13th September 2005, 01:12 PM
As detecting is currently being (barely) discussed, I was wondering how often people actually see/use them on site. My unit actually has a detector rather than calls in enthusiastic but dodgily unpaid people. However, I appear to be the only person who regularly uses it. I try to take it on watching briefs as often as possible and have frequently found some good stuff with it. For example, evidence for an early English Civil war seige consisting of musket balls, a cannon ball, baldric buckle and other finds or just the other day when I found a late Saxon silver penny (on what turned out to be a partly Saxon site). My problem is that if you don't use a detector (more than once) then you are throwing away most of the metal finds. However, when on a bigger site you are frequently moaned at for being a 'treasure hunting tosspot.' I suspect that people would sometimes rather not find metal artefacts as they are likely to increase post-ex costs. Thoughts please.
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13th September 2005, 01:37 PM
Use a metal detector, find the goodies and then seed the site with brass washers to piss off the nighthawks. Works for me. Problem is that it takes experience to use a metal detector properly and few units seem to be willing to give their staff the time to learn so they just pay lip service to the idea of detecting the site.
Cheers,
Eggbasket
Don't have a stegosaurus, man.
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13th September 2005, 02:00 PM
Quote:quote
roblem is that it takes experience to use a metal detector properly and few units seem to be willing to give their staff the time to learn so they just pay lip service to the idea of detecting the site.
Yep, that's the case with my Unit, and the MD itself is barely functioning. More a theatrical prop than a research tool.[xx(]
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13th September 2005, 02:03 PM
We have two metal-detectors and use them ourselves.
We also usually build requirements for metal-detecting into our Specifications for evaluations, excavations or watching briefs.
I generally prefer to see the metal-detecting being done by an archaeologist rather than a local enthusiast, but there is a down-side. It does take skill and experience to do it effectively, and it can be hard to find archaeologists with those skills.
Either way, we want whoever does the work to be an employee of the unit for the duration, partly because we object to the use of 'volunteer' labour but mainly to make sure that they are fully under control.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished
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13th September 2005, 06:43 PM
It's true about not getting much time to learn how to use the detector. We had ours for over 2 years before it ever got used in a serious way. I had to teach myself how to use it whilst working over a massive spoil heap full of Roman coins. Roman sites are perfect for learning how one works. The great thing about using one on a big site is that you are frequently working from a level that has actually been stripped down to archaeology already. Almost anything you find will be 'archaeological', even if its just a crappy old nail.
