Unearthing the past

It fascinates me that beneath the earth we walk on, artefacts could be lurking from our past. That prompted me to join the people who are passionate about preserving them.

Of course, the nature of responsible metal detecting isn’t about unearthing buried booty to sell on the internet for personal profit.

Such incidents, and night hawking where illegal ‘detectorists’ have reportedly dug on scheduled archaeological excavations under the cloak of darkness, depriving the country of artefacts with potential historical importance, have, on occasions, brought the hobby into disrepute.

Bill and Jean Swainston are among the many responsible metal detectorists who remind us that metal detecting can be a valuable service and not just for preserving the past for posterity.

Bill says the Two Dales club, which meets in Addingham, he and Jean are involved with offers a free recovery service for people who have lost items of jewellery.

“Last year we got a phone call from a recently-married gentleman who had lost his platinum wedding ring on an allotment.

“The first signal was a piece of lead, the second was a Georgian buckle and the third was his wedding ring, and what a buzz that gave me!” smiles Bill.

He inherited his interest in historical items from his late father. “He was always interested in archaeology and history. We spent a lot of time field-walking in the Hambleton Hills looking for flint tools.”

Bill began to add to his collection of prehistoric tools when he started metal detecting in 1998 after a colleague at Bradford Royal Infirmary, where he worked as a senior chief bio-medical scientist until his retirement two years ago, took him to a meeting at the Two Dales club.

“I saw what was being brought in and that was it. A guy came in with an Anglo-Saxon jewel and I thought, ‘what an amazing thing’,” recalls Bill.

Jean, who came to live in Bradford from her native Canada in 1964, met Bill two years later. They were neighbours and became teenage sweethearts.

“I think our first date was in a ploughed field!” laughs Bill.

Jean impressed Bill by finding a barbed and tanged arrow head, a sophisticated neolithic tool. “Jean decided if I was going to walk up and down a ploughed field, she would get a metal detector.”

“He bought me one for our anniversary,” recalls Jean.

Together they have amassed thousands of historic artefacts, mainly coins and the more unusual key hook worn by an Anglo-Saxon woman, and a Georgian shoe buckle, which they’ve responsibly recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Based at the British Museum in London, the PAS is a voluntary initiative set up in 1997 to enable the voluntary recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. All finds that are more than 300 years old are recorded.

The PAS is managed by a consortium of bodies led by the British Museum on behalf of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, and is funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, with contributions from local partners.

Since its inception, the scheme has recorded more than 300,000 artefacts. In 2004, the scheme expanded, with Amy Cooper, one of only 37 finds liaison officers in the country, recording historic relics from South and West Yorkshire at her Wakefield base within the Registry of Deeds, part of West Yorkshire Joint Services.

“We are not treasure hunters. We don’t sell anything – we keep it for posterity and we report anything interesting we find,” says Bill.

Bill explains they research historical maps in search of the most productive places which are largely in their home county of Yorkshire.

“We have a large area of land which is 12 square miles and I’ll be going back there for the rest of my life,” says Bill.

Patience is a virtue in this pastime as I discovered when I joined the couple for a spot of detecting – with the landowner’s permission!

“You have to walk for miles. It is not something that will happen in one footstep,” says Jean.

Metal detecting for Jean isn’t just about the thrill of a find, it’s having fun in the fresh air. “You are in the fresh air and exercising. You don’t have to go to the gym because you are bending and stretching,” says Jean.

Thankfully it’s a sunny day, but trudging across a wet and muddy field on the top of Baildon Moor with the breeze whipping round doesn’t seem quite so appealing… until you get started.

Bill’s DFX detector is an interesting contraption. Now for the science: electricity is sent through the wire coil, known as the transmit coil, in the detector’s search head to create an electromagnetic field. If there is any metal in the ground, an electrical current passes through the metal creating a magnetic field. An audible signal sounds. Strapping the detector to my arm I’m ready for action. But before we can begin our search we have to programme the detector. Bill explains how adjusting the sensitivity enables you to seek out heavier metals.

Positioning the detector close to the ground I’m told to swing the detector from side to side. This gains good ground coverage.

Glancing over the expanse of land, I felt a little excited about the prospect of what lay beneath and I appreciated how metal detecting can become addictive.

Walking down the field swinging the detector, I was eager to get a signal. Typically, mine was a broken signal which Bill tells me indicates the discovery of iron. I eagerly hit the detector’s trigger button – this makes a shrill sound so you can home in on the target. Using the small spade – another important detectorist’s tool – we cut three slices into the ground around the small area and dig out the chunk of earth.

The detector can detect 12in deep, so we’re not making mass excavations. Placing the earth on the side, I dig down and hit – iron, which Bill responsibly removes as it contaminates the land. We then place the slice of earth back into the hole. You can’t even tell it’s been removed!

Bill explains pieces of iron could be from horseshoes which have become buried in the earth over time. “This field may not have been ploughed for 50 years, so any time is likely to have sunk down,” he says.

Ploughed fields are his preference as items are more likely to be closer to the surface. Bill has a method of searching too, combing the site methodically up and down in straight lines. Jean prefers to meander. She unearthed a 1940 penny and a door lock!

Bill and I didn’t do as well, mainly unearthing pieces of iron, although Bill did find the head of what he believed to be a bronze key.

“We try to find as many old things as we can with historical interest,” says Jean, wielding her Spectrum XLT.

Bill believes metal detecting has become more popular through archaeological programmes such as Time Team.

Such profile has led to the growth in membership of metal-detecting clubs. Two Dales has 40 detectorists. A tenth of those are female. Jean was recently appointed club chairman, which involved presenting Bill with the Detectorist of the Year shield, awarded to those with the most points for their finds!

Jean’s favourite finds are the decorative spindle whorls, used for weaving. “I love finding things people have used, everyday objects.

And Bill? “He is grateful for anything he finds!” laughs Jean.

And, indeed, so was I. Great fun and truly fascinating.

* The Two Dales metal detecting club was set up in May 1993 for metal detectorists in Yorkshire, Wharfedale and Airedale. For more information visit twodales.com or e-mail: secretary@twodales.com