HOW TO DIG FOR TREASURE
There’s a lot more to a detectorist’s hobby than picking up a metal detector and sweeping a field. Here’s how to responsibly prepare for a fun day out, detecting techniques and, perhaps most importantly, the law
WORDSBEN BIGGS
DID YOU KNOW?
The 1,000-year-old Chew Valley Hoard consisted of 2,584 silver coins valued at £4.3 million ($5.6 million)
Britain has a deep and chequered history that can be traced across dozens of major cultures right back to prehistoric times. Over thousands of years it has been populated by neolithic hunter-gatherers, the gregarious Beaker people, fractious Celtic tribes and powerful civilisations like the Romans, wielding their influence from faraway lands across the sea. They have invariably warred and squabbled with each other in a tug of war over territory, and sometimes settled into periods of peace and prosperity. It’s quite literally a rich history, if we are to go by the fantastic treasures that are pulled out of Britain’s muddy fields on a surprisingly frequent basis. Among the stone tools, remnants of ancient dwellings and singular coins or personal items that have been lost, forgotten or abandoned for centuries, are finds whose enormous monetary value is equalled only by their contribution to British history.