There's been some questions about detecting in parts of the @ChilternsAONB, so I thought a quick clear up for those wondering - a thread...

Metal detecting is a wonderful hobby when done responsibly and can be a real ally to archaeological enquiry. There are a few rules, though

Chief among them is permission. You absolutely must have landowner permission. And there are some places for which you cannot ever get permission. These are Scheduled Monuments. Protected by law and by @HistoricEngland , it is a Heritage Crime to detect on these sites

There have been some questions about Ivinghoe Beacon @AshridgeNT - that's a big no for 2 reasons. @NatTrustArch doesn't allow detecting anyway, so no landowner permission. AND it is a Scheduled Monument. So anyone detecting there is carrying out a prosecutable offence.

Now, the majority of detectorists in the UK are like our friends from the TV series- they love learning about the past and becoming closer to the heritage all around us. The follow the rules and they share their discoveries through the Portable Antiquities Scheme @findsorguk

This lets everyone learn and marvel and get excited about what traces of the past are under our feet. But those that are breaking the rules - indeed, breaking the law! - are stealing not only from the site owner, but from all of us. Our collective human story.

And whether they are flogging a coin on eBay or selling a hoard to a private collector or just hoarding it all themselves in a shoebox under the bed, if it's done illegally, it is theft. Theft of property, but also of our human legacy.

I have worked with many detectorists through the course of my archaeological career. Sometimes they go over the spoil heaps or identify large 'hits' of metal in the trench for me, not to dig up as treasure, but so we know they are there when we get down to them.

It is easy, particularly on a muddy, wet training excavation, to miss small pieces of ancient metal, so having a safety net on the spoil help and a prior warning in the trench is always useful. The detectorists become part of the project, they get the thrill of the 'hunt'

And they get to hone their own skills of identification working alongside period specialists. Although tbf, some of the detectorists I know can rightly boast of a better knowledge of some periods than I - one is an expert on 17th century buttons!

The point of this now overlong thread is: Detectorists are not the enemy of archaeologists and archaeology - we are stronger together. But the few bad apples - like anyone detecting on Scheduled Monuments and private land without consent - are ruining things for everyone else

If you see someone detecting where you know they ought not, report it. It is a crime. Sure, our over-burdened police may not be able to respond - they've a lot on their plates. But if Heritage Crime isn't reported, then it seems not to exist statistically.

And if it doesn't look like a problem, then solutions are unlikely to be resourced.