Operating instructions
thing
you
should
throwaway.
You
could well be digging
them
up
again
next
year.
Do
yourself
and the
community
a favour
by
taking
all
the
rusty
junk
you
find
to
the nearest
litter
bin.
4. Do
not
trespass. Ask permission before venturing on
to
any private land.
5. Report all unusual historical finds
to
the local museum and get
expert
help
jf
you
accidentally
discover a site
of
archaeological interest.
6.
If
you
discover
any
live
ammunition
or
any
lethal
object
such
as
an
unexploded mine,
do
not
touch
it.
Mark the site
carefully
and
report
the
find
at once
to
the local police.
7.
Learn
the
treasure
trove
laws and report all finds
of
gold
or
silver objects
to
the
Police.
If
a
coroner's inquest finds
that
the
objects were dl3liberately concealed
with
the
intention
of
retrieving
them,
they
become the
property
of
the
Crown and therefore Treasure Trove.
But
even
if
the British Museum decides
to
exercise its
right
to
keep
the
property,
the
finder
is
granted the
full
market value.
8. Respect
the
Country
Code.
Do
not
leave gates open when crossing fields, and
do
not
damage
crops
or
frighten
animals.
9. Never miss
an
opportunity
to
show and
explain
your
detector
to
anyone
who
asks
about
it.
Be
friendly:
You
Juld
pick
up
some useful clues
to
another site.
If
you
meet another
detector
user,
introduce
yourself.
You
may learn
much
about
the
hobby
from
each
other.
10. Rem2mber
that
when
you
are
out
with
your
detector,
you
are
an
ambassador
for
the
amateur
metal detecting
fraternity.
Do
not
give
us
a bad name.
A GUIDE TO METAL DETECTING
THE
IMPORTANCE
OF
THE
RIGHT
APPROACH
You,
detector
alone
is
not
a guarantee
of
successful metal detecting.
Any
detector
needs
an
operator,
and
for
the best results
the
operator
needs the
right
approach,
attitude
and technique.
Too
many
beginners neglect
the
importance
of
pre-planning and research before using
their
detector
in the field,
and patience and technique during the actual search .
.
<'.,
successful search should begin
with
research sometime before the day
of
the actual search. The
extent
and thoroughness
of
your
research
will
be one
of
the
major
factors in the
success
of
your
detecting.
'iou should aim
to
get
as
complete
an
understanding
as
possible
of
the
local
history
and geography.
The key
to
the
choice
of
the
site
is
to
think
of
people, where
they
congregated over
the
past
few
hundred years. What were
their
customs and pursuits? Where
did
they
spend money? Where
did
they
carry money? The answers are
not
Roman sites,
nor
are
they
associated
with
mystic
treasure stories
of
crocks
of
gold. Rather,
they
are unassuming,
undramatic
places,
like
public
foothpaths
and ancient
rights
of
way,
old
houses and
so
on.
When
you
have chosen
your
site, allocate a
whole
dav
from
early
morning
to
early evening
for
the
search. Make sure
that
you
have all
equipment
you
are
likely
to
need.
Your
detector
should be
checked before starting
out,
and
you
should always
carry
a spare set
of
batteries.
You
will
also need
a strong, sharp
trowel.
It
is
also a good idea
to
have a set
of
lines and pins
so
that
you
can
layout
your
search area
scientificially.
Most beginners make the mistake
of
rushing
about
hoping
to
chance
upon
a rare
find.
If
for
example,
there
happened
to
be a valuable ring
that
was
buried
4"
deep
on
the
site
you
were searching,
if
you
rushed about haphazardly and
quickly
on
the
site,
the
odds
would
be
very much against
your
finding
it.
On
the
other
hand,
if
you
pegged
out
the
area
scientifically
and
searched
slowly
and
thoroughly,
the
odds
of
finding
the.ring
would
be
much
more
In
your
favour.
Remember, BE
PATIENT
and
WORK
SLOWLY.
Do
not
try
to
cover
too
large
an
area. Restrict
yourself
to
a small area and
work
through
it
thoroughly.
Make a
note
of
the
position
and
extent
of
the area, and
then
when
you
return
you
can
start
again
further
on
without
missing any ground
or
covering
the
same area twice.
It
is
also
important
to
keep
the
detector
head
as
CIOSEl
to
the
ground
as
possible.
Ideally.
you
should
"iron"
the
ground
with
the
search head
of
the
detector,
so
that
you
do
not
lose
any
detection
range.
Similarly,
if
you
work
slowly
and
carefully
you
should
be able
to
distinguish
the
faint
signats
as
well
as
the
clear-<:ut signals and
further
increase
your
find!:.
The technique
of
getting
the
best
out
of
your
detector
is
not
learnt overnight.
You
need
to
get
as
much experience
as
possible
so
that
you
can
recogniS-3
every
kind
of
signal. Indeed, a good
detector
operator can
often
tell
you
what
is being detected be'fore
it
is
unearthed.
WHERE
TO
LOOK
It
has
already been mentioned
that
the most
profitable
sites are those where people have congregated,
walked,
or
lived over the past
few
hundred years,
or
e~en
longer.
Houses
If
you
live in a
Victorian
house
you
might
not
even
have
to
leave
your
home
for
your
metal detecting. Old houses have
seen
remarkable amounts
of
money
pass
over
the
threshold
during
their
history.
Britain
has
had its
fair
share
of
misers, and
it
is
surprising
how
many
little
hoards
or
boxes containing savings
turn
up.
9