Battlefield Trust and Metal Detectorists - UK

[Vindex]

This may be of interest to members...

http://www.bajrfed.co.uk/showthread.php?...-detecting

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Yes I imagine a metal detector would be the first tool an archaologist would want in his toolbox....
I wonder if finds from detectorisits are given the correct priority in
the overall scheme of things"?

[Medicus matt]

Yes I imagine a metal detector would be the first tool an archaologist would want in his toolbox....

Nope, that'd be knee-pads, warm hat, fingerless gel gloves, tiny trowel and toothbrush....although perhaps not in that order.

My partner is supervisor on a number of projects ranging from a Roman harbour development to WW1 battlefields and all the teams include a metal detectorist, to go over the spoil heaps if nothing else.

[mcbishop]

Yes I imagine a metal detector would be the first tool an archaologist would want in his toolbox....

Absolutely not. They're cumbersome and even downright painful to use, as well as stunningly, eyeball-achingly boring (and, like all technology, fallible); using a metal detector makes machine-watching into an intellectual activity by comparison. The 'thrill' of finding 'treasure' eludes me, compared with the challenge of uncovering and interpreting a carefully excavated stratified find. My experience of detecting (we have to do it on all sites as soon as we strip them to prevent them being 'hoovered' by the morally depleted) is that it is the proverbial PITA. I'd much rather work with a tame volunteer who knows his machine and is genuinely keen to help; so what you need is a good detectorist, not a detector.

Deciding the only tool an archaeologist really needs is a close-run thing between spade (the hand-powered 360), mattock (long-handelled trowel), and trowel. Dynamite, if you're a prehistorian, of course ;-)

Mike Bishop

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Well, yes, I did think the person using it would be enthusiastic about
it... :roll: :lol:

However, I would have thought in much the same way as ground radar is used to locate potential areas of interest to put a trench in, the detector could be used to locate potential areas where metal objects(of any type) were located to allow them not to be missed by an inch or 2??? Just an idea.

[PhilusEstilius]

I think that being a metal detectorist and having done a tremendous amount of excavation work many years ago, the tools that I would take away from the archaeologists are the Mattock and the Spade for I have seen so many artifacts destroyed by some of the over zealous.

[Caballo]

Byron

There are a baffling number of tools here to "see" non invasively. Heres a couple of links, welcome to Magnetometry, Resistivity, Magnetic susceptibility, Ground penetrating radar, Magnetic scanning, Metal detection and LIDAR analysis!

http://www.bajr.org/Documents/GeoPhysics.pdf

http://www.archaeological-surveys.co.uk/

Personally, I think LIDAR is pretty cool. But Im very new to all this....

"LiDAR
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data have proved effective for the location of subtle earthworks associated with archaeological features. Our analysis, using digital surface modelling, can help to identify archaeological landscapes virtually invisible on the ground.

Datasets for the UK are available from the Environment Agency and have proved exceptionally useful for archaeological assessment and prospection. Archaeological Surveys process raw data and can provide interpretation plots, contours and digital terrain models.

'Bare earth' models have produced exceptional results for wooded landscapes. Subtle earthworks are often visible in the data where no other form of survey could produce effective results. LiDAR was used to compliment a recent geophysical survey of a Roman villa in the Cotswolds and revealed a previously unknown Roman road running for 800m through deciduous woodland.

LiDAR can provide a stand alone solution to archaeological assessment and prospection where earthworks are expected or can be used in conjunction with geophysical survey or analysis of aerial photography."

[Vindex]

Well its GREAT that BAJRgets mentioned twice in this thread as its a fabulous resource for SO many aspects of archaeology

BUT

LIDAR and its ilk, like most technology, is only as good as the person who "wields" it and, bearing in mind that some archaeological work gets the go ahead based on this sort of "geophys" information, it can be VERY hard to explain to a client that you haven't actually found the Iron Age fort as the resitivity wotsit actually depicts a modern instrusion!! A good old fashioned records search (or a Desk Based Assessment in modern parlance) can still save very red archaeological faces!

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I would think it all has it's uses.
I wish I could afford to do a degree in something like that.

[Caballo]

Byron, you can!!Do a part time or distance learning archaeology degree like me! (And apologies for non UK people with the examples)

Heres the Open University World Archaeology
http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/a251-podcastcourse

Do York Uni do a part time course? You've got Prof Guy Halsall there as well who is very keen on Late Antiquity military things as well.

[Epictetus]

When I was growing up my father had a metal detector. I used to wander around the family farm and find things in the most unexpected places. Coins, old pieces of farm machinery, horseshoes... It was a lot of fun. I never discovered anything "valuable," but I loved to find things and wonder how they got there. Some day I'd like to get some real training in it.

[PhilusEstilius]

David.

Metal detecting is indeed an interesting subject where artifacts are being found and rescued before they face total oblivion from insectisides and other farming practices.
In fact here in England the Portable Antiquities Scheme has been given a great deal of interesting information from detectorists.
Indeed over 90% of the tremendous treasures of the BM have been put there by detectorists, however many would still claim the hobby as one belonging to vandels.
This is of course where a handfull of fools would persist in the invasion of historic sites.