Like grave-robbers, they come at the dead of night, wearing camouflage and dark clothes to avoid detection. Armed with increasingly powerful metal detectors, they work their way across the fields, digging holes wherever they find a target. Landowners wake to find their crops trashed and dotted with holes. Nobody can ever know what they found, as any artefacts are rapidly sold through online auctions or smuggled out of the country. They are called nighthawks – and they are the bane of archaeologists across the country.
The English landscape is filled with ancient sites – from prehistoric forts and barrows, to Roman towns and villas, medieval villages and industrial remains. Each archaeological site has a unique story to tell and will often contain buried artefacts that help us to understand our history. Around 37,000 of these sites have been identified as ancient monuments: protected from development and treasure hunters.
For many years, archaeologists have been deeply divided on the subject of metal detecting. Some see detectorists as an army of keen amateurs, who go brave all weathers in the hope that one day, they will strike lucky. Provided that they work within the law and with the permission of landowners, they are generally seen as harmless, even beneficial.