Tag Archives: metal detector

Changes to the Law of Treasure

Posted on: April 14, 2023 by Geoffrey Bennett

One might say that if the law of Treasure has slumbered throughout most of its long history it has now had a rude awakening. Its obscure origins in Anglo-Norman common law had nothing to do with preserving items of cultural interest and probably everything to do with a source of revenue for the Crown, albeit […]

Nighthawks nabbed – undeclared hoard subject of police raid

Posted on: June 20, 2019 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

Nighthawks (illegal metal detectorists) are a constant problem for archaeologists and the farmers on whose land they illegally trespass. Aside from the offence under the Treasure Act 1996 of failing to declare finds within 14 days of discovery, the loss of context is critical for archaeologists seeking to understand the find as a whole. Treasure […]

Cadbury’s Freddo Treasures campaign backfires

Posted on: March 27, 2019 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

Searching for treasure and discovering new archaeological sites like Indiana Jones is every child’s dream. And this is exactly what Cadbury’s latest Freddo campaign sought to do. The relevant webpage listed a series of known archaeological sites in England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland where “treasure is fair game”, and encouraged children to […]

Rare silver coin not Treasure

Posted on: September 11, 2014 by Alexander Herman

An English metal detectorist scouring the fields of Nottinghamshire last week stumbled across the find of a lifetime: a rare threepenny silver coin from New England with the date 1652 inscribed upon it. It is unclear how the US-minted coin made it all the way to England, but it is said that the coin could be worth […]