Metal detecting: a simple test of heritage heroism

Do metal detectorists have a script telling them what to say to the press when they find a big hoard? It seems possible – the rewards are often huge and life-changing yet have you ever heard one not say –it really doesn’t matter, it’s only the history that I care about? We doubt it!

The latest example comes from Dave Crisp, finder of a huge Roman hoard which is likely to cost the hard-pressed taxpayer £1 million in rewards to him and the landowner. Here’s what he said: “I’m over the moon. The money doesn’t matter. Obviously it’s nice, but the significant thing for me is I’m the person who made the biggest discovery of Roman coins ever found in Britain.”

In that case Dave, please be aware that in Colchester campaigners still need just £170,000 to prevent one of the very few Roman chariot racing tracks ever found outside Italy being covered by a housing estate….

And the Roman Museum in Canterbury is facing closure through lack of funds due to the credit crunch.

As is the Roman Museum in Caernarfon!

So how about it Dave? Do you fancy saving a Roman chariot track or keeping two Roman museums open (bearing in mind that [like all metal detectorists] your sole concern is history and, as you have told the press, “the money doesn’t matter“).

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More Heritage Action views on metal detecting and artefact collecting

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