METAL-DETECTING SURVEY, Summer 2023
For me, metal detecting has always been about the archaeology. Although often fascinating and beautiful in themselves, the true value of the objects I recover lies in the information they provide about the wider landscape, both historic and geographic, in which they were lost. I have always believed that metal-detecting should simply be another tool in the archaeologist’s toolbox, equally as useful as geophysical investigations and trowelling in trenches, because all these contribute to a better understanding of an excavation site.
With this in mind, I began my first metal-detecting survey of a site in 2017 at Roman Sorviodunum (Old Sarum), which had long been considered only a minor town because so few remains had been found. My aim was to try to determine the location and extent of the town and to produce an accurate coin profile. However, I was aware of the fact that, although metal-detecting surveys are sometimes carried out on excavations, because of time or financial restrictions it is often impossible to detect an entire site. So I also wanted to test out whether or not detecting a percentage sample would accurately reflect the results of detecting the entire field.
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