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Webwise: Start digging – there’s treasure in them there fields
A goldmine of information is buried online for fortune hunters
Matthew Wall
Whether you dream of unearthing Boadicea’s broach in your back garden or some Spanish gold doubloons on your scuba-diving holiday, the world of treasure hunting allows your imagination to run wild.
The reality is rather more prosaic and muddy (as anyone who has watched Time Team will testify). Even so, the web is alive with tales of people striking it lucky and finding a hoard of lost treasure that makes them rich beyond avarice. It also has advice for beginners, recommendations for the best equipment and details of where you stand legally should you uncover something of value.
GETTING STARTED
Despite the high value of some finds, most treasure hunters are passionate enthusiasts, and the main websites reflect this. Detecting (www.detecting.org.uk ) won’t win any design prizes, but what it lacks in visual appeal it makes up for in comprehensiveness, providing an excellent introduction to the subject. There are guides, tips, thrilling stories and practical advice on all aspects of metal detecting and treasure hunting, from gold panning to wreck diving. There are also links to clubs, forums and official organisations so you can learn from the experts.
Similarly, UK Detector Net (www.ukdetectornet.co.uk ) is a good, if visually unappealing, place to start. For a more international viewpoint, try THunting (www.thunting.com ) – a generalist US website with a professional-looking layout and popular message boards for registered users – or TreasureNet (www.treasurenet.com ), another US-membership site where treasure hunters can show off their finds.
ON TERRA FIRMA
Britain is awash with ancient coins, precious jewellery and other archeological artefacts from the Romans to the Normans. If you go detectoring (as aficionados term it) and you discover something interesting, log it on the Portable Antiquities Scheme ( www.finds.org.uk ) website, a voluntary database funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (www.mla.gov.uk ).
The site has logged more than 320,000 objects and includes useful advice about your obligations under the law, as well as tips on how to report your find. For more help, visit the two main metal-detecting bodies, the National Council for Metal Detecting ( www.ncmd.co.uk ) and the Federation of Independent Detectorists (fid.newbury.net ).
If this sounds a little tame, go panning for gold in the US with the Gold Prospectors Association of America (www.goldprospectors.org ), or, closer to home, with the Scottish Gold Prospectors (www.scottishgoldprospectors.co.uk ) – a select bunch, judging by the modest size of their forum.
Fans of UK-based military memorabilia, from bullets to buckles, can find out about Viking landing sites or the war of the roses at the well-put-together UK Battlefields Resource Centre at tinyurl.com/28aa3m . Further afield, www.serpentswall.com is a Ukrainian amateur website that lists battlefield digs.
SUNKEN TREASURE
One of the most successful treasure hunters of recent times was Mel Fisher (www.melfisher.org ), who discovered two Spanish galleons that sank off the Florida Keys in 1622. After many years of persistence, Fisher hit the jackpot in 1985, uncovering a treasure trove thought to be worth £200m – although he had to fight more than 100 court cases to retain it. The search continues because the treasure is spread over eight miles of ocean bed.
You can apply to join the Fisher crew and dive team, but at least a year’s commitment is expected. If hunting galleons is beyond your ken, the site also contains a fascinating glimpse of how it all happens, as does www.seadart.net - the website of a group of UK-based divers working to recover the Halsewell, an East India Company ship wrecked off the Dorset coast in 1786.
Wreck treasure hunting is a serious business and salvage rights cost big money. In fact, Odyssey Marine Exploration (www.shipwreck.net ), which discovered a £250m, 17-ton silver-coin haul off the coast of Cornwall last year, is quoted on the US stock market.
KIT AND TRAINING
Once you have been romanced by swashbuckling tales and seduced by the thought of making serious money, it is time to get kitted out. The main tool in a dedicated treasure hunter’s arsenal is the metal detector.
But do you know your Minelab Explorer SE from your Teknetics T2, or which model is best for full underwater detection as opposed to prospecting for gold nuggets in a stream?
For such in-depth buying advice, the US-based www.detection.com is usefully detailed, albeit a bit of an eyesore. Closer to home, Gary’s Detecting (www.garysdetecting.co.uk ) also has detector reviews and www.uk-metal-detectors.co.uk will sell you an entry-level model for about £100 or a deluxe version for £900.
You can’t go casually looking for sunken treasure in the UK. Most wreck sites are protected and the salvage rights have usually been sold. Prospective underwater treasure hunters must first get some diving training, not to mention accreditation to join a treasure wreck-party.
The main certificated course is run by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, whose website (www.padi.com ) will list your local dive centre. You can also get training from the British Sub-Aqua Club (www.bsac.com ), and more specialised knowledge from the Nautical Archaeology Society (www.nasportsmouth.org.uk ).
LEGAL BEAGLE
You can’t walk off with treasure you have unearthed, sell it and then retire – though many have tried. The law in Britain is complicated, but whether you will make hard cash from a find largely depends on who owns the land (or piece of ocean), whether you applied for permission to search for it, and if so what profit-sharing deal you agreed.
Another key factor is which jurisdiction you are in. For England and Wales, the Treasure Act 1996 defined “treasure” and spelled out how finds should be reported and treated. This involves reporting all finds to the local coroner within 14 days of realising an item’s true value.
The act was revised in 2003 (and again last year) to broaden the definition of treasure and transfer some of the responsibilities for administering the act from the culture department to the British Museum (www.britishmuseum.org ).
To find out what the new rules are, download the revised code of practice at tinyurl.com/37sfg2 . But be warned – this is 145 pages long and it’s very complex. In a nutshell, if an item is less than 300 years old and doesn’t mainly comprise precious metal, there’s a good chance you can sell it to a museum and share the proceeds with the landowner.
The law in Scotland is stricter, with all finds being considered “treasure trove” and therefore the property of the crown unless you can prove otherwise.
You can apply for permits to search from bodies such as the Crown Estate (www.thecrownestate.co.uk ), Port of London Authority (www.portoflondon.co.uk ) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (www.mcga.gov.uk ).
Doing your legal research before you set out excitedly, shovel in hand, is always wise.
A goldmine of information is buried online for fortune hunters
Matthew Wall
Whether you dream of unearthing Boadicea’s broach in your back garden or some Spanish gold doubloons on your scuba-diving holiday, the world of treasure hunting allows your imagination to run wild.
The reality is rather more prosaic and muddy (as anyone who has watched Time Team will testify). Even so, the web is alive with tales of people striking it lucky and finding a hoard of lost treasure that makes them rich beyond avarice. It also has advice for beginners, recommendations for the best equipment and details of where you stand legally should you uncover something of value.
GETTING STARTED
Despite the high value of some finds, most treasure hunters are passionate enthusiasts, and the main websites reflect this. Detecting (www.detecting.org.uk ) won’t win any design prizes, but what it lacks in visual appeal it makes up for in comprehensiveness, providing an excellent introduction to the subject. There are guides, tips, thrilling stories and practical advice on all aspects of metal detecting and treasure hunting, from gold panning to wreck diving. There are also links to clubs, forums and official organisations so you can learn from the experts.
Similarly, UK Detector Net (www.ukdetectornet.co.uk ) is a good, if visually unappealing, place to start. For a more international viewpoint, try THunting (www.thunting.com ) – a generalist US website with a professional-looking layout and popular message boards for registered users – or TreasureNet (www.treasurenet.com ), another US-membership site where treasure hunters can show off their finds.
ON TERRA FIRMA
Britain is awash with ancient coins, precious jewellery and other archeological artefacts from the Romans to the Normans. If you go detectoring (as aficionados term it) and you discover something interesting, log it on the Portable Antiquities Scheme ( www.finds.org.uk ) website, a voluntary database funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (www.mla.gov.uk ).
The site has logged more than 320,000 objects and includes useful advice about your obligations under the law, as well as tips on how to report your find. For more help, visit the two main metal-detecting bodies, the National Council for Metal Detecting ( www.ncmd.co.uk ) and the Federation of Independent Detectorists (fid.newbury.net ).
If this sounds a little tame, go panning for gold in the US with the Gold Prospectors Association of America (www.goldprospectors.org ), or, closer to home, with the Scottish Gold Prospectors (www.scottishgoldprospectors.co.uk ) – a select bunch, judging by the modest size of their forum.
Fans of UK-based military memorabilia, from bullets to buckles, can find out about Viking landing sites or the war of the roses at the well-put-together UK Battlefields Resource Centre at tinyurl.com/28aa3m . Further afield, www.serpentswall.com is a Ukrainian amateur website that lists battlefield digs.
SUNKEN TREASURE
One of the most successful treasure hunters of recent times was Mel Fisher (www.melfisher.org ), who discovered two Spanish galleons that sank off the Florida Keys in 1622. After many years of persistence, Fisher hit the jackpot in 1985, uncovering a treasure trove thought to be worth £200m – although he had to fight more than 100 court cases to retain it. The search continues because the treasure is spread over eight miles of ocean bed.
You can apply to join the Fisher crew and dive team, but at least a year’s commitment is expected. If hunting galleons is beyond your ken, the site also contains a fascinating glimpse of how it all happens, as does www.seadart.net - the website of a group of UK-based divers working to recover the Halsewell, an East India Company ship wrecked off the Dorset coast in 1786.
Wreck treasure hunting is a serious business and salvage rights cost big money. In fact, Odyssey Marine Exploration (www.shipwreck.net ), which discovered a £250m, 17-ton silver-coin haul off the coast of Cornwall last year, is quoted on the US stock market.
KIT AND TRAINING
Once you have been romanced by swashbuckling tales and seduced by the thought of making serious money, it is time to get kitted out. The main tool in a dedicated treasure hunter’s arsenal is the metal detector.
But do you know your Minelab Explorer SE from your Teknetics T2, or which model is best for full underwater detection as opposed to prospecting for gold nuggets in a stream?
For such in-depth buying advice, the US-based www.detection.com is usefully detailed, albeit a bit of an eyesore. Closer to home, Gary’s Detecting (www.garysdetecting.co.uk ) also has detector reviews and www.uk-metal-detectors.co.uk will sell you an entry-level model for about £100 or a deluxe version for £900.
You can’t go casually looking for sunken treasure in the UK. Most wreck sites are protected and the salvage rights have usually been sold. Prospective underwater treasure hunters must first get some diving training, not to mention accreditation to join a treasure wreck-party.
The main certificated course is run by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, whose website (www.padi.com ) will list your local dive centre. You can also get training from the British Sub-Aqua Club (www.bsac.com ), and more specialised knowledge from the Nautical Archaeology Society (www.nasportsmouth.org.uk ).
LEGAL BEAGLE
You can’t walk off with treasure you have unearthed, sell it and then retire – though many have tried. The law in Britain is complicated, but whether you will make hard cash from a find largely depends on who owns the land (or piece of ocean), whether you applied for permission to search for it, and if so what profit-sharing deal you agreed.
Another key factor is which jurisdiction you are in. For England and Wales, the Treasure Act 1996 defined “treasure” and spelled out how finds should be reported and treated. This involves reporting all finds to the local coroner within 14 days of realising an item’s true value.
The act was revised in 2003 (and again last year) to broaden the definition of treasure and transfer some of the responsibilities for administering the act from the culture department to the British Museum (www.britishmuseum.org ).
To find out what the new rules are, download the revised code of practice at tinyurl.com/37sfg2 . But be warned – this is 145 pages long and it’s very complex. In a nutshell, if an item is less than 300 years old and doesn’t mainly comprise precious metal, there’s a good chance you can sell it to a museum and share the proceeds with the landowner.
The law in Scotland is stricter, with all finds being considered “treasure trove” and therefore the property of the crown unless you can prove otherwise.
You can apply for permits to search from bodies such as the Crown Estate (www.thecrownestate.co.uk ), Port of London Authority (www.portoflondon.co.uk ) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (www.mcga.gov.uk ).
Doing your legal research before you set out excitedly, shovel in hand, is always wise.
