BBC radio 4 are doing a piece on metal detecting this evening

[Sith]

The end of the Costing the Earth program showed Ireland as the way to go, banning detecting. The problem with Ireland is that a country which has had such a highly level of secrecy built in to the fabric of the communities during the era of the IRA is hardly going to provide the level of data required to draw any conclusions.

Do you mean the Republic of Ireland where you are required to apply for a licence for detection under Section 2 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1987 (which also applies to archaeological geophysical prosepection), or Northern Ireland where random detection might throw up metalic surprises of interest to the authorities and certain members of the public with a vested interest in ownership?