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

Compared to many other European countries, the rules that govern the ownership of ancient artefacts found in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are comparatively relaxed. There are concerns that the payment of rewards for ‘Treasure’ finds sends out a questionable message as well as the issue that there is also no legal requirement to report other important categories of find.

All finders of gold and silver objects, and groups of coins from the same finds, over 300 years old, have a legal obligation to report such items under the Treasure Act 1996.

The following finds are Treasure under the Act, if found after 24 September 1997 (or, in the case of category 2, if found after 1 January 2003):

1. Any metallic object, other than a coin, provided that at least 10 per cent by weight of metal is precious metal (that is, gold or silver) and that it is at least 300 years old when found. If the object is of prehistoric date it will be Treasure provided any part of it is precious metal.

2. Any group of two or more metallic objects of any composition of prehistoric date that come from the same find (see below)

3. All coins from the same find provided they are at least 300 years old when found (but if the coins contain less than 10 per cent of gold or silver there must be at least ten of them). Only the following groups of coins will normally be regarded as coming from the same find: (a) hoards that have been deliberately hidden, (b) smaller groups of coins, such as the contents of purses, that may been dropped or lost, and (c) votive or ritual deposits.

4. Any object, whatever it is made of, that is found in the same place as, or had previously been together with, another object that is Treasure.

5. Any object that would previously have been treasure trove, but does not fall within the specific categories given above. Only objects that are less than 300 years old, that are made substantially of gold or silver, that have been deliberately hidden with the intention of recovery and whose owners or heirs are unknown will come into this category. Note: An object or coin is part of the ‘same find’ as another object or coin if it is found in the same place as, or had previously been together with, the other object. Finds may have become scattered since they were originally deposited in the ground.

If you need advice on the Treasure Act, or reporting items of potential treasure, the regional Finds Liaison Officers will be happy to help.

You must report all finds of Treasure to a coroner for the district in which they are found either within 14 days after the day on which you made the discovery or within 14 days after the day on which you realised the find might be treasure. You can do this by letter, phone or fax.

You musn’t clean the find – this may reduce any award you may be entitled to. If you find a hoard do not dig it out yourslef – call the museum or your FLO to get it excavated by the experts – this won’t affect your title to the find but will make sure that it is excavated and recorded properly.

You will normally be asked to take your find to a local museum or archaeological body. Local agreements have been drawn up for each coroner’s district in England and Wales to provide the coroner with a list of such museums and archaeological organisations.

If the museum curator or archaeologist believes that the find may be treasure, they will inform the British Museum or the National Museums and Galleries of Wales. The museums will then decide whether they or any other museum may wish to acquire it.

If no museum wishes to acquire the find, the Secretary of State will be able to disclaim it. When this happens, the coroner will notify the landowner that he intends to return the object to the finder after 28 days unless he receives an objection. If the coroner receives an objection, the find will be retained until the dispute has been settled.

If you don’t report a find that you believe to be treasure without a reasonable excuse you could be imprisoned for up to three months or receive a fine of up to £5,000 – or both.

You won’t be breaking the law if you do not report a find because you do not initially recognise that it may be treasure, but you should report it once you do realise this.

Includes names, addresses, phone numbers etc (pdf format) – click here

To encourage responsible behaviour by finders, the likely market value of each Treasure find is established by the independent Treasure Valuation Committee.

The Committee commissions independent members of the art trade to provide a provisional valuation to act as a guide. The finder, find site owner and the acquiring museum are free to commission their own valuation. Their valuation should be submitted on the Valuation Form and the valuer should take account of the key criteria . Further information is available on the Treasure valuation process . ( see here for further details of these forms)

The Committee is made up of experts in the various types of antiquity likely to be inspected, an official from the leading metal detectorist body, and an expert on museums and their collections. It values each Treasure find on the basis of willing buyer/willing seller, and expects Treasure finds to have only had a light cleaning to help its identification. The finder, the find site owner, and the acquiring museum are informed of the valuation. Once all parties have accepted the valuation, the museum is invoiced for the agreed amount.

As soon as the Crown receives the agreed valuation, ownership of the Treasure item passes to the museum, and it is this sum which is then made as ex gratia payment for the finder and the find site owner.

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.

YOUR FINDS WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU

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.

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.

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.

Designed by Corinne Mills 2005
email [email protected]

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

Detecnicks in Sussex have now started to supply these type of dry boxes – you can visit their website here.

Alternatively 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.

Lancashire County Museum Service undertakes conservation of a wide variety of material on a charging basis. These services are available to the public as well as other museums across the North West of England.

The costs of museum conservation are inevitably high as there is a considerable overhead tied up in equipment, premises and training. Most self-employed conservators charge an hourly rate of between £25 and £50 per hour with the costs of materials and transport on top of that. This compares well with hairdressers and mechanics and is a lot cheaper than plumbers! Their charges are around £30 per hour depending on the job.

In Lancashire they are investigating ways of providing training that will enable finders to carry out basic cleaning safely themselves. Bear in mind that many chemicals cannot be safely used in domestic circumstances and some specialist investigation can only be done in well-equipped laboratories.

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.

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

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 http://scottish-metal-detecting.co.uk/. In here 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

Always keep the coil level and just above the ground surface – even at the end of your swings – don’t let it lift off the ground.

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

Whatever your approach and no matter how careful you are you wont find everything in one pass.

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.