Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting

Our club and its members all adhere to the "Code of Practice for Metal Detecting in England & Wales" as defined by the Portable Antiquity Scheme (PAS) and also subsequently adopted by the AMDS.

Below is a summary of what this means for our Club, our Members and the Landowners whose land we detect on.

Before we go Metal Detecting

We always draw up an agreement between our Club and the Landowner defining the terms of the permission to detect on the Landowner's land. This agreement will define how we will communicate with each other, how we will dispose of any scrap metal and other refuse found, what happens with non-significant finds and how we deal with significant finds such as potential treasure (which is always managed according to the statutory provisions of the Treasure Act 1996). 

The club and its members always obey the law concerning protected sites (such as those defined as Scheduled Monuments, Sites of Special Scientific Interest or military crash sites, and those involving human remains), and also other sites on which metal-detecting might also be restricted (such as land under Countryside Stewardship or other agri-environment schemes). All land is checked to identify any restrictions and extra care is taken when detecting near protected sites since it is not always clear where the boundaries of these lie on the ground.

Our club is very familiar and active with the Portable Antiquities Scheme and our local find liason officer (Kurt Adams). 

All members of the club are fully covered with public liability insurance prior to entering any landowner's land. 

While we are Metal Detecting

We metal detect only within the depth of typical ploughing. If detecting takes place on pasture we are careful to ensure that no damage is done to the archaeological value of the land, including earthworks. 

We will avoid damaging stratified archaeological deposits (that is to say, finds that seem to be in the place where they were deposited in antiquity) and minimise any ground disturbance through the use of suitable tools and by reinstating any ground and turf as neatly as possible.

Our members will stopping any digging and make the landowner aware that we are seeking expert help if we discover something below the ploughsoil, or a concentration of finds or unusual material, or wreck remains. 

We will record find spots as accurately as possible for all archaeological finds (i.e. to at least a one ten metre square - an 8-Figure National Grid Reference), using a hand-held Global Positioning Systems (GPS) device whilst in the field or a 1:25000 scale map if this is not possible.

We endevour to bag our finds individually, recording the National Grid Reference on the bag with a waterproof/indelible marker. Any non-metallic finds that are also found (a.k.a eyes-only) are often also recorded as these are also of interest to archaeologists and help contribute to their knowledge. 

All members will respect the Country Code (leave gates and property as you find them and do not damage crops, frighten animals, or disturb ground nesting birds, and dispose properly of litter).

After we have been Metal Detecting

As a club we take pride in reporting archaeological finds to the relevant landowner / occupier; and making it clear to the landowner that we wish to record archaeological finds to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, so the information can pass into the local Historic Environment Record. Both the Country Land and Business Association and the National Farmers Union support the reporting of finds with the Portable Antiquities Scheme. We record our finds with the support and help of our local Finds Liaison Officer, Kurt Adams, who often also attends our club meetings. 

All members of the club strictly abide by the statutory provisions of the Treasure Act 1996, the Treasure Act Code of Practice and wreck law. 

We will call the Police (101), and notify the landowner, if we find any traces of human remains or a likely burial. Note that human remains can only be disturbed further with a Home Office licence.

We will also call the Police or HM Coastguard, and notify the landowner, if we find anything that may be a live explosive, device or other ordnance. We will not attempt to move or interfere with any such explosives.

We also will call the Police, on the landowners behalf, if we notice any illegal activity whilst out metal-detecting, such as theft of farm equipment or illegal metal-detecting (a.k.a. nighthawking).