot with a level of precision which is higher than 4 figures (which is the case for 73.5% of our finds during 2003 - 2004), then the only people with access rights to see these full NGRs are:
1) Finds Liaison Officers (35)
2) System admin (1)
3) Finds Advisers (4)
4) Management (4)
5) Researchers
All users with an account are asked to fill in an agreement that states any publications that make use of the data that you provide, MUST be published to 4 figure NGRs or less. The ICT Manager constantly audits who is looking at what, and they flag up with FLOs if substantial searches are being made on specific parishes. If somebody breaks this agreement, access rights are withdrawn.
Large bodies of data cannot be downloaded from our database on purpose. The only person who can give out this data is the ICT Manager, therefore, they know where this data is going first hand.
Q: Should I withold the NGR?
A: That is entirely up to the individual and the landowner. The FLO recording your data should not pressurise you in to giving up information you are not willing to give. If you state that you want the NGR hidden, then it should be hidden. If the FLO forgets to do this, it is a really easy thing to do. Contact Dan Pett at the British Museum directly if you need this doing and you cannot contact the FLO in question. If you do give the FLO a grid reference, the integrity of the find is far more useful to other archaeologists or heritage professionals.
The information that you give PAS is providing others with a huge corpus of information, that will allow the next generation to perhaps change our perceived or inherited view of a region.
Data Transfer PAS to HER’s
The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), the National Council for Metal Detecting (NCMD) and the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO) have now been able to agreed the terms and conditions for the transfer of PAS data to Historic Environment Records (HERs) and Sites and Monuments Records (SMRs).
The Portable Antiquities Reporting Scheme has therefore issued the following statement: -
The HERs/SMRs will be able to use PAS data for all their normal purposes, such as development-control work and research enquiries, but they will only publish findspots on the Internet in the same way as the PAS does on its finds database (see www.finds.org.uk). This is to say that no finds will be published on the Internet to more than at National Grid Reference (NGR) of 4 figures (1kmsq), and only at parish (or less) for Treasure finds and finds from sites where the finder, landowner, HER Officer or Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) believes that there is a conservation threat (such as the risk of nighthawking) if the findspot is published.
Tags: metal detecting, metal detecting club, metal detecting rallies, metal detector, our past history, portable antiquities scheme, recording