The times are not correct!

The times are almost certainly correct; however, what you may be seeing are times displayed in a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, you should change your profile setting for the timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. So if you are not registered, this is a good time to do so, if you pardon the pun!
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The times are not correct!

The times are almost certainly correct; however, what you may be seeing are times displayed in a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, you should change your profile setting for the timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. So if you are not registered, this is a good time to do so, if you pardon the pun!
Back to top

The times are not correct!

The times are almost certainly correct; however, what you may be seeing are times displayed in a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, you should change your profile setting for the timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. So if you are not registered, this is a good time to do so, if you pardon the pun!
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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.

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/

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

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 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. see here for links to online maps and mapping software

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.

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