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Metal Detectoring

Swifty said:
and who's to say that hoarders finds don't end up in museums eventually anyway? ... Einstien's brain sections turned up in a jar under someone's kitchen sink and are now available for study ..
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Context isn't quite all but once something is removed from its context (by which I mean the individual soil layers not "somewhere near Lampeter") it loses most/nearly all of what it can tell us.

The portable antiquities scheme is a recognition that some people will always do this, an attempt to salvage not an endorsement of the practice. Like a needle exchange scheme.
 
Jeebus Rynner ... relax! ... it's not like I've got The Ark of the Covenant in my shed or anything ...

(I've moved it up into my loft) ... ;)
 
... and you'll have to wait for days to be found :D
 
I have to admit, I didn't realise it could be a criminal offence to not declare some finds so thanks for pointing that out both of you. If I ever do get a metal detector, I'll be a bit more clued up now about what to do ... still, if I found an earthenware jar full of roman coins, I don't think I'd be able to resist keeping just a few of them! ...
 
Swifty said:
I have to admit, I didn't realise it could be a criminal offence to not declare some finds so thanks for pointing that out both of you. If I ever do get a metal detector, I'll be a bit more clued up now about what to do ... still, if I found an earthenware jar full of roman coins, I don't think I'd be able to resist keeping just a few of them! ...
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Or use them in vending machines up and down the country. You'll be a "And finally..." story on the news.
 
There's TREASURE and there's treasure...

Treasure found in Illogan field returned to finder
By West Briton | Posted: March 18, 2015

A PIECE of 17th century treasure buried in a field will be returned to the man who found it, an inquest heard.
The post-medieval silver gilt dress hook, discovered in the parish of Illogan, will be returned to Darren Troon, who found it, a treasure inquest at Cornwall Coroner's Court, in Truro, was told on Tuesday.

The hook, which has a border of filigree decoration consisting of 14 circles which form the petals of a flower, was found slightly damaged on October 12.
Anna Tyacke, finds liaison officer for Cornwall portable antiquities scheme and expert for the Royal Cornwall Museum, said: "The fastener is missing its re-curving hook on the back where it would have been soldered on. The hook would have been made out of sheet and expanded where it was soldered to the fastener, shown by the shadow on the back of the plate.
"There are filing marks on the backplate where much of the gilding has worn away."

The piece was disclaimed by the British Museum, the Royal Cornwall Museum and the Duchy of Cornwall and will be returned to Mr Troon, from Illogan, who will decide with the landowner who keeps it.


Read more: http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Finders-keepers/story-26155716-detail/story.html#ixzz3Uj12ZS6B
 
Digging for treasure: Is 'nighthawking' stealing our past?
By Lauren Potts BBC News

Heritage groups say one of the countryside's most famous monuments is "under attack" from illegal metal detectorists hunting for buried treasure. But what is "nighthawking" - and is it robbing us of our past?
"See a penny, pick it up and all that day you'll have good luck" - it's something we've all told ourselves on those harmless occasions we've spotted small change on the ground.

But there are times when pocketing the odd silver or gold coin truly breaks the law.
Illegal metal detecting - or "nighthawking" as it is more commonly known - is sweeping the spine of the east of England, heritage groups say, robbing us of our chance to examine the past and causing damage and strife to landowners.
England's earliest settlements - areas such as Lincolnshire, Sussex, East Anglia and Kent - are some of those suffering the most at the hands of criminals churning up the land in the hope of finding valuable relics left by our ancestors.

(Long article, sets out what's legal and what's not, describes the police heritage crime programme, defines 'Treasure', reporting finds, and more.)

Nighthawkers are not to be confused with responsible hobbyists, who follow the code set by the National Council for Metal Detecting and report their finds to the relevant bodies.
But their passion for the pastime goes beyond observing legalities, says Gary Clifford, chairman of the Wyvern Historical and Detecting Society.
"Responsible detectorists do it for the thrill of finding something, rather than finding something of monetary value. Nighthawkers go on sites where they know they're going to find something [valuable]" he says.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-31848684
 
There's a comedy prog about detectoring on BBC

Detectorists - Episode 3

Club president Terry is keen to help Lance and Andy search the bottom paddock at Bishop's Farm, but only because he's convinced that's where Larry Bishop has buried his missing wife. Meanwhile, Lance is determined to get his ex along to hear him play at the local pub's folk music night.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04ld1jd/detectorists-episode-3

Easy going but amusing - I like it. :)
 
rynner2 said:
There's a comedy prog about detectoring on BBC

Detectorists - Episode 3

Club president Terry is keen to help Lance and Andy search the bottom paddock at Bishop's Farm, but only because he's convinced that's where Larry Bishop has buried his missing wife. Meanwhile, Lance is determined to get his ex along to hear him play at the local pub's folk music night.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04ld1jd/detectorists-episode-3

Easy going but amusing - I like it. :)
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Its well worth watching.
 
I have three detectors, and use them intermittently due to the majority of gold areas in NSW being converted to National Parks, from State Parks, by the Federal Govt, which prevents the weekend fossicker from having some downtime in the Bush, but allows any mining company to pillage - as is their want.

We also have a law - 'theft by finding' - which means anything of value must be handed in to a police station, this includes any money.

What also was a factor in using them sparingly was the realisation that gold is worth about $AUD 50.00 per gram, whereas precious stones - sapphire, ruby, diamond &c. can be worth many times that per carat.

As there are 5 carats per gram it makes sense to me to search for gemstones - here's a few.
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Close up of peridot, sapphire and ruby
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A more realistic size.


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And a 25 carat 'Bomb' (too opaque), but it has some beautiful cornflower margins
 

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Tudor treasure silver dress hook unearthed by Porthleven metal detectorist
By WBGraeme | Posted: January 07, 2016

A CHANCE discovery by an amateur metal detectorist has unearthed a beautiful, tiny treasure.
When Rosemary Rundle first scooped up a ball of earth from a farmer's field near Helston, she immediately picked out highlights of silver.
Her remarkable find turned out to be a 500-year-old Tudor clothes hook, only 18mm by 15mm. It was officially declared to be classed as treasure at an inquest in Truro.

Ms Rundle, 50, a health worker from Porthleven, had only taken up metal detecting as a hobby five months before her discovery.
"I couldn't believe it," she said. "I went out one day in November and it had been raining really hard the night before so there was lots of mud.
"I was practising my swing. I hadn't worked in a field full of stubble before and was making my way through the field when I got a really good signal.
"I thought at first I'd found a horseshoe, as the beep was so loud.
"I found this clump of mud and as I looked I could see little silver highlights. I kept looking at it and I was very excited. I carefully put it in my finds' pouch to be washed later.

"When I got home, I washed it off and I could see it was a beautiful item. I knew it was precious metal.
"I usually find a lot of corroded metal items or old Victorian pennies.
"You also find a lot of bits of horses' harnesses and I've found a few musket balls. They make a really loud beep on the detector."

She showed the item to Anna Tyacke, a liaison officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, who identified it as a dress hook from the Tudor period.
Ms Rundle added: "I thought at first it was an 18th-century or Victorian pendant, so I was so surprised to hear it was Tudor. It's most likely to have come from a man's costume. I imagine a wealthy man riding across a field – I don't know why he should be riding, but he is – and one of these has pinged off.

"It hasn't corroded and, although a piece is broken off the back, it is in lovely condition.
"I was so surprised but then this is what it's all about – discovering our history.
"I just thought, 'Wow, I've done it. I've found some treasure'. It was a lovely feeling."

Ms Rundle said she took up detecting in June, adding: "I've always been interested in local history but I more wanted a hobby that would get me outside.
"Metal detecting is quite sedate really. I can wander around with a metal detector and stop and have a sit down and a picnic whenever I want."

The inquest was told Helston Museum has expressed an interest in buying the item for public display. It is now being valued by experts at the British Museum.

http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Tudor-t...ok-unearthed/story-28475735-detail/story.html
 
I've mentioned in another thread about an old ship wreck that's recently become re uncovered on Cromer beach. To re-cap, it was the SS Fernebo, a steam ship that got into trouble in 1917, Henry Blogg's lifeboat crew went out three times in a row boat lifeboat to try and rescue the crew on board then the locals got involved, they formed a human chain and with joint effort, all 11 crew members were saved. Henry Blogg received a gold medal from the King for his gallantry, the rest of the crew receiving bronze medals.

There's a debris field consisting of stones next to the wreckage and sure enough I found some old iron beam bits painted cherry red that could or could not be from the Frenebo. It seems more than likely to me that they are but the local museum wasn't sure, Rynner has already been helpful in providing a link to red painted ship funnels so ... I wanted to donate them straight away but the staff seemed underwhelmed so they are now in my kitchen. We know someone who owns a metal detector and I desperately want to go back there with a spade to see if we can find anything else but I was wondering if we could get in trouble for doing that ? .. what are the rules and regulations surrounding excavating historic ship wrecks ?

I've posted these videos before but for anyone who's interested that hasn't seen them .. the relevant SS Fernebo bits start at 7:32 in the first video.

 
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Do we have a Gold panning thread?

I tried it last year and got hooked. I can't wait for the weather to get better so I can head out and try it again. I've always fancied having a go at Metal Detecting too.
 
Swifty said:
We know someone who owns a metal detector and I desperately want to go back there with a spade to see if we can find anything else but I was wondering if we could get in trouble for doing that ? .. what are the rules and regulations surrounding excavating historic ship wrecks ?
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You could start here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_of_Wrecks_Act_1973

But an old wreck is not necessarily an historic wreck. If yours is a designated historic wreck there may be a notice nearby with details.

EDIT: This may help too:

https://www.historicengland.org.uk/...sk/archaeology/protected-wreck-sites-at-risk/
 
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Swifty said:
I've mentioned in another thread about an old ship wreck that's recently become re uncovered on Cromer beach. To re-cap, it was the SS Fernebo, a steam ship that got into trouble in 1917, Henry Blogg's lifeboat crew went out three times in a row boat lifeboat to try and rescue the crew on board then the locals got involved, they formed a human chain and with joint effort, all 11 crew members were saved. Henry Blogg received a gold medal from the King for his gallantry, the rest of the crew receiving bronze medals.

There's a debris field consisting of stones next to the wreckage and sure enough I found some old iron beam bits painted cherry red that could or could not be from the Frenebo. It seems more than likely to me that they are but the local museum wasn't sure, Rynner has already been helpful in providing a link to red painted ship funnels so ... I wanted to donate them straight away but the staff seemed underwhelmed so they are now in my kitchen. We know someone who owns a metal detector and I desperately want to go back there with a spade to see if we can find anything else but I was wondering if we could get in trouble for doing that ? .. what are the rules and regulations surrounding excavating historic ship wrecks ?

I've posted these videos before but for anyone who's interested that hasn't seen them .. the relevant SS Fernebo bits start at 7:32 in the first video.

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G'day Swifty, I don't know the laws in the U.K.on digging on an historical sight, or even if this site is covered by the Burra Charter http://australia.icomos.org/publications/charters/, but I reckon you'll have problems with most metal detectors used on wet beach sand due to the disc reacting noisily to the wet beach sand.


Salt water and magnetic black sand will blank out any reasonable signal at the expense of losing something that would be considered valuable to you. VLF technology used in some of the older detectors will allow you to tune out interference from the above mentioned blights of beach detecting.
 
MungomanII said:
G'day Swifty, I don't know the laws in the U.K.on digging on an historical sight, or even if this site is covered by the Burra Charter http://australia.icomos.org/publications/charters/, but I reckon you'll have problems with most metal detectors used on wet beach sand due to the disc reacting noisily to the wet beach sand.


Salt water and magnetic black sand will blank out any reasonable signal at the expense of losing something that would be considered valuable to you. VLF technology used in some of the older detectors will allow you to tune out interference from the above mentioned blights of beach detecting.
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G'day back at you MungomanII and thanks for the tech advice. I'll find out if it's a VLF detector and also do a bit of UK based legality research before I piss off any of the locals or God forbid the local council. If this was a land based discovery, I definitely wouldn't even contemplate digging around in it in case I destroyed important historical evidence as an amateur but, as the sand levels change all the time around here, this wreckage will be covered up again very soon. As no one died during the incident and as no one else is looking for fragments, I feel a bit obliged to preserve some relics from it which, again, will definitely be gifted to either The Henry Blogg Museum, The Cromer Museum or the The Cromer Historical Society .. I'm from Birmingham so they definitely wouldn't belong to me!. If I could find something with words or numbers on it I'd be well pleased.
 
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In any field of human endeavour, there are usually a few bad apples...
Police seek metal detector enthusiast who dug up school playing field
By WBCaroline | Posted: May 11, 2016

A METAL detector enthusiast is being sought by police after several holes were left in a school playing field.
Teachers arrived back at Archbishop Benson School after the weekend to find approximately 20 holes, each a few inches wide, had been excavated out of the football pitch.

Sergeant Marc Sayers, from Truro police, said a witness came forward and told the school that they had spotted a man with a metal detector on the school's grounds digging the holes.
He was seen by the school's CCTV hopping over the hedge at around noon on March 12.

Mr Sayers said: "When one of the parents who lives nearby challenged the male he said that he had permission to be on the site but this was not the case.
"A school field is no different to a front garden and therefore it is private property. It is rather audacious behaviour and we will potentially look at this as a case of criminal damage.
"However, our main concern is for the children who would have been running around the field and might not have known that there were dug up holes everywhere. It could have caused broken ankles."

The police are warning that anyone who 'dabbles in metal detection' should always have the permission of the land owner before they go onto any land.

Head teacher Helen Giblett refused to comment on the incident.

The man is described as a white, approximately middle-aged with a balding head. He was medium height and wearing combat type trousers.
Police are asking the man or anyone with information to call them on the 101 number quoting the log number 427 16/03/2016.

http://www.westbriton.co.uk/8203-Po...thusiast-dug/story-29259466-detail/story.html
 
I have a friend who's into it. He's a big history buff. His best find so far is a civil war belt buckle.
He prefers old abandoned homesites, esp on city lots.
 
We revisited the wreckage of the SS Fernebo a week or so back and I found a large chunck of the iron hull ... it was just sitting there inside the wreckage, no one else has shown much interest so far so it's now in my back yard with my weird stones and fossils collection as well a smaller pieces of the ship ... I'd prefer not to have it/them because it/they are part of Cromer's history with King George's involvement, I just need to find someone who'll keep it in a local museum now .. if I hadn't moved this stuff when I did, they would all probably have been washed back out to sea by now ..
 
Swifty said:
We revisited the wreckage of the SS Fernebo a week or so back and I found a large chunck of the iron hull ... it was just sitting there inside the wreckage, no one else has shown much interest so far so it's now in my back yard with my weird stones and fossils collection as well a smaller pieces of the ship ...
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The next full moon and your back yard be like...

the-fog-photo-2.jpg
 
Swifty said:
We revisited the wreckage of the SS Fernebo a week or so back and I found a large chunck of the iron hull ... it was just sitting there inside the wreckage, no one else has shown much interest so far so it's now in my back yard with my weird stones and fossils collection as well a smaller pieces of the ship ... I'd prefer not to have it/them because it/they are part of Cromer's history with King George's involvement, I just need to find someone who'll keep it in a local museum now .. if I hadn't moved this stuff when I did, they would all probably have been washed back out to sea by now ..
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Have you tried contacting the local historical society (if there is one)?
 
Mythopoeika said:
Have you tried contacting the local historical society (if there is one)?
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There was one because I asked the same question at Cromer museum .. I was told it's recently been disbanded but maybe someone else has taken or will take it over .. I'll ask around locally ..
 
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