by Nigel Swift

Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of my article “Recent nighthawking activity on the Staffordshire Hoard field” followed a week later with “More nighthawking on the Staffordshire Hoard field“.

I’ve not been fit to go there since then but I’m betting that metal detecting has been going on there ever since and whatever wasn’t found by the archaeologists (and they admit there would be some) has been being gathered by yobs with far better equipment. How much has been found? No-one knows as no-one would dare report finds from there.

In my opinion, it’s a bloody scandal. particularly since officialdom has kept quiet about it. And all the time, just a mile away …

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A massive statue of an heroic digger of black gold presides over Brownhills Town Centre while in a world-famous field less than a mile away other diggers, criminal metal detectorists, are repeatedly mining for real gold.

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More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
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