The vision of the guardian on metal detection: amateurs and experts can play a role in finding the past | Editorial

TThe discovery of two swords during a excavation in the Gloucestershire fueled speculation that a Roman villa could once hear there, at a period of the second or third century AD when the Saxons were piercing in the region. Experts believe that the blades may have been deliberately hidden – but not deep enough to hide them from a novice metal detector, Glenn Manning. Next month, the public will have the chance to see the weapons when they are exposed to the Corinum Museum in Cirencester, to which they were given.

The articles join a growing list of striking discoveries by amateurs. This is in particular a gold nugget found in the Shropshire Hills by Richard Brock, which located it with the help of an old machine which “worked half”. Another newcomer has dug a gold necklace bearing the initials of Henri VIII and Katherine d’Aragon, which is now at British Museum.

There are around 20,000 metal detector in Great Britain, at least two factors that contributed to the increased popularity of activity over the past decade. One was the pandemic and the boost he gave some people to find a new way of spending free time. The other was the BBC television comedy, winner of a BAFTA, which took place for three series from 2014 and returned for a special Christmas in 2022.

Written by Mackenzie Crook, it was a story on the hidden depths of male friendship as well as the agricultural land of Essex where they made their detection. While archeology was previously on television, in programs such as Time Team, metal detection was an unexpected objective for popular drama.

There was probably also something in the Zeitgeist, because mudlaking on the Thames saw a boom during the same period – going from the dark hobby to aficionados to something much more common. Like metal detector, whose emphasis on precious objects comes into net conflict with learned priorities and meticulous processes of archaeologists, Mudlarks (which sometimes use metal detectors as well as other techniques) need authorization to continue on their trapping hunts. From only 200 permits sought in 2018-2019 at the Port of London Authority, the total increased to 5,000 years three years later. A result of this resurgence of interest is a new exhibition of 350 Mudlaked objects. The secrets of the Thames include medieval sculptures and Victorian counterfeits and opened the London Museum last week.

All metal detection is not focused on the distant past. A network of volunteers of 5,000 people, the National Ring Recovery Service, helps living people to find lost items. Although this altruistic project is described by its founder, Morley Howard, as a “fifth emergency service”, the activities and motivations of metal detectors that are looking for precious artifacts remain controversial, and some believe that the legal framework is too lax. The archaeological sites were damaged and in 2019, two men were imprisoned for the illegal sale of coins and jewelry known as Léominster.

But deeply regrettable, although such losses are, they should not be allowed to overshadow the positive contributions of amateur detector, some of which volunteer on excavations led by experts – as Mr. Manning did the day he found the swords. This commitment to browse the campaign for traces of ancient life testifies to a permanent curiosity of the past which is not limited to experts.