Digging up our colourful past (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Digging up our colourful past

7:37am Friday 4th July 2008 in News By Alexandra Barham

St Albans' rich history is buried beneath our feet just waiting to be discovered.

Anxious to dig up hidden treasures is a club of metal detector enthusiasts who have scoured the county for three decades unearthing valuables from every historical era. Alexandra Barham reports

THE Herts & District Metal Detecting Society has played an integral part in adding to the knowledge of St Albans' past since its humble beginnings in 1978.

Coins, weaponry and ornaments are among the many ancient artefacts found by the group during excavations in and around the city.

Some items are now neatly displayed in a gallery at Verulamium Museum for all to see.

One of the district's greatest archaeological discoveries was made by metal detector enthusiast David Phillips, who stumbled upon an early Roman burial site near Wheathampstead.

Since the amazing find in 2002, archaeologists have uncovered further burial grounds, a Roman villa and farm complex along with a Roman bath house in the area.

But convinced that there is still more to be exposed, the society, comprising around 130 members, continues to inspect every available scrap of land, excavation site and spoil heap.

Club digs are held every Sunday on three farms, including one in Redbourn, and the society hopes more landowners in St Albans will open up their estates for exploration.

As a nipper I remember the sheer joy of discovering what I suspected to be a medieval signet ring buried in my back garden.

It turned out to be nothing more than a piece of tarnished doll's jewellery, with little historical value, but still the unexpected find filled me with excitement.

So imagine the overwhelming elation when an object with a vibrant past is unearthed.

Thirty-four-year-old Mark Becher, who has been with the society for three years, admits to dancing about with excitement when his detector buzzes.

"Everything we discover we get excited about," he said.

"There's always a story behind it even if it's a bit of junk, and I've seen my fair share of tin cans and pieces of scrap metal.

"The feeling when you find something wonderful, lost for hundreds of years, is like having your numbers come up on the lottery or winning a competition.

"You feel elated and happy your luck was in and you were detecting in the right place.

"Personally when I find something great I normally do a little dance under wraps in the field."

Sitting among Mark's vast collection of ancient remnants are Saxon strap ends, 13th Century rings, watch straps, 300-year-old crotal bells and musket balls.

"It's like digging up pieces of history," he explained.

"If we didn't dig it up it would be left there to rot.

"At least if we retrieve it, it has got the chance to spend the rest of its life living happily in a museum in a nice shiny glass case."

And some of the most precious objects have been discovered by accident. Mark, of Meadow Close in London Colney, explained that £80,000 worth of votive bronze age axe heads were uncovered in a Wheathampstead garden after a bride called in metal detector enthusiasts to search for a lost wedding ring.

He added: "There's so much history in St Albans that every different place poses the opportunity of bringing up something new and undiscovered."

Meetings are held once a month, when club members bring along their finds to discuss and show to each other. Some are declared to the local finds officer, who records them and assists with identification.

Julian Watters, finds officer for Verulamium Museum, said: "My job is to encourage finders of archaeological objects to report them for recording.

"When people report things to me I take them in for a period of two to three weeks.

"I photograph each object and I make any interesting observations.

"I also plot where the finds are from because as archaeologists we want to know where this material has come from and build patterns with the aim of creating a more informed picture of what's gone in the past.

"Metal detectors can help a great deal," he said. "They target rural areas which have been previously understudied by archaeologists."

If there is evidence to suggest an item is treasure, an inquest led by the coroner will determine whether the find constitutes treasure or not. If it is declared part of a lost trove, the object is offered to a museum to purchase after a price has been decided by a valuation committee.

An award of this amount is then split between the lucky finder and landowner.

Money raised from valuable discoveries has been donated to various charities including the Peace Hospice in Watford and Hertfordshire's branch of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

Landowners in the area willing to open their farms to Herts & District Metal Detecting Society should email Mark Becher at metalmark@live.co.uk