An intricate figurine of a Roman horse and rider and an Iron Age comb are among an extraordinary 58,290 archaeological objects unearthed by members of the public in the past year, according to an article in today's London Times.
More than three quarters of those objects were discovered with the aid of metal detectors. The rest were found by chance by people who were out walking or gardening. Roger Bland, head of portable antiquities at the British Museum praises these metal detectives a "national treasure." And why not? Unlike other countries where backward logic is applied driving such finds figuratively underground, the British Museum proudly puts on show some of the most important finds — objects that have lain undiscovered for many hundreds of years and might have been decomposed or damaged in the ground and lost forever.
Duncan Pangborn, who first started metal detecting about five years ago, came across the Roman figurine, which dates from the 3rd or 4th century and is extremely well preserved, in an arable field in Cambridgeshire. “It was a shock,” Mr Pangborn, a project manager from North Wymondham, told The Times, recalling the moment he lifted the figurine from a clump of earth close to the surface.
Asked about the thrill of his hobby, he said: “It’s about finding something that hasn’t been seen, in this case, for 1,700 or 1,800 years. It’s about being the first person to handle it since the Roman owner, the link with the past.” Click here for full article.
I'm not quite sure how to say this; you made it extrmeely easy for me!
Posted by: Zin | April 27, 2012 at 11:12 PM