New article on the website

[buckeyehunter]

http://buckeyetreasurehunter.com/metal- ... ogists.php

[buckeyehunter]

uhm.. feedback? lol read the article and tell me what you all think. I would like to get a discussion going on this topic

[Goes4ever]

great article Mike, I checked it out yesterday but wasn't sure what to say.

[deepbeeps]

Mike,
Good article. I think archeologists ARE coming around some. I live about 1/4 mile from the only revolutionary war fort built in Ohio, Fort Laurens. The entire property (of course) is off limits to metal detectors, it is Ohio Historical property. One day, I was driving past and happened to see an area taped off. Curiosity got the best of me so I went to check it out. There were 2 ladies and a man there who were archeologists with the Ohio Historical Society. They were doing a dig, sifting the soil as they went.

I offered my services with my metal detector and they gladly excepted. I had to sign a waver of liability which one of the ladies had right there in her car on a clip board, and went right to work. What they were investigaing was an old story of a bunch of horses "spooking" and scattering much needed supplies all over the place as they ran. We found several large rotted leather pouches full of unfired 3 musket balls and several buckles from bridles etc.

It was a lot of fun, and we all worked very well together. I hope to get a chance to do that again someday.

Thanks for the article,
Tim

[Webbie]

I read the article and think you made some really good points. I'm new to detecting but I've always understood that archeologist and detectorists rarely saw eye to eye. Which really doesn't make sense to me. Only a small part of both 'worlds' overlaps. For example, it's not likely that I'm going to discover buried ruins in my local park nor will an archeologist spend their time 'recovering' a gold plated ring from 1978. That being said, there certainly is SOME overlap and I believe both groups (in general) have only the best of intentions to treat their finds with respect. In that sense, we have so much in common. Who other than detectorist and archeologists will spend days researching a site to then go out knowing there is only a slim chance of recovering something truly amazing? There are bad apples in every group who don't represent the norm, but from what I've learned it sounds like there are efforts in both groups to extend the olive branch from time to time. Hopefully, that will bring us all together a bit more and the age-old Detectorist vs. Archeologists will be something we all love - HISTORY.

Thanks for writing the article!
Suzanne

[buckeyehunter]

Mike,
Good article. I think archeologists ARE coming around some. I live about 1/4 mile from the only revolutionary war fort built in Ohio, Fort Laurens. The entire property (of course) is off limits to metal detectors, it is Ohio Historical property. One day, I was driving past and happened to see an area taped off. Curiosity got the best of me so I went to check it out. There were 2 ladies and a man there who were archeologists with the Ohio Historical Society. They were doing a dig, sifting the soil as they went.

I offered my services with my metal detector and they gladly excepted. I had to sign a waver of liability which one of the ladies had right there in her car on a clip board, and went right to work. What they were investigaing was an old story of a bunch of horses "spooking" and scattering much needed supplies all over the place as they ran. We found several large rotted leather pouches full of unfired 3 musket balls and several buckles from bridles etc.

It was a lot of fun, and we all worked very well together. I hope to get a chance to do that again someday.

Thanks for the article,
Tim

that is great Tim and I bet it was a great time. I keep coming across different articles where these archeologists are using us to help on digs at the same time they do not trust us but even more disturbing, I keep seeing the same thing in these articles where they do not trust us, thank we are plundering sites etc. How they get off having us help them on digs then trash us?

[buckeyehunter]

I read the article and think you made some really good points. I'm new to detecting but I've always understood that archeologist and detectorists rarely saw eye to eye. Which really doesn't make sense to me. Only a small part of both 'worlds' overlaps. For example, it's not likely that I'm going to discover buried ruins in my local park nor will an archeologist spend their time 'recovering' a gold plated ring from 1978. That being said, there certainly is SOME overlap and I believe both groups (in general) have only the best of intentions to treat their finds with respect. In that sense, we have so much in common. Who other than detectorist and archeologists will spend days researching a site to then go out knowing there is only a slim chance of recovering something truly amazing? There are bad apples in every group who don't represent the norm, but from what I've learned it sounds like there are efforts in both groups to extend the olive branch from time to time. Hopefully, that will bring us all together a bit more and the age-old Detectorist vs. Archeologists will be something we all love - HISTORY.

Thanks for writing the article!
Suzanne

there are bad apples in every group, even in the archeological world. I would love to see both groups work together more. I think we could greatly help out the archeologists but there is so much mistrust on their part, I hope that will change with time.

[OhioCoinHunter]

Mike, I like your response. I wish Archaeologists would view us as positively as they do in England. There Archaeologists and Metal Detectorists work together to discover sites and recover relics and Roman treasures. If something truly valuable is found by a detectorist, s/he is fairly compensated financially. Sometimes, though, the laws over there can be controversial. For example, on Findmall someone posted an article from the U.K. about a woman fined for not reporting a valuable coin she found when she was a little girl working in the garden with her mother. On the other hand, consider the unemployed, 55 year old British detectorist who discovered a Saxon treasure worth millions last year:



I wonder if the Archaeologist who wrote that article against Metal Detecting would have the courage to tell Terry Herbert he ruined that site. Shoot, Terry discovered it! The last known piece of Saxon gold treasure was discovered - 70 years ago! There's no doubt that Terry made a huge discovery that benefits Archaeology and the rest of the world. A similar discovery of a treasure by a treasure hunter that is invaluable are the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were discovered by a kid who climbed steep stone walls to explore caves to find something to sell in the market. An Archaeologist bought what the kid found and the kid led him to the caves where more scrolls were found. I think there is no doubt the whole world is grateful for that little treasure hunter's efforts.

We are a valuable asset to American Archaeology...if only they could realize it.

[OhioCoinHunter]

Mike,
Good article. I think archeologists ARE coming around some. I live about 1/4 mile from the only revolutionary war fort built in Ohio, Fort Laurens. The entire property (of course) is off limits to metal detectors, it is Ohio Historical property. One day, I was driving past and happened to see an area taped off. Curiosity got the best of me so I went to check it out. There were 2 ladies and a man there who were archeologists with the Ohio Historical Society. They were doing a dig, sifting the soil as they went.

I offered my services with my metal detector and they gladly excepted. I had to sign a waver of liability which one of the ladies had right there in her car on a clip board, and went right to work. What they were investigaing was an old story of a bunch of horses "spooking" and scattering much needed supplies all over the place as they ran. We found several large rotted leather pouches full of unfired 3 musket balls and several buckles from bridles etc.

It was a lot of fun, and we all worked very well together. I hope to get a chance to do that again someday.

Thanks for the article,
Tim

Tim, that is COOL! Those were some smart Archaeologists!

[Nick A]

The archaeological community has some valid concerns. I can appreciate that, but I think too that the hobby has it's place.

If you look at the great work that has been done in the UK and England regarding historical finds and information, I think you'll find a system that works well. However, even there they have problems with irresponsible criminal detectorists who they call "nighthawks" who detect and loot areas at night. The negative stereotypes are hard to overcome when that's what gets the headlines.

This is one reason why it is so important for us to be concerned with out image as detector hobbyists and making sure that we are seen as good citizens who pick up litter, help people find lost articles and leave places in better condition than when we found them. When you see detecting in the media, it needs to not be the stereotype of the old guy on the beach in black socks and sandals or the criminals facing charges for looting a battlefield -- it needs to be the ring returned, the 911 call when we spot something not right at the park, the historical site discovered and documented, etc...

What you're doing Mike, having an active positive role in working with archaeologists and historical societies is important as well in building bridges. I don't think many detectorists see that doing nothing is almost as bad as doing the wrong thing. Many detectorists in Louisville, Kentucky (only 100 miles from the Ohio border!) were shocked to discover that detecting was banned in their local parks. What preparations have any of us made for the day that discussion comes up in Central Ohio? If we have a positive and active presence and links to other local organizations and historical societies those will go a long way to preserving our hobby.

But I am getting somewhat off track, but I often do when talking about these types of issues. Point being, actively doing positive things like working with archaeologists and historians is a great thing to do. It has the potential to teach us about archaeology and history and for us to help them discover more history and contribute to the understanding of the past.

[buckeyehunter]

You guys make some great points and I am glad to see some feedback on this issue and I hope we can get more going.

Nick - I have said this before but this year I am going to somehow work on doing something about it. I/we ALL of us need to work on gettin some of are Ohio parks re-opened to metal detecting and I think the best way to do that is get some talk going in here on the best way to go about that and banning together to make a difference. I would really like to see all the club come together this year for a meeting (even if just te president and a few officers) to discuss some things we can do to better the metal detecting community.