The Detectorists
Hyun Orth
On the Minelab Manticore, I take my normal iron trash I find on my sites. Run them under my coil. I watched exactly where they came in on the ferrous upper limit. Then I adjusted my upper limits to that mark. Then I delete that upper limit. Now it still shows on the screen, but you never hear it. With the Minelab Equinox 800 at a couple of my metal detecting permissions, I have been fighting 1800s square nails. They ring in as silver most times. With the Minelab Manticore with the sensitive Ferrous Setting, I can screen out square nails and find other targets.
When relic hunting, we encounter sites with an extreme amount of targets. Relic hunting is often associated with sites of age and consists of a lot of iron, and can be extremely difficult to detect. Using a Simultaneous Multi Frequency detector allows you to hear a larger range of target sizes and metals. This can be overwhelming and time consuming to get through but most effective.
Using a Low frequency is great for getting depth and finding higher conductors like copper, brass, and silver. Using higher frequencies are great for finding the smaller, finer items along with low conductors like gold, but it does lack in depth compared to what the lower frequencies have. In some situations, a single frequency can help cherry-pick a few relics from some extremely noisy sites.
When using a higher frequency, even though it does well with small and low conductors, it still has less depth. I find when dealing in areas with a lot of surface iron, 40 kHz really allows copper relics to stand out. At these locations, I know the depth is not as important, and running a higher frequency can also reduce the amount of signals heard.
Joanna Jana Laznicka, a Czech-Canadian residing in Southern California, is passionate about all things associated with metal detecting. She mainly detects on the West Coast, from Southern California to Northern British Columbia. As the founder of Focus Speed, her goal is to bring quality content to metal detectorists.
For thousands of years, humans have buried hoards of artifacts. They've been hidden for a variety of reasons, such as religious offerings to deities or safekeeping from advancing armies. Metal detectors can be helpful for finding these hoards, and amateurs have been particularly enthusiastic about using them.
Here's a look at 32 hoards that were found by people using metal detectors. In most cases, the discoveries were made by amateurs. Many of the hoards are from Britain, where the use of metal detectors by amateurs is legal and finds are cataloged by the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
The Baddow hoard was found by a metal detectorist near the village of Great Baddow, England, in 2020. It includes 933 coins, most of which are made of gold and date back around 2,100 years, to before the Romans conquered England. The hoard also has a copper-alloy ring, fragments of red glass, and pieces of a copper-alloy sheet. Preliminary studies of the coins suggest that many were produced in the North Thames region between 60 and 20 B.C. It's unclear why the hoard was buried.
The Snettisham hoard, also called the Snettisham Treasure, is named after the village of Snettisham on the eastern coast of England where it was found. The hoard has an unusual history. It was first discovered in 1948 and consists of hundreds of artifacts, including ingots, coins and torques. It was believed to have been fully excavated in1990. However, between 2000 and 2010, metal detectorists found more remains of the treasure, including 20 gold and silver torques.
A metal detectorist found the Hallaton treasure near the village of Hallaton, England, in 2000. It contains about 2,500 coins, a silver-gilt iron cavalry helmet, the remains of brooches, and many animal bones. The artifacts date back around 2,000 years, to when the Romans were taking over England. The hoard may have been buried for religious reasons, possibly related to the takeover.
In 1999, metal detectorists discovered a massive Viking hoard on the Swedish island of Gotland. It was unearthed during the filming of a documentary. Named the Spillings hoard after the farm where it was found, it contains about 148 pounds (67 kilograms) of silver objects and 44 pounds (20 kg) of bronze objects. These items include rings, bracelets, bangles, ingots and a vast number of coins. The hoard dates back around 1,100 years, to when the Vikings flourished in the region. It's unclear why the hoard was buried.
Discovered in 2020 by a metal detectorist in the Vale of Pewsey, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of London, the Vale of Pewsey hoard consists of about 160 coins that date back around 1,600 years. Many of the coins date to the reign of Roman emperor Theodosius I (A.D. 379 to 395), with a few coming from the time of his successor, Honorius. At this time, the Roman Empire was in decline and would abandon Britain in 410. It's unclear why this hoard was buried, but it may be related to the security situation in Britain as the Roman Empire left the island.
The word "hoard" may conjure up images of vast amounts of coins and jewelry made of precious metals. However, some hoards comprise much more modest items. One example was found by metal detectorists in 2022 near Euston Estate in Suffolk, England. It consists of 13 pewter vessels that date back around 1,700 years, to when the Romans controlled Britain. Why this hoard was buried is unclear, but it's possible that someone wanted to make a religious offering and did it with the modest means they had, perhaps after having a feast.
The phrase "metal detectorist" is often associated with amateurs using a metal detector to find archaeological remains. However, scientists also use them occasionally. After receiving reports from scuba divers of coins near the ancient city of Caesarea, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority used metal detectors to help survey the area. They ended up finding a trove of nearly 2,000 gold coins in mint condition. The coins, which are probably from a shipwreck, date back around 1,000 years, to when the Fatimid Caliphate controlled the area.
The Staffordshire hoard was discovered by a metal detectorist near Lichfield in Staffordshire, England, in 2009. The hoard, which dates to the seventh century, is the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found, according to the Stoke-on-Trent Museums. Much of the hoard consists of weapons and armor, including an ornate helmet that may have been worn by a king or other high-ranking official. Many items found in the hoard are bent or warped, and they may have been forcefully pulled off of someone. The hoard might have been buried as a gift to the gods.
The Watlington hoard was found by a metal detectorist in 2015 near Watlington, a town about 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Oxford, England. It consists of about 200 coins, seven pieces of jewelry and 15 bars of silver, per the Ashmolean Museum. What makes this hoard remarkable is that most of the artifacts date to the reign of Alfred the Great, who was king of Wessex from 871 to 899, and Ceolwulf II, who was king of Mercia from 874 to 879. These kings ruled when the Vikings were invading England. Thirteen of the coins show the two rulers seated side by side, suggesting the two rulers formed an alliance.
In September 2009, an amateur using a metal detector in a field near Stirling, Scotland, discovered four torques (gold neck ornaments) that date to sometime between 300 and 100 B.C., according to National Museums Scotland. Two of the torques are made from twisted gold ribbons, a style often seen in Scotland and Ireland. Another torque was in the form of a highly decorated tube, a style seen in southwest France, while the other appears to blend different techniques from across Europe. The finds suggest that artifacts and influences from distant locations across Europe were reaching Scotland at that time.
A hoard of 24 medieval coins was found by a metal detectorist near the village of Castlemorton, England, in 2023. Many of the coins are made of silver, with the earliest being minted during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272) and the latest minted during the reign of Henry V (1413-1422). It's unclear why this hoard was buried. Henry V famously won a major victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt, but these battles took place in France, not England.
Found by a metal detectorist in a field near Winchester, England, in 2000, the Winchester hoard consists of more than 2.5 pounds (1,160 grams) of gold jewelry, according to a description from the British Museum on Google Arts & Culture. The gold jewelry appears to be in two sets, each of which includes a torque, bracelets, brooches and a chain. It's possible that one set was made for a man and another for a woman. The hoard dates to sometime between 75 and 25 B.C. It's not clear why the hoard was buried; it could have been for safekeeping or as a religious offering.
In 2012, two metal detectorists on Jersey, a British island in the English Channel, discovered a hoard of approximately 69,000 coins buried along with gold torques, silver bracelets, rings and glass beads, according to Jersey Heritage. Named the Grouville hoard (or sometimes Le Ctillon II), it dates back around 2,100 years. Who buried it and why remain a mystery. Researchers think that when the hoard was buried, people poured in the higher-quality coins and jewelry first and then put lower-quality coins on top.
The Galloway hoard was discovered by a metal detectorist in Balmaghie, Scotland, in 2014. It consists of about 11 pounds (5 kg) of silver bullion (hunks of silver) and many ornate objects. The items include a silver pendant; a gold, bird-shaped pin; and a silver vessel with leopards, tigers and Zoroastrian symbols engraved on it. That particular vessel may have come from Central Asia.
In 2022, metal detectorists discovered a medieval hoard in a field near the village of Dunscore, Scotland. The Dunscore hoard has more than 8,400 silver coins that date to the Middle Ages, mainly the 13th and 14th centuries. Many of the coins are "Edwardian pennies," named after King Edward I (shown above), who reigned in England from 1272 to 1307. Edward I conquered Scotland in 1296 and is sometimes called the "hammer of the Scots." It's unclear why the hoard was buried.
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