6th February 2008, 02:44 AM
hi there
first time post, i didn't see the TT programme i'm afraid, but i have worked on sites with a couple of metal detectorists in the northants region who were excellent. They were local to the site we were on and they really intergrated with what we were doing and contributed massively to the success of the project. The company i was working for has subsequently used these two guys for other projects - paying their travel costs - and they were happy to do so on their days off from their other jobs. This experience made me change my opinion of metal detectorists from a broad ' they are all looters ' to one of more tolerance and of amazement at what they can achieve using their skills. They certainly knew more than any of us on site about roman coinage and we were able to transfer skills between the two genres. I have since had experience with others who have been more of an untrusted annoyance on site - usually where you effectively have no choice but to allow them on site otherwise they will come back when you're not there. These are the cases where it is necessary to try and work with them in the hope that if they feel 'part of the team' then they may be more likely to tell you when they have found something. I didn't really appreciate feeling 'held to ransom' in these cases but what else can you do? especially when the site is on easily accessibly land. Good metal detectorists can also spot a bad one a mile off!! the useful tips are worth their weight in gold - so to speak!
first time post, i didn't see the TT programme i'm afraid, but i have worked on sites with a couple of metal detectorists in the northants region who were excellent. They were local to the site we were on and they really intergrated with what we were doing and contributed massively to the success of the project. The company i was working for has subsequently used these two guys for other projects - paying their travel costs - and they were happy to do so on their days off from their other jobs. This experience made me change my opinion of metal detectorists from a broad ' they are all looters ' to one of more tolerance and of amazement at what they can achieve using their skills. They certainly knew more than any of us on site about roman coinage and we were able to transfer skills between the two genres. I have since had experience with others who have been more of an untrusted annoyance on site - usually where you effectively have no choice but to allow them on site otherwise they will come back when you're not there. These are the cases where it is necessary to try and work with them in the hope that if they feel 'part of the team' then they may be more likely to tell you when they have found something. I didn't really appreciate feeling 'held to ransom' in these cases but what else can you do? especially when the site is on easily accessibly land. Good metal detectorists can also spot a bad one a mile off!! the useful tips are worth their weight in gold - so to speak!