THERE were fewer treasure finds reported in West Yorkshire last year, new provisional figures reveal – despite a record number of discoveries across the country.

Detectorists use metal detectors to scour open land for buried items – occasionally unearthing historic coins or other items.

Under the current definition, an item is treasure if it is at least 300-years-old and made at least in part of precious metal, such as gold or silver, or part of a hoard. 

Data collected by the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum shows three treasure finds in West Yorkshire were recorded in 2022 – down from five in 2021.

The figures reveal the number of reported treasure finds for 2021 and provisional figures for 2022 within England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The amount of buried treasure discovered across the nations reached a new high last year with some 1,378 finds in 2022, marking the ninth consecutive year that the 1,000 mark has been exceeded.

Overall, around a quarter of the found objects and a quarter of the found coins were acquired by or donated to museums – totalling 270 additions.

Keith Westcott, founder of the Institute of Detectorists, said: "The number of active detectorists has been steeply rising since the Covid lockdown."