Read on Twitter
Contrary to how I might come across on Twitter, I’m not an idiot. No really, I’m not 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😉" title="Winking face" aria-label="Emoji: Winking face"> I realise that metal detecting isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Occasionally I see threads that criticise those of us who spend our days wandering the fields & by & large, I choose to ignore them
...I ignore them because I do my very best to avoid drama on social media. I also ignore them because I can only speak in a personal capacity. It’s my opinion, no more. Just as those who dislike metal detectorists are entitled to their opinion...
..I have friends who metal detect. People who helped me at the beginning of my detecting journey & there are people I like to think I’ve helped since. There are detectorists with whom I’ve built up friendships with on social media over the past few years. But I’m not an idiot...
...there are definitely some people in this hobby who let us all down. It’s an undeniable fact. Not just the nighthawks & those who break the law, but you only need look at some of the FB metal detecting groups to see that some folks morals & methods are slightly askew...
...my point is this. As with almost every section of society that can be categorised or ‘pigeon holed’, there are good & bad. Please don’t tar everybody with the same brush. I saw such sweeping generalisations in a thread late last night that I found it difficult to ignore...
..and the only reason that I didn’t stick my two pennies worth in, was because my thoughts had pretty much been covered by a friend of mine. One person in the thread was accusing detectorists of stealing history & culturally important items for the past 40 years...
..the fact of the matter is this, yes, some people find things & they don’t record them. And it’s shit, I’m not going to sugar coat it. There’s a news article almost every year about somebody finding something & choosing to conceal it from the landowner & the museum, to sell on..
..and like I say, (not an idiot https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😉" title="Winking face" aria-label="Emoji: Winking face">), the ones that we hear about are only the ones that are caught. Some must get away with it. But how much history has been saved & recorded, and in some cases, displayed in museums for all the world to see, because of detectorists?...
...This individual was not only accusing detectorists of depriving the nation of its history, but they were also accusing detectorists of depriving archaeologists of the chance to do their work in the fields that we detect...
...I’m not an expert on the matter, but I really don’t expect archaeologists will begin to investigate a random field on the off chance that there’s something historically significant there. I shouldn’t imagine that they’d have the time or the numbers...
...If anything, the finds that a detectorist makes could help indicate a site that needs investigating professionally by a team of archaeologists, and I’ve a feeling that may have been the case on many an occasion in the past...
..I know that some archaeologists have a dim view of detectorists because I’ve seen some disappointing twitter threads. But I go back to my point about ‘pigeon holing’ entire groups. I like to think that most archaeologists see the value & potential benefits of metal detectorists
..on the farm where I’ve discovered most of my Roman items, a lot have come up with significant plough damage. Some are so fragile, that I’m afraid to handle them too much for fear of breaking them...
They’re amazing items & I cherish them dearly, & if I hadn’t found them when I did, I doubt they’d have lasted much longer in the ploughed earth. So I ask you this, how can somebody dedicating their spare time to walking the land recovering these beautiful pieces, be a bad thing?
..the items are now safe from any more damage, they’ve been recorded with the museum, their find spots have been noted & every single day...Every. Single. Day. ....these items bring me joy, when that’s the one thing that’s in short supply for me at the moment..
...I ask again. Is that so bad?...
...is the hobby perfect? Absolutely not. Is more good done than harm? I certainly like to think so. Can improvements be made to separate the good detectorists from the morons? Probably, but please don’t ask me what they are. It’s early & I’m bound to upset somebody https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy" aria-label="Emoji: Face with tears of joy">...
...as I said earlier, I can only speak from a personal point of view & as you all know, I absolutely adore what I do. I’ve spent the best part of 5 years wandering fields, searching for remnants of those that came before us. The hobby has helped me immeasurably...
...which makes it a bitter pill to swallow when I read somebody’s views about metal detectorists which they’ve portrayed not so much as an opinion, but more so as a fact. It reeks of narrow mindedness & arrogance. I’m going to wrap it up there. Have a great day all & take care https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙏🏻" title="Folded hands (light skin tone)" aria-label="Emoji: Folded hands (light skin tone)">
