A few times each month, I'll receive either an email or a text from someone who is new to the sport of metal detecting and they always seem to ask me the same question... "I want to make the same finds that you do, how do I this?". By writing this article, my desire is to inform and hopefully inspire those new to this hobby to take the time to do the research necessary to recover the relics lost by the early pioneers who settled our great countries.
Metal Detecting involves the search for and the study of anything left behind by the pioneers or early settlers who came before us, finding this evidence can be as easy as walking past clearly distinguishable foundations in the ground. There are signs of early settlement nearly everywhere we look in farm fields and it can be as simple as noticing broken glass or pottery fragments in the dirt. It can also be as complex as using lasers, satellite imagery and other modern geophysical techniques to reveal long-lost structures. Learning the skills and utilizing the conveniences of today's modern technology can help detectorists locate relics from the past that very likely might have been overlooked even 30 years ago.
The simplest and oldest identification method of locating early settlement activity is by doing a field-walk looking for evidence of human activity. This can be done either by a random stroll or by walking a predetermined grid pattern through the field. Unless the evidence is clearly visible such as broken pottery or glass, these field-walks usually require a trained eye to read the clues. Understanding exactly what you see may also require knowledge of the local geology and soil conditions in the area and who is more familiar with this then the farmers who live in the area. It pays for detectorists to make friends with the locals and to be respectful and grateful for their knowledge and advice.
In recent years, metal detectorists have begun to use online technology methods to find homestead sites that may have previously been overlooked, this technique is broadly referred to as Remote Sensing. Remote sensing is defined as the search for information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, as compared to an in situ or on-site observation. This term is applied to acquiring information about the Earth, its topography, and how early human settlement has changed it.
By using online research tools such as Google Earth and Google Maps, detectorist now have the opportunity to locate long-forgotten foundations or structures hidden for centuries from view. Google Earth utilizing 3D-technology, allows us to view forest growth and the earth's topography without having to physically hike through these areas. With the use of high-resolution satellite scans using lasers or by applying 3D technology, satellite photographs can now detect subtle changes of ground surfaces that are not always visible to the human eye at ground-level. For instance, high-tech LiDAR (light detection and ranging) fires pulsed lasers to determine distance based on what reflects back. When utilized from an aircraft, millions of points are collected, resulting in a detailed topographic map of the landscape that can then be viewed online.
Many years ago, detectorists used early road maps combined with aerial photography from the 1950s to locate old homestead sites in the fields. But today, satellite technology is widely available online utilizing satellite imagery which enables detectorists to discover new sites and (like myself) monitor existing sites at risk of residential development. Some detectorists even make use of drone technology to fly over sites, this method of research offers the user a birds-eye view of the ground surface prior to detecting.
As you investigate the area you live in for evidence of human activity of the past, please remember that you're now actively involved in identifying sites that in some cases, will likely be detected for years to come after you're gone. Decades ago, metal detectorists would primarily detect sites that were easy to access and find, but today?s modern technology is changing all that. In fact, online tools like Google Earth are now making it possible for amateur researchers with the assistance of free information online, to comb through data and identify where these long-forgotten pioneers settled.
Through the efforts of metal detectorists like myself, who are dedicated to saving these lost relics from our past, we also have a responsibility to engage and educate the public on what we're doing and why we do it. This might include giving talks at your local school, community center or library to young people with an interest in history. Educating the public may also include giving lectures to historical societies by holding workshops displaying your finds and explaining how you found them and their relevance in the history of early settlement in the area. Giving back to your community in this way, can also result in new detecting permissions and local information about long forgotten picnic sites, swimming holes, fair grounds... the list of potential detecting opportunities is endless.
My hope and goal in writing this article is to show that the story of our past is often hidden, but it's also in plain sight, all we have to do is to take the time to look for it.
We're not "thieves of the past, we're actually saving our history!"
- Dave
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