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ISSUE 15All the latest news from the National Council for Metal Detecting

C O N T E N T S

Guest Speaker – Mark Harrison

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NCMD Newsletter Manager: Trevor AustinPublisher: Editor, Design & Layout: Harry Bain, Searcher Publications LtdTypesetting, Production and Repro: Tradeset LtdPrinted and Distributed by: Warners Midlands PLC, West Street, Bourne, Lincs, PE10 9PH.

N E W S

Mark Harrison FSA National Policing and CrimeAdvisor was the guest speaker at the Februarymeeting of the NCMD Executive.

Mark gave us an update on what was happeningin ARCH (The Alliance to Reduce Crime AgainstArchaeology). He also gave a presentation whichincluded a couple of recent arrests andprosecutions for illegal metal detecting whichshowed some of the damage which had beendone to a scheduled Roman site.

Mark also outlined the work that ARCH aredoing to combat the theft of lead from churchroofs and graffiti done to historic buildings.

Although most of ARCH’s work is taken up withnon-detecting matters, such as theft fromAncient Monuments and the wilful destructionand in some cases demolition of listedbuildings, obviously illegal detecting comeswithin their remit, the NCMD as members ofARCH, welcome the opportunity to be able toprotect our heritage from such criminal activity.

Trevor Austin

P1-2 NCMD News

P2 What do you do whenyou find: A burial

P3 Policy statement onrecording with third parties

P4 Treasure Trove inScotland: A Code ofPractice update

P5 Outreach

P6 Launch of PAS Report

P8 Membership RenewalForm

P9-12 Regional News

www.ncmd.co.uk

Review of the ‘Criminal offences anddefences in the Ancient Monuments andArchaeological Areas Act 1979’The Welsh government are toreview the ‘Criminal Offences Act’shortly. This may well be a trialrun for looking at the Act inEngland at a later date. Below is a statement from thewww.wales.gov.uk/ website andsomething we will be keeping aneye on.

This document presents, for publicconsultation, a proposal foramendments to the criminaloffences and defences in sections2, 28 and 42 of the AncientMonuments and ArchaeologicalAreas Act 1979

Written Statement – Proposed

amendments to the criminaloffences and defences in theAncient Monuments andArchaeological Areas Act 1979.

Between 2006 and 2012, Cadwreceived reports of 119 cases ofunlawful damage to ScheduledAncient Monuments in Wales.However, there has been only onesuccessful prosecution under theAncient Monuments andArchaeological Areas Act 1979 inthe last 25 years.

A number of respondents to lastyear’s consultation, The future ofour past, expressed concernsabout the rarity of successful

prosecutions. Some called forchanges to the Act’s permitteddefence of ignorance of the statusor location of a monument tomake it easier to secureconvictions for illegal damage.

Accordingly, the Welsh Govern-ment would now like to receiveviews on a proposal to amend theoffences and defences in the1979 Act to modify the ‘ignorancedefence’.

Responses will be welcome fromany individuals or groups with aninterest in the historic environmentof Wales.

Trevor Austin

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Proposed European Council for Metal Detecting ECMDFollowing the meeting with theBulgarian Metal DetectingFederation and other interestedparties from around Europe inMay, the NCMD was asked tohead up the formulation of aEuropean Council For MetalDetecting (ECMD) with the viewto advising other EU countries onthe best way forward in the hopeof establishing an ‘English model’for the recording of portableantiquities.

There are many problems facingEU countries in establishing aworkable relationship similar tothe one we have in the UK, but itis hoped that the NCMD will beable to offer guidance on the bestway forward.

The NCMD are currently in theprocess of contacting all interestedmetal detecting organisationswithin the EU to establishdialogue on the problems beingfaced by them.

Trevor Austin

What do you do when you Find: A BurialA number of detector users, havein the pursuit of their hobby, comeacross burials or human remainsover the years, but what particularproblems, if any, do they pose.

Burials can take many forms; theycan be a collection of ploughdisturbed bones and artefacts,cremated remains or in some casea complete coffin. However theremains occur there are legal andethical procedures that need to beobserved before they can be

removed from the ground.

When suspected human remainsare found it is important toremember that they represent thefinal resting place of a person andas such need to be afforded duerespect. It is also important toremember that you will needprofessional advice to be able todetermine the age of the remainsand whether or not they areindeed human.

When any suspected remains arediscovered it is not always obvioushow old they are and indeed they

could be a part of a potentialcrime scene. It is therefore vitalthat you follow the law on suchmatters:

In the first instance to notify thePolice and/or Coroners Officer aswell as your local Finds LiaisonOfficer at the earliestopportunity.

Remember it is an offence forprofessional or amateurs todisturb or remove any humanremains without an appropriatelicence from the Home Office.

Whatever the situation in whichhuman remains occur, it isimportant to ensure that thelandowner and any otherinvolved parties such as tenantsare made fully aware of thesituation so are able to co-operate fully with anysubsequent investigations.

If the remains prove to be ancient,then the FLO will advise on how toproceed. It is also important toremember that even if there isevidence that leads you to believethe remains are indeed ancient,

the removal of any discoveredremains need to be carried out in a proper manner usually by way of a professional detailedarchaeological excavation.

Some burials, particularlycremations consist of organic aswell as burnt material and are notnecessarily obvious at first:important evidence to bepreserved in order to establish thecircumstances of the burial.

Trevor Austin

Proposed new logo

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MD Show Cancellation announcementWe regret to announce that the Metal Detecting Show schedule forSaturday 31 May to 1 June 2014 has had to be cancelled.

This is very unfortunate as considerable effort had been put into theevent and whilst a number of leading suppliers had booked to attendthere was insufficient support from organisations we needed to makethis happen.

It has now become clear that the show would not be of sufficient sizeand scope to achieve our usual level of presentation and thereforewould not meet the expectation of our visitors.

As a result the decision has been taken to cancel the show, this doesnot affect any of the existing or new events planned by MeridienneExhibitions.

Insurance ‘Trial Membership’As you are aware the NCMD,along with its insurance partnerEndsleigh Insurance, offer afacility whereby prospectivemembers of a club can ‘trial’ thehobby before making a decision as

to whether they wish to join theclub and be covered by ourinsurance.

This has proved popular with anumber of clubs; however Ithought it a good opportunity to

remind clubs of the procedure forqualification for the ‘trial’ period.The club needs to ensure that theprospective member wishing toparticipate in the ‘trial’ have theirdetails forwarded to me along

with the date the trial is to begin.

The trial period is for two monthsor two outings, whichever is thegreater.

Trevor Austin

Show and Conference in EssexTony Carter treasurer of the SaffronWalden Searchers MDC now has adate and venue for his show. Theshow and conference will takeplace on Sunday August 17 in theclubroom of Saffron Walden TownFootball Club between 9am-6pm.

The club has ample free parkingwith bar and hot food available,the morning will be displays witha probable competition of displaysand hopefully some speakers. Theafternoon will be a conferenceentitled: ‘The 1996 treasure act, isit fair to detectorists?’

Detectorists are invited to speak atthis conference, it is a platform foryou to air your views, so pleaseuse it.

There will be a £3 a head chargefor visitors and under 14's will befree, but anyone taking part,bringing displays, speaking etcwill be free as will dealers whowish to display their wears.

All wishing to take part pleasephone Tony on 01799 505836.

NCMD policy statement on the recording of finds data with third partiesThere have been some questionsasked recently by members aboutthe accuracy of finds recording. Itwould seem that the PAS arerefusing to record items fromfinders who submit find-spot dataof less than 6 figures. I thereforethought it appropriate to remindmembers of the NCMD policy onfinds recording and the finder’sduty to the landowner.

The NCMD recognises thatlandowners in England andWales* hold a greater legal titleto all non-Treasure items foundby metal detection or othermeans on their land. In doing so,NCMD members need torecognise that they have a duty ofcare to ensure that they upholdthis at all times.

This duty also includes an intentto ensure that before seeking to record any finds and find spots with third parties they havefull permission from thelandowner/tenant/occupier to doso and then only to an accuracy

and detail to which all relevantparties feel comfortable.

Issues surrounding the potentialpublication of findspots data, suchas on the Internet and elsewhereas well as the possible wider useof such data by third partyrecipients should be considered indiscussions with landowners.Where necessary, recordingorganisations such as the PortableAntiquities Scheme should beinformed of any requiredrestrictions on publication at thetime of recording and should makeprovision for this information onrecording forms and/or receipts.

Where a landowner/tenant/occupier has entered into an agri-environment Scheme agreementafter 2008 it is conditional that allfinds discovered whilst metaldetecting are made available forrecording by the PortableAntiquities Scheme. Detectoristsare reminded to follow at all timesthe terms and conditions laid downin the voluntary Code of Practice

for Responsible Metal Detectingwhen searching such land.

*The position in Scotland isdifferent whereby all objectswhose original owner or rightfulheirs are unknown are theproperty of the Crown and can beclaimed by the Crown. This meansthat neither finders norlandowners have any title to thematerial although the finder isnormally eligible for a full marketvalue ‘ex-gratia’ reward if theCrown claims the object. TheTreasure Trove Unit(www.treasuretrovescotland.co.uk)will normally require findspotsdetails, but there is norequirement for finders to obtainlandowner’s permission to recordthis information. NCMD membershave a duty of care to ensure thatthey comply with Scotland’sTreasure Trove Laws at all times.

Appendix D to the NCMDConstitution (AGM June 2012).

Trevor Austin

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Treasure Trove in Scotland: A Code of PracticeIn issue 14 of Digging Deep, I gave details of the ongoing review of the2008 Code of Practice which currently governs Scotland’s TreasureTrove System.

On 4 March 2014, Committee members of the NCMD Scottish Regionmet with Andrew Brown, Solicitor to the QLTR whose office is vestedwith the responsibility of reviewing the current Code.

The key aim of the meeting was to establish current progress with thereview, and some of the main points highlighted during the discussionwere as follows:

1. Valuations of finds: The new Code will now allow for a range ofvaluations to be submitted to finders to better inform them in theevent that they may wish to submit an appeal.

2. It is being recommended that museums should credit finders oftreasure trove items on request. This will be entirely voluntary, andthose finders who choose to remain anonymous will have theirwishes respected.

3. Where two or more museums are competing for acquisition of atreasure trove item, the finder will be asked if he/she has apreference.

4. Membership of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel(SAFAP) is being increased by two in order to enhance the panel’sarchaeological expertise.

The fully revised Code is to be submitted for approval to the next meetingof SAFAP on 27 March 2014, and thereafter, to the ScottishGovernment for approval. It is expected that the Code will then bepublished on the following sites: http://www.qltr.gov.uk/content/treasure-trovehttp://www.treasuretrovescotland.co.uk

Alastair Hacket

OBITUARY – JEAN JUBBIt is sad to report on the suddenand untimely death just a fewdays before Christmas of Mrs JeanJubb wife of Malcolm Jubb. Jeanwas a long-time member of theNCMD Yorkshire Region, apersonal friend and a member ofthe Down to Earth MDC inDoncaster.

For many years Jean was a regularface at rallies as she accompaniedMalcolm around the countryrepresenting Whites Electronics.Jean’s dream was to metal detectabroad, especially Spain, shemanaged to fulfil her dream andthey would travel there each yearin their motorhome, a trip they didfor nearly 20 years detectingnumerous beaches; she alsotravelled to America where theyregularly detected the beachesalong the Florida coast.

What many did not know was thatJean was also a proficientmarathon runner in her earlieryears winning many medals fromevents around the country andabroad.

Jeans happy smiling face will besorely missed by all who knewher. She leaves a Son Andrew aDaughter Louise and twograndchildren. Jean was crematedat Doncaster Crematorium on the16 January 2014.

Trevor AustinNCMD General Secretary

www.ncmd.co.uk 5

More Key-Stage 2 Outreach – The Tudorsperiod coins to the pupils which alsoillustrated the various monarchsthrough the coin portrait. Tudorclothing was also popular especiallythe footwear and foot patten’s.

However one of the most popularpieces was the bollock dagger,which was shown around the classrather than allowing the pupils tohandle the object, for obviousreasons, although for this lessonwe renamed it a kidney dagger.

Pictured are the winners of thequiz, both of whom chose Minelabcaps as prizes.

I am pleased to see that other clubshave also taken up the challenge.

Trevor Austin

As with other visits to local schools,in previous years when theRomans was the topic, the Tudorsoffers the chance to show pupilsfinds from the Tudor period fitting innicely with the National CurriculumKey-Stage 2.

During my visit to Morley PlaceJunior School Conisborough, onceagain the pupils were enthralledby the opportunity to handleactual coins and artefacts from theperiod, helping them to relate tothe subject.

Beginning with a PowerPointpresentation covering the Tudordynasty and moving on to Tudormarkets and trading, gave me theopportunity to introduce a variety of

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Launch of the 2014 PAS & Treasure ReportsI had been invited to this event byDr. Michael Lewis as one of theNCMD representatives on thePortable Antiquities AdvisoryGroup (PAAG). NCMD ChairmanSteve Critchley and GeneralSecretary Trevor Austin had alsobeen invited but were unable toattend. I was thus the sole NCMDrepresentative. The event was heldon Thursday 16 January at BritishMuseum at 8.30am.

I met Dan Golbourn of TreasureHunting outside the museum. Wewere not allowed in until 8.30 andeventually made our way up themain steps to the Central Saloonwhere we were greeted by MichaelLewis and some much neededcoffee. Dr. Sam Moorhead, aRoman coins expert was helpingto set out two of the four big findson display, a rare Anglo Saxonhoard of silver jewellery and coinsfrom Norfolk and an intriguing2nd century Roman hoard of silverjewellery and coins found inKnutsford by detectorist AlanBates. Alan had sensibly stoppeddetecting after finding 12 silverdenarii and called in the CheshireFLO. Teams of archaeologists thenexcavated the site finding 89 moredenarii, two copper alloy sestertii,three silver-gilt trumpet brooches,two rosettes and two finger ringswith red stones.

Two other recent finds were being

put out on display. One was aRoman 3rd century copper alloybalsamarium (vessel) found atPetham in Kent by a French daytripper on a rally. Unlike the threeother finds it was not Treasure.The landowners have lent theobject to Canterbury Museum.The last item was a silver ewer, alarge jug made from a kilo ofmetal. It bore four hallmarks thatdated it to 1635-6 and was foundby three detectorists at KingstonRussell in Dorset. Stuart McLeod,a primary school headteacher anda novice detectorist picked up thesignal and called over his muchmore experienced colleagues,Stephen Tharp, a retired chef andShawn Miller, a joiner. All threecarefully removed the object fromthe ground. Stuart believed thatthe object might be the original FACup, stolen from a Birminghamshop in 1895. The hallmarksproved otherwise. DorchesterMuseum hopes to acquire it.Vessels such as the ewer wereoften paired with a silver salver.The three detectorists, who willshare any reward payable, plan tosee if this is the case with theirfind. Stuart, Shawn and theirwives were all at the event as werethe landowners, Mr. and Mrs.Sykes.

Each of the four finds waspresided over by a specialist

academic. Rob Philpott fromLiverpool Museum handled theKnutsford Hoard, while Tim Pestellfrom Norwich Castle Museumsupervised the Norfolk Hoardwhich consisted mainly ofEdmund pennies. Thebalsamarium was in the safehands of Craig Bowen fromCanterbury Museum. DoraThornton, from the BritishMuseum was in charge of theewer.

By 9.00am most of the guests,delegates and VIPs had arrivedand the four displays werecomplete. A number of journalists,including Maev Kennedy from theGuardian, Jack Malvern from theTimes and Hannah Furness fromthe Telegraph had also joined theparty paying particular attention tothe four finds on display. At 9.10Ed Vaizey, the Minister for Culturearrived closely followed by HelenGoodman, MP for BishopAuckland and also the ShadowMinister for Culture, Media andSport.

Justin Deekes, arrived represent-ing FID and across the saloon andat the other end of the archi-political spectrum stood Dr. MikeHeyworth, Director of the CBA,many of whose members, it hasbeen suggested are perhaps notavid supporters of metal detectingor the Treasure Act and its reward

system. It is hoped that they willoffer better support for the work ofthe Portable Antiquities Schemeand the NCMD. A rather moredetector friendly face was that ofProfessor Norman Palmer CBEQC, a barrister specialising incultural property law, the formerchair of the TVC and now LegalAdviser to the NCMD.

The BM and PAS hierarchy havelong felt that it is politicallyexpedient to appear neutral in anyperceived conflict betweenarchaeology and detecting. NeilMacGregor, Dr. Roger Bland, Headof PAS, Michael Lewis, his deputyand Ian Richardson, TreasureRegistrar made a politically neutralbeeline for Mr. and Mrs. Sykes.Landowners are, after all,apolitical in this context. TheMinister and Shadow Ministerwere also introduced to Mr. andMrs. Sykes.

I decided it was now my turn andintroduced myself to the Dorsetcouple. They were very pleasedand excited by the discovery of theewer as well as the many otherinteresting finds made on theirland. They could not understandwhy many other local landownersdid not permit detecting on theirland. “Welcome to the world ofarchi-politics” I thought, whiletelling the couple that the NCMDwas doing all it could to get more

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landowners on board and that thestory of the ewer’s discovery bythree detectorists who were clearlya credit to the hobby wouldprovide useful publicity.

It was now time to speak to MikeHeyworth. He had, to be fair tohim, made an early start to theday catching the 6.00am trainfrom York and arriving at KingsCross at 8.15. I reassured himthat the NCMD was now familiarwith the contents of the 2013 ELSand HLS Handbooks, which was apolite way of telling him that if anyof his members started feedingincorrect anti-detectinginformation to landowners whohad ELS or HLS agreements thatthe NCMD would be able andpleased to put the matter right.

At 9.25 we were all called toattention for the two speeches.Neil MacGregor came on first,praising the PAS and Treasure Actand confirming that the BM iscommitted to the long termsuccess of the Scheme, whichwas internationally envied but notemulated. Ed Vaizey also praisedthe PAS and all who worked in theScheme. He said that the fourfinds on display were fascinatingand jokingly pointed out that theKnutsford Hoard had been foundin Chancellor George Osborne’sown Constituency. A few morefinds like that might help pay offthe National debt!

Ed Vaizey gave a personal thankyou to Trevor Austin for his work

on the TVC over the last ten years,and apologised that Trevor couldnot be present.

After the speeches it was time formore mingling and lobbying. Imanaged to introduce myself to EdVaizey and told him everyoneshould bear in mind how manyring-pulls, lumps of lead andshotgun cartridges had to be dugup in the pursuit of one entry onthe PAS database. Justin Deekesthen joined us and Ed askedwhether he would be able topreside over a merger of ourorganisations. I replied that therewas no reason why FID membersshould not join NCMD so long asthey adhered to its Code ofConduct and paid their subs!

I had a quick word with RogerBland, hoping to extract one ortwo titbits relating to the review ofthe Treasure Act by the DCMS andthe vacant position for a Finder’sRepresentative on the TVC with aview to passing the information onto the NCMD senior management.

I could see Helen Goodman, theShadow Minister talking with Dr.Barrie Cook and Dr. GarethWilliams, from the BM’s Coins andMedals Department. I explained toHelen that as a Labour politicianshe should bear in mind thatdetecting is mainly a working classhobby which costs most of itsparticipants a fair bit of moneyand that 95% of finds were post1700 and not recordable. Inaddition to that the return of lost

property, in particular rings andmilitary medals, is anotherimportant and frequent benefit ofdetecting.

Barrie Cook then told me that hehad some of my coins and hewould talk to me later. I had noidea what he was talking aboutbut it was now after 10.00am andI had a chance to talk to JackMalvern of The Times andHannah Furness of the Telegraphmedia group before they left. Theyhad been impressed by the eventand by the Dorset detectorists inparticular. I told them what I hadsaid to Helen Goodman andadded that the NCMD wereconcerned about the spreading ofcontaminated Green Waste andwere playing a prominent part inthe fight against Heritage Crime.Silver ewers and Roman hoardswere not an everyday find!

By 10.20 most people startedleaving. Barrie Cook came up tome and told me that 25 silverpennies had recently come to lightin the Coins Department and hehad realised that they had beenfrom the Reigate Hoard of 6705hammered coins I had found in1990. I had told him back in1992 after the bulk of the hoardhad been handed over toGlendinings Auctioneers that thereappeared to a number of penniesmissing. I collected 25 pennies ofEdward III, Richard II, Henry IVand Henry V from the coindepartment and showed them tothe Dorset detectorists and their

wives. Shaun had found aconsiderable number ofhammered coins over the yearsbut Stuart, the novice, had neverfound any. He agreed that theKingston Russell Ewer was a fairlygood compensation prize.

The event ended and we all wenthome. The next day’s Timescarried a six column article byJack Malvern which concentratedmainly on the 9th century AngloSaxon Hoard from Norfolk. Hisarticle also pointed out that inaddition to the 990 Treasure findsincluded in the 2011 TreasureReport, that there were almost74,000 items in the 2012 PASReport, including thebalsamarium from Kent.

Two thirds of Maev Kennedy’sarticle in the Guardian wasdevoted to the Dorset ewer. Theremainder of her article featuredthe three other finds and NeilMacGregor’s speech.

My only concern over events suchas this and their subsequent writeups in the national press is thatthey could well give themisleading impression that everytime a detector beeps an object ofantiquity and maybe of somefinancial value will be unearthed.But the event was, after all, aboutthe PAS and Treasure rather thanmetal detecting.

Roger Mintey

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NATIONAL COUNCILFOR METAL DETECTINGMEMBER OF: SPORT AND RECREATION ALLIANCEDear Individual Member

Your membership of the National Council for Metal Detecting expires on the 31 March 2014. We hope that you have received promptattention throughout the past year and thank you for your continued support of the hobby.Subscription for 2014/15 for Individual members on the Central Register, £8-00. (Please note subscription for individual members of a NCMD region may vary and individual members are advised to contact theirRegional Secretary)If you have not yet renewed your membership, please complete the attached form and return with your subscription. All cheques should be made payable to the National Council for Metal Detecting and returned to the address below.Alternatively you may wish to pay online at www.ncmd.co.uk/membership.htm by either PayPal or Debit/Credit card.Please ensure that all information we hold on record is correct. If you have already sent your subscription for the forthcoming year, pleaseignore this reminder.Trevor Austin, General Secretary--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name.......................................................................................................................................................................

Address ....................................................................................................................................................................

E-Mail ......................................................................................................................................................................

Membership Number 2013/14 ...................................................................................................................................

Subscription Enclosed. £8.00 .............................................Signature ..........................................................................

John Rigby, 6 Arkholme Ave, Blackpool, Lancs, FY1 6QJ Tel. 01253 692313 E-mail. jjrigby@SKY.com

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Delivering the message

M I D L A N D R E G I O N

The Midlands Federation of MetalDetecting Clubs, the Midlandsregion of the NCMD, was recentlyasked if they could provide a talkat a primary school in the area.The request came from a teacherwho is related to one of thecommittee members.

For many years the CoventryHeritage Detector Society (CHDS)has delivered talks on manydetecting related subjects tovarious clubs and social groups inthe area and as I am now not onlythe current Chairman of theCHDS, but also a committeemember of the MidlandsFederation I was asked by theChairman if I was interested inhelping to provide a school talk.As a long established club wehave delivered talks to schools inthe past and they have alwaysproven to be very popular,however, this request was a littledifferent.

The usual format has always beento give a talk showing variousitems that have been found onclub digs. In the case of schools,the talk has usually been followedby a detecting session on theschool playing fields which ofcourse the children have enjoyedimmensely. We often previouslyplanted some items of interest forthe children to find to add to theinterest.

The difference this time was thatthe request was for a talk on theRoman occupation of Britain.Apparently this is a part of thecurrent curriculum for 7to 8 yearolds. John Wells, Chairman of theMidlands Federation, knowingthat I had some presentationskills, asked if I was interested inworking on the project with him.Naturally I was interested as theclub has always been keen tosupport the local community andpromote the public image of ourhobby.

There was a very tight deadline,but we set about the taskimmediately and devoted a lot oftime to prepare what we thoughtwould be an excellentpresentation. As it turned out, thetask was a mammoth one asfinding images and film clips etc.wasn’t as easy as we had at first

envisaged. We also found that alot of research was needed aswhatever we presented to a groupof school children had to befactually accurate.

We decided that although the talkwas about the Roman occupation,we needed to approach thesubject with a leaning towards thedetecting aspect.

After several hours of work andsome comical moments with theouttakes we produced what weconsidered to be an excellentshow. We didn’t have a lot of timeto rehearse, but we felt that in truetheatrical tradition it would bealright on the night, or moreaccurately, the day.

With our Powerpoint presentationsafely loaded onto a memory stickwe were ready to go. On the day,we were joined by Pam Finch, themother of the teacher who hadrequested the talk, and RaySimpson another club member.

We had invited Ray as he has avery extensive collection of Romancoins and artefacts and he wasprepared to bring some of themalong to add further interest to thetalk. We were also equipped witha superb reproduction Romanmilitary helmet provided by MikeLongfield of Midland Detectors.This has always proven popular atthe exhibitions we have organisedin the past.

Once in the classroom we werewelcomed by the children and wewere immediately impressed bytheir manners and goodbehaviour.

The presentation started, with arecorded narration by John. Atintervals we stopped the slides toexplain Latin names and answerany questions that arose. Thechildren were enthralled,especially by film clips of battlingRomans and Ancient Britons and

also by gladiators fighting to thedeath. When we reached the partabout communal Roman toiletsthere was a gasp of horror!

After the main presentation Johntalked about Roman numerals andwe were surprised to see howmuch they knew about thesubject.

Several readers may be wonderingwhat all of this has to do with ourhobby and I shall now answer thatquestion. The Club have, over aperiod of some 35 years, enjoyedpermission to detect on someprime sites throughoutWarwickshire and Leicestershire.Many of the sites that we havegained permission upon havebeen owned by farmers andlandowners who have attendedone of our talks. Many sites havebeen acquired after introductionsat school fetes where we havegiven demonstrations. The schoolsthat we have visited are usually inrural areas and of course, as theysay, there is method in ourmadness. The children go homeand tell their parents what a greatday they have had.

So there you have it. One of oursecrets is now out. By puttingsomething back into the ruralcommunity we gain a lot of primefarmland sites and we arewelcomed back time and timeagain.

Following the success of our firstnew style talk we intend to followup by developing others, someaimed at adults as there are manyclubs and societies always on thelook out for speakers to providetalks. In the past the CHDS hasdelivered talks to Young Farmersassociations, Women’s Institutes,Rotary Clubs and various others.

I can only recommend that otherclubs try this approach to gainingpermissions as it really does work,but of course, not on our patch!

Alan CharlishChairman CHDSThe slide show in progress

John demonstrates Roman numerals

Next came the unveiling of theRoman helmet which heralded yetanother appreciative gasp from thechildren.

Children love to see the Roman helmet

Each child was allowed to closelyexamine Roman coins, broochesand jewellery and each child hada photo taken wearing the Romanhelmet.

Examining Roman coins and brooches

Finally John demonstrated one ortwo metal detectors and a pinpointprobe.

To finish there was a questionand answer session and probablyneedless to say with children oftheir age it went on for quitesometime.

John demonstrates metal detectors

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SMA Rally ReportA rally held on 150 acres offarmland adjacent to the FosseWay near Shipston on Stour,Warwickshire took place onSunday 23 March.

The SMA Rally organised by thededicated committee of TheMidlands Federation of MetalDetector Clubs, headed byChairman, John Wells, raised£3,000 for the SMA charity. Afurther £300 was raised from thesale of refreshments and another£200 from a raffle held on theday. Total £3,500.

The weather was cold and attimes wet, but that didn’t dampenthe enthusiasm of the visitingdetectorists some of whom had

travelled many miles to attend theevent. Some were rewarded withfinds of hammered coinage, thebest of these being a gold halfcrown of James I found by GaryTomlinson from Nottingham.

Many items were recorded for the PAS by the two FLO’s whowere in attendance on the day.489 finds were shown to TeresaGilmore, who is responsible forStaffordshire and West Midlands,and Angie Bolton whoseresponsibility is Worcestershireand Warwickshire.

coins. However, the day wasenjoyed by all and a veryworthwhile charity benefited fromthe funds raised.

The SMA team responsible washeaded up by Mandy Lane. Shewas delighted with the outcomeand the good behaviour andfriendliness of those that attendedcertainly helped to showcase thehobby in a good light.

The rally was heralded a majorsuccess and already there is talkof making yet more farmlandavailable for future events.

Many thanks to those thatattended and for the way thateveryone contributed on the day.

Alan CharlishMidlands Federation (NCMD)Gary Tomlinson

Gary’s Gold James 1 Half Crown

A lady detectorist using a Garrett Ace foundthis medieval purse bar

She also found a fine example of apilgrim’s ampulla

Teresa Gilmore and Angie Bolton admiringGary Tomlinson’s James I gold half crown

Perhaps surprisingly, from a site soclose to the Fosse, not much wasfound of Roman origin, just one ortwo brooches and a few bronze

Midlands Federation ChairmanJohn Wells counts money raised on the day

Another notable find was this rather bentmedieval gold ring.

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Battle of Bannockburn

S C O T T I S H R E G I O N

PAAG 16th May meetingNext NCMD meeting will be on the 29th June

M E E T I N G D A T E

The Bannockburn 700 BattlefieldArchaeological Digs are beingundertaken by GUARD Archaeologyon behalf of the National Trust forScotland, in collaboration withGlasgow University's Centre forBattlefield Archaeology, the NationalTrust for Scotland, Stirling Counciland the BBC.

This has been one of the longestrunning projects that SARG MDC,based in Bonnybridge, has beeninvolved in since day one of theproject. The Bannockburn Projecthas taken over 18 months withover ten detecting surveys,including the ‘Big Dig’ with 250local volunteers taking part in themass community archaeologyproject. The final survey tookplace on Saturday 15 February2014, near Skeoch Farm, Stirling.This survey involved over 50detectorists from various areas of Scotland, including SARGmembers. On the day, GUARDArchaeology announced that themost significant items found todate relating to the battle, hadbeen uncovered by SARG at aprevious survey. All of which willbe revealed in the upcoming TVDocumentary, filmed by the BBCon Bannockburn to commemorate700th Anniversary of the Battle.

On the morning of Saturday 15February, the final battle lines ofTransects were laid out and thedetectorists stepped forth, workingtheir way through the field baggingany finds and pinning a yellowflag beside them ready for GUARDto GPS the area. Hundreds of findswere recovered on the day with afew interesting battle relateditems, all to be revealed soon!

Neil Oliver and Dr Tony Pollard,will present the programme whichwill go out in 2014 to coincidewith the 700th anniversary of thebattle. This is the first time that theduo have been reunited since theBBC series ‘Two Men in a Trench’.

Dr Tony Pollard, Director, Centrefor Battlefield Archaeology,University of Glasgow was only

too happy to answer a couple ofquestions for the Digging Deep.

Question 1: The use of multipleinvestigations on the Bannockburnproject to understand differentaspects of the Battle, howsuccessful has the MetalDetecting Method been over Thelast 18 months?

Dr Tony Pollard: “The metaldetecting has taken place overlarge tracts of the landscape andthere is no doubt at all that thiswould not have been possiblewithout the efforts of volunteerdetectorists. A lot of thought wentinto to where to detect and asidefrom appearing to be filmed this is largely where my input has been.Bannockburn was always intendedto be a community project but Ihave to say now that it is over I amreally happy how well that side ofthings went - with the detecting andthe use of volunteer diggers.Bannockburn was never going tobe easy but it would have beenimpossible without the time andeffort that so many people put intoit. This is the first time that aScottish medieval battlefield hasbeen subject to intensivearchaeological survey and I think itwill stand as an important exampleof a multidisciplinary project wheredifferent techniques, includingdetecting, topographic survey,geophysics and environmentalsurvey have all come together toprovide a never before possibleimpression of the battle and itsarchaeological legacy. As to thespecifics, important discoverieshave been made but until theprogrammes are broadcast in June,I cannot discuss them further.”

Question 2: Your own personalinvolvement over the last 18months filming Tony, what hasbeen your highlight that you willtake from the project?

Dr Tony Pollard: “Personally therehave been a lot of ups and downsin this project. When TV is involvedI always find that the stakes arethat much higher and there is

added pressure. On wet days whennothing much was turning up ithas to be said that it could be afairly miserable experience, butthen again there would always bepeople out there putting in theeffort come rain or shine. I thinkthe times when there seemed anarmy of people out there, all ofthem committed to the project,that I enjoyed the most (the BigDig where the local communitythrew itself into the project and thelast day of detecting come to mindas high points). Finding stuff wasgood too!”

I also managed to catch up withBBC Scotland Producer / DirectorFolko Boermans, who was onlytoo happy to answer somequestions on ‘The Quest forBannockburn’ for Digging Deep.

Question 1: Can you give us anupdate on when the TVprogramme is due to launch?

Folko Boermans: “The programmesare due to go out on the 2nd and9th of June on BBC2 but thismight still change”

Question 2: How did you find theexperience working with so manyvolunteers who were pivotal to

helping make the programme?

Folko Boermans: “This has been atruly collaborative project and Ihave been blown away by thecommitment and passion of allthe volunteers! We had a brilliantteam working with the metaldetecting groups, an army ofdiggers, school children,Operation Nightingale and ofcourse Clanranald”.

The project has been an incredibleprivilege to be involved with,meeting some amazing volunteerson the way. The relationship withthe detectorists and all the staff atGUARD Archaeology, has been acredit to everyone involved.

The New Bannockburn HeritageCentre opened on March 1 2014,with an innovative attraction withstate-of-the-art 3D battle simula-tion that transforms the wayvisitors of all ages learn aboutBannockburn. The cost of the newvisitor centre is over £9 million.

For more information:Bannockburn Heritage Centrewww.battleofbannockburn.com

By Lesley SleithChair Scottish Region

Disclaimer: “The views expressed in this Newsletter are those of its correspondents and contributors, views which are not necessarily agreed to by officers of the NCMD or the organisations as a whole. Such views orcomment cannot be taken in any way to represent NCMD policy on any particular issue or topic unless stated. It is deemed by the NCMD that the responsibility for the accuracy and content of any articles submitted,either by individual members or clubs remains with their authors. Where possible the Newsletter manager will check the accuracy of statements and their content and reserves the right to edit or amend content whichis deemed unsuitable for publication.”

12 www.ncmd.co.uk

The NCMD Yorkshire Region AGM Trevor Austin

Y O R K S H I R E R E G I O N

Philipines Aid Filipina Anzale

During the recent storms in thePhilippines the NCMD YorkshireRegion gave a cash donation tofamilies living in the troubledareas. I was pleased to receive athank you from the families wehelped.

G E T I N T O U C HFor membership enquiriescontact the MembershipSecretary: John Rigby6 Arkholme AvenueBlackpool, Lancs, FY1 6QJ

Tel: 01253 692313jjrigby@sky.com

For all other enquiries pleasecontact the General Secretary:Trevor Austin51 Hilltop GardensDenaby, Doncaster, DN12 4SA

Tel: 01709 868521trevor.austin@ncmd.co.uk

‘To father-in-law of ArmindaMiguel Large thank you so muchfor your help to my family andmost specially to Metal DetectingAssociation, thank you very muchI wish all the blessings to yourassociation, god bless you all’.

The Yorkshire Region held its AGMon 2 March which included theregions Find of the Yearcompetition and usual raffle.

Dr Kevin Leahy was kind enough tojudge the competition once againwith help from his wife Diane.There was a good turnout as usualwith around 50 members attendingand 34 of those staying on andgoing out detecting afterwards.

There was the usual raffle whichconsisted of some good prizesincluding a GPS, Pinpointer,books, a huge hamper which tookup two baskets, cash, a couple of

aluminium coin cases, and theusual selection of smaller prizes.

The find of the year competitionconsisted of the usual 30 trophiescovering 10 categories. In additionwas a trophy for the best showcasewon by the South Yorkshire MDC,best coin won with a NE Coastgold stater also from the SouthYorkshire MDC, best artefactwinner was a Celtic bronze beadedtorc from Down to Earth MDC andthe Mike Longfield trophy, for theclub or individual who hascontributed most to the region overthe last 12 months, was won by

Barry Williams on behalf of theDown to Earth/Hoyland clubs fortheir charity work.

The next meeting is the usual first

Sunday of the month 6 April at theForesters Arms Sherburn in Elmet,start time 9-30am detectingafterwards site permitting.