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A Rolling Stone Gathers Treasure: Bill Wyman At The Hancock
By Alastair Smith
26/04/2005
As a former member of the Rolling Stones Bill Wyman may seem to be an unlikely archaeologist, but his latest book āBill Wymanās Treasure Islandsā explores his love of metal detecting and uncovering lost treasures.
Bill Wyman with a gold torc - found by a metal detectorist and part of the 'Hidden Treasure' exhibition currently showing at the Hancock.
Bill was at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne to visit the āBuried Treasureā exhibition which celebrates the finds of farmers, beachcombers and metal detector users. His book is full of similar exciting finds and is an encouragement to anyone who would like to uncover their own treasures.
In recent years Bill has been involved with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a government funded initiative that helps people to share their finds and find out more about them.
He said: āI think that itās a great scheme because itās finally united detectorists with archaeologists. There was always enmity there before and in recent years itās become much more co-effective."
āI think itās beneficial for everybody because now detectorists can guide archaeologists onto sites which they didnāt know about before and the archaeologists can do a very thorough job.ā
While living in the South of France, Bill also developed an interest in astronomy and art and has previously written a book on Marc Chagall.
These hobbies may seem unusual for someone who was once in one the worldās greatest rock and roll bands but Bill is keen to end the myth that history and metal detecting are just for older people.
āA lot of the public think archaeology is for anoraks and itās a boring old subject. The reason that older people are detectorists is because they have got more time to do it,ā he added.
āWhat I always try to tell people is that there are masses and masses of young people that do it and kids that are 10 or 12 have found amazing things and are interested in history."
āWhen I was a kid, museums were dark, dismal and musty and smelled like old books. Nowadays they are colourful and very child friendly and people have made them very interesting for children and I think thatās great.ā
A childhood interest in history first led him to metal detecting and he has since uncovered thousands of lost objects. āIāve found some great things. Iāve got about six or seven thousand things that Iāve found. Iāve found two Roman sites near my house which people had known nothing about. Iāve also found Bronze Age things, but never a hoard,ā he said.
āIāve started to find some Saxon things in my village, and as my village was created by the Saxons I think Iāve found the site where they lived."
āThe book shows what is out there, what has been found and how many times things have been found accidentally by children playing or by workmen, as well as things that have been found in peoples back gardens. I say to everybody: āCheck your back gardensā, no matter where you live.ā
Bill and co-author Richard Havers signed copies of their latest book and even mentioned how, during research for their book, they had relied on 24 Hour Museum to check where finds were being displayed and to find out about museums around the country.
Bill will visit a āFabulous Finds Dayā at The Museum of London on April 30 and will be signing copies of his book between 10:45 and 11:15 before a photo shoot with museum visitors.
To find out more about Fabulous Finds Days read our news feature Fabulous Finds Day - At A Museum Near You
To find out more about the Portable Antiquities Scheme visit www.finds.org.uk
āBuried Treasureā will be at the Hancock Museum until June 26, 2005. Admission to the exhibition is Ā£4.95 for adults and Ā£2.95 for children and concessions, under-four's get in free.
Alastair Smith is the 24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Writer in the North East region. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
By Alastair Smith
26/04/2005
As a former member of the Rolling Stones Bill Wyman may seem to be an unlikely archaeologist, but his latest book āBill Wymanās Treasure Islandsā explores his love of metal detecting and uncovering lost treasures.
Bill Wyman with a gold torc - found by a metal detectorist and part of the 'Hidden Treasure' exhibition currently showing at the Hancock.
Bill was at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne to visit the āBuried Treasureā exhibition which celebrates the finds of farmers, beachcombers and metal detector users. His book is full of similar exciting finds and is an encouragement to anyone who would like to uncover their own treasures.
In recent years Bill has been involved with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a government funded initiative that helps people to share their finds and find out more about them.
He said: āI think that itās a great scheme because itās finally united detectorists with archaeologists. There was always enmity there before and in recent years itās become much more co-effective."
āI think itās beneficial for everybody because now detectorists can guide archaeologists onto sites which they didnāt know about before and the archaeologists can do a very thorough job.ā
While living in the South of France, Bill also developed an interest in astronomy and art and has previously written a book on Marc Chagall.
These hobbies may seem unusual for someone who was once in one the worldās greatest rock and roll bands but Bill is keen to end the myth that history and metal detecting are just for older people.
āA lot of the public think archaeology is for anoraks and itās a boring old subject. The reason that older people are detectorists is because they have got more time to do it,ā he added.
āWhat I always try to tell people is that there are masses and masses of young people that do it and kids that are 10 or 12 have found amazing things and are interested in history."
āWhen I was a kid, museums were dark, dismal and musty and smelled like old books. Nowadays they are colourful and very child friendly and people have made them very interesting for children and I think thatās great.ā
A childhood interest in history first led him to metal detecting and he has since uncovered thousands of lost objects. āIāve found some great things. Iāve got about six or seven thousand things that Iāve found. Iāve found two Roman sites near my house which people had known nothing about. Iāve also found Bronze Age things, but never a hoard,ā he said.
āIāve started to find some Saxon things in my village, and as my village was created by the Saxons I think Iāve found the site where they lived."
āThe book shows what is out there, what has been found and how many times things have been found accidentally by children playing or by workmen, as well as things that have been found in peoples back gardens. I say to everybody: āCheck your back gardensā, no matter where you live.ā
Bill and co-author Richard Havers signed copies of their latest book and even mentioned how, during research for their book, they had relied on 24 Hour Museum to check where finds were being displayed and to find out about museums around the country.
Bill will visit a āFabulous Finds Dayā at The Museum of London on April 30 and will be signing copies of his book between 10:45 and 11:15 before a photo shoot with museum visitors.
To find out more about Fabulous Finds Days read our news feature Fabulous Finds Day - At A Museum Near You
To find out more about the Portable Antiquities Scheme visit www.finds.org.uk
āBuried Treasureā will be at the Hancock Museum until June 26, 2005. Admission to the exhibition is Ā£4.95 for adults and Ā£2.95 for children and concessions, under-four's get in free.
Alastair Smith is the 24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Writer in the North East region. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
