Lost and found

Historically valuable artefacts are being stolen by thieves using metal detectors across Britain in a practice known as ‘nighthawking’. The criminals are using metal detectors to raid land without permission of the landowner and over a third of the attacks are on prohibited land such as scheduled monuments which are of historical interest.

Once retrieved, the items are either hoarded or sold on via online auctions. Although the practice can be prosecuted under the Theft Act, only one in seven targeted landowners report illegal metal detecting and very few cases result in legal action. “Even in the case when the finds are retrieved, the context of how and where the finds were found has been lost, significantly diminishing their historical value,” says English Heritage chairman Sir Barry Cunliffe.

Responsible metal detecting, however, can unearth great historic delights as two enthusiasts recently found out. Bob White and Cliff Smith discovered the remains of a 1,500-year-old Saxon burial ground on farmland near Lewes in Sussex. The pair found the skeletons of a man and two women, with brooches a bronze bowl and a spear and shield in the graves, indicating the family were probably of high status. It is hoped that after further analysis the discoveries will go on public display at Lewes’s Barbican House Museum.