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Did Chinese visit Australia 600 years ago?
10/02/2019 in Ancient artefacts, Australia, Breaking news, China, Metal detecting | Leave a comment
Digging for Napoleon-era treasure, Australian filmmakers found this Chinese Ming Period Buddha
Is the discovery of a bronze Buddha statue possibly dating back to the Ming dynasty in the sands of northwestern Australia evidence the Chinese visited and settled here 600 years ago?
Or is the small, very heavy object, which one expert has dated back to the early 1400s, a mere hoax?
Two filmmakers and adventurers have claimed they found the statue on a remote beach in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region.
Leon Deschamps, a second generation historian and photographer from Shark Bay in the Gascoyne, captured the statue’s unearthing with his Finn Films co-director and partner, Shayne Thomson.
The men discovered the statue using metal detectors during filming for a documentary about the early 1800s French exploration of Australia.
Deschamps and Thomson were looking for objects left behind during a Napoleonic-era voyage when they came across the Buddha, which weights 1kg despite its small size.
They have now described the find as possible “evidence the 1421 Chinese Ming Dynasty ‘Treasure Fleets’ exploration of Australia up to two centuries before Europeans”.
More here.
Object of the month: A Roman ‘licking dog’ statue
01/11/2017 in Acquisitions, Ancient artefacts, Ancient skills, Archaeology, Art and culture, England, Metal detecting, Object of the month, Portable Antiquities Scheme, Roman Britain | Leave a comment
The Detectorists return
31/10/2017 in Art and culture, Metal detecting, Portable Antiquities Scheme, TV programmes | 1 comment
The Frome Hoard voted top Treasure
13/07/2017 in Ancient artefacts, Ancient Britain, Archaeologists, Archaeology, British Museum, Conservation, Conservators, England, Metal detecting, Portable Antiquities Scheme, Roman Britain | Leave a comment
Alan Graham excavating the Frome Hoard
Sam Moorhead, Finds Adviser, Portable Antiquities Scheme, British Museum writes on the British Museum bog here –
When working with the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), the concept of a ‘forward job plan’ is somewhat laughable – your work patterns are largely dictated by finds made by detectorists. Some discoveries can completely change your career as the Frome Hoard did for me when it was found by Dave Crisp in April 2010.
Dave had dug down a foot into the ground when he started to pull out pottery and coins from the clay soil. When he realised that he had found a coin hoard, he made one of the most important decisions of his life – he filled the hole in, walked away, and contacted his local PAS Finds Liaison Officer for Wiltshire, Katie Hinds. Katie contacted her opposite number in Somerset, Anna Booth, and a professional excavation of the site took place under the direction of local archaeologist Alan Graham.
Museum to exhibit the Bredon Hoard of Roman coins
19/05/2017 in Acquisitions, Ancient artefacts, Ancient skills, Archaeologists, Archaeology, England, Exhibitions, Metal detecting, Museums, Portable Antiquities Scheme, Roman Britain | Leave a comment
Rare Anglo-Saxon penny found in a Faversham field
17/05/2017 in Acquisitions, Ancient artefacts, Anglo-Saxons, England, Metal detecting, Portable Antiquities Scheme | 3 comments
Campaign seeks to display the Galloway Viking Hoard in regional museum
13/03/2017 in Acquisitions, Ancient artefacts, Appeals and petitions, Metal detecting, Museums, Scotland, Vikings | Leave a comment
Ashmolean Museum raises £1.35 million to acquire the Watlington Hoard
07/02/2017 in Acquisitions, Ancient artefacts, Anglo-Saxons, Appeals and petitions, England, Events, Exhibitions, Metal detecting, Museums | Leave a comment
A selection of Anglo-Saxon coins showing the different types found within the Watlington Hoard
©
Trustees of the British Museum
The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, has succeeded in raising the £1.35 million needed to purchase the Watlington Hoard. More than 700 members of the public contributed to the appeal to find the locally discovered treasure a permanent home and save it from entering a private collection. James Mather, a metal detectorist, made the discovery of 200 complete silver coins, seven items of jewellery and 15 silver ingots in a field near Watlington in Oxfordshire in October 2015.
Oxford Thinking reports that financial aid to purchase the find for the Nation was –
…provided by the National Lottery through a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of £1.05 million. The grant will be used towards the acquisition of the hoard, as well as conservation, display, touring and educational programmes. Thanks to a further £150,000 from the Art Fund, and contributions from private individuals and the Friends and Patrons of the Ashmolean, the museum reached its fundraising target within days of the deadline.
Dating from the end of the 870s, the Watlington Hoard contains over 200 Anglo-Saxon coins, including many examples of previously rare coins of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex (871-899) and his less well-known contemporary, King Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874-899). These coins provide new evidence of the relationship between the two kings, and can potentially shed light on how the once-great kingdom of Mercia came to be absorbed into the emerging kingdom of England by Alfred and his successors.
Once formally acquired, the museum will launch an events and education programme for the hoard. This will begin on 11 February when the treasures will be put on display at the Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock.
More here.
More than 2,000 Roman artefacts discovered in Staffordshire, England
20/12/2016 in Acquisitions, Ancient artefacts, England, Metal detecting, Museums, Portable Antiquities Scheme, Roman Britain | 1 comment
Anglo-Saxon artefacts found in Norfolk declared treasure
10/12/2016 in Acquisitions, Ancient artefacts, Anglo-Saxons, Burial sites, England, Metal detecting, Museums, Portable Antiquities Scheme | 1 comment
University of East Anglia student, and metal detectorist, Tom Lucking. Image credit Antony Kelly
Emma Knights, Arts Correspondent for the Eastern Daily Press in Norwich, England, reports on the discovery of Anglo-Saxon artefacts in Norfolk.
A collection of artefacts discovered in an Anglo-Saxon grave in Norfolk has been declared as Treasure, an inquest has heard. University of East Anglia student Tom Lucking and his friend Stuart Isaacs made the discovery between December 21 2014 and January 7 2015. The inquest in Norwich yesterday heard that the historical items were found near Diss and that a report from the British Museum described them as “an assemblage of artefacts most probably deriving from an early Anglo-Saxon female furnished burial.” Among the items are a Merovingian coin pendant, two gold biconical spacer beads, a gold openwork pendant with the form of a Maltese cross, a coin pendant with a gold suspension loop, another pendant with a Maltese cross design, a continental pottery biconical bowl, an iron knife and a collection of copper alloy chatelaine rings.
Tom has been a metal detector enthusiast for more than a decade and is reported as saying that the artefacts should end up at Norwich Castle, being the best place for them because it keeps them in the County for people to see.
Full story and images of two of the artefacts here.
Object of the month: Massive gold torc
01/12/2016 in Ancient artefacts, Ancient Britain, Ancient skills, England, Metal detecting, Object of the month, Portable Antiquities Scheme | 1 comment
5,000 year-old British hill fort damaged
26/11/2016 in Ancient monuments, Damage, Destruction, Earthworks, England, Metal detecting | 2 comments
Section of the rampart of Cissbury Ring Iron Age hill fort, near Worthing, West Sussex, England
Image credit Simon Burchell. Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source Wikimedia Commons
The Telegraph reports yesterday that the Iron Age fort, know as Cissbury Ring, and located in West Sussex, southern England, has been damaged – probably by illegal metal detecting.
An ancient hill fort dubbed “one of the jewels in the crown” of the South Downs National Park has been damaged, police have said. Illegal metal detecting is believed to be behind the disturbance to the ground at the 5,000-year-old Cissbury Ring site near Worthing in West Sussex.
Described by the National Trust as the most historic hill on the South Downs, its ditch and ramparts enclose some 65 acres and it is a habitat for butterflies, flowers and rare plants.
The damage caused at the largest hill fort in Sussex, which police have said is “irreversible”, has provoked outrage in the metal detecting community.
Full article here.
Can Detectorists be Archaeologists?
02/11/2016 in Ancient artefacts, Archaeologists, Archaeology, British Museum, Conferences, Metal detecting, Portable Antiquities Scheme, Talks | Leave a comment
Can Detectorists be Archaeologists? News by Roy Goutté of an upcoming conference.
On the 21st November 2016, PAS (Portable Antiquities Scheme) are staging a conference at the Museum of London. It is headed ‘Can Detectorists Be Archaeologists?’ and features many speakers during the day.
Nowadays most archaeologists recognise that responsible metal-detecting has a role to play in archaeology, though there remain concerns about the (seemingly) haphazard searching techniques employed by most finders. This conference explores the various ways in which detectorists (working alone or with archaeologists) have undertaken archaeological fieldwork, and looks to a future of further cooperation for the benefit of archaeology and public interest in the past… Dr Michael Lewis (British Museum).
As a detectorists myself and an amateur archaeologist that has worked with qualified archaeologists where my detector was called upon, this promises to be a very interesting series of talks. Any form of education, as long as it is a balanced appraisal of the subject, is most welcome as irresponsible detecting without giving thought to the archaeology is without doubt a serious matter and hopefully will be discussed at length.
There are two types of detectorists apart from the many thousands out there that, in my opinion, are irresponsible in respect of their lack of concern for our heritage and unseen archaeology. One is the blatant ‘night-hawk’ who purposely sets out to steal artefacts from areas of known ‘hot-spots’ and the other is the genuine beginner/casual user of a detector who seem totally unaware that they could be damaging the archaeology as they have not followed the Metal Detector Code because, on the whole, they are not recognised metal detector club members. As a member they would have been well versed in the rights and wrongs of metal detecting.
This doesn’t make the latter a bad bunch – just an uninformed one that are venturing out for a day’s enjoyable and relaxing detecting with thoughts of finding the odd coin/ring/watch on a beach or local scrub land. They are by far the majority – the ones that have a day out occasionally and not the day in day out detectorists.
To return to the subject matter – Can Detectorists Be Archaeologist? – well of course they can, just as well as anyone else if they are interested in the subject… which undoubtedly some will be of course. If they used their obvious knowledge of our heritage for the good and not just for personal gain as a night-hawk would, then fine. But let’s be quite clear on this – the major hoards and finds in the UK are being made by your bog standard detectorists who report their finds and not night-hawks who don’t and in places not generally being looked at by archaeologists because that is not in their remit.
Another heritage website doesn’t seem to allow for this and offers no credit to the ‘good guys’ seeing the majority of all detectorists as stealing our heritage and the vast number of them not declaring their finds. So where do they think all the hoards and other antiquities found came from if not reported – out of fresh air! The dark or negative side is always highlighted by them and virtually no credit given to the huge amount of detectorists out there doing the right thing! They need to wise-up and smell the roses!
However, not wishing to linger on this negative side, I believe this conference is perfectly timed by PAS and should open up a few eyes and minds with the range of the talks they are encompassing at the event and the quality of the speakers enlisted for it. I hope it is well attended and appreciated by a level-headed audience and hopefully gives the naysayers something that will pacify them a little – but don’t hold your breath!
Here are some more details and the table and time of events:
Can Detectorists Be Archaeologists?
Portable Antiquities Scheme Conference – Weston Theatre, Museum of London. Monday 21st November 2016. 10am – 5pm.
10:00 Roy Stephenson (Museum of London): Welcome
10:10 Dr Michael Lewis (British Museum) & Dr Pieterjan Deckers (Vrije Universiteit Brussel): Working Together.
10:30 Dr Felicity Winkley (University College London): A Font of Local Knowledge: Metal-detectorists and landscape archaeology.
11:00 Dr Phil Harding (metal-detectorist and self-recorder): Metal-detecting in Leicestershire: Insights from detailed recording.
11:30 David Haldenby (metal-detectorist from Yorkshire): Detecting the Landscape.
12:00 Lindsey Bedford (erstwhile metal-detectorist): Detecting a Path into Archaeology.
12:30 Lunch (not provided).
14:00 Faye Minter (Suffolk County Council): The Use of Systematic Metal detecting in Suffolk as an Archaeological Survey Technique.
14:30 Carl Chapness (Oxford Archaeology): Metal-detecting and Archaeology.
15:00 Samantha Rowe (University of Huddersfield) Archaeology of the plough-zone.
15:30 John Maloney (National Council for Metal Detecting) The Future of archaeology and metal-detecting.
16:00 Dr Mike Heyworth (Council for British Archaeology) The Future of archaeology and metal-detecting: Building or burning bridges?
16:30 Finish.
Worth noting that there will be no refreshments provided. If, like many others, you are contemplating taking up this wonderful hobby, the following link to a very informative Beginners Guide to metal detecting is a real must. Check it out!
Rare early Bronze Age burial site discovered near Morecambe Bay
14/03/2016 in Ancient artefacts, Ancient Britain, Ancient sites, Archaeologists, Archaeology, Burial sites, Crowd funding, England, Metal detecting, Portable Antiquities Scheme | 2 comments
Remains of Anglo-Saxon island discovered in Lincolnshire
04/03/2016 in Ancient artefacts, Ancient sites, Anglo-Saxons, Archaeologists, Archaeology, England, Metal detecting, Portable Antiquities Scheme | Leave a comment
The Anglo-Saxon site (not shown) in Lincolnshire is thought to have been a monastic or trading centre
Image credit and © Jon Boyes/incamerastock/Corbis
Haroon Siddique reports in The Guardian that –
The remains of an Anglo-Saxon island have been uncovered in Lincolnshire in a significant find that has yielded an unusually wide array of artefacts.
The island, once home to a Middle Saxon settlement, was found at Little Carlton near Louth, Lincolnshire, by archaeologists from the University of Sheffield after a discovery by a metal detectorist. Graham Vickers came across a silver stylus, an ornate writing tool dating back to the 8th century, in a disturbed plough field. He reported his find and subsequently unearthed hundreds more artefacts, recording their placement with GPS, thus enabling archaeologists to build up a picture of the settlement below.
Dr Hugh Willmott, from the university’s department of archaeology, said: “It’s clearly a very high-status Saxon site. It’s one of the most important sites of its kind in that part of the world. The quantity of finds that have come from the site is very unusual – it’s clearly not your everyday find.”
Willmott praised Vickers for reporting his find to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, describing it as a “really nice collaboration between the general public and the university”.