Latest news with #metalDetecting
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Talk about striking gold! Amateur metal detectorist discovers an 18th-century ring in a field in Norfolk - and it's linked to a member of the British nobility
An amateur metal detectorist has found a stunning 18th-century ring in a field in Norfolk that has links to the British nobility. Malcom Weale, 53, unearthed the gold jewellery in a field near Thetford, Norfolk, after searching the area for 18 months. The detectorist was 'shaking' when he saw the ring glinting in the sunlight. Mr Weale told the BBC: 'I knew this was something very special and I did a bit of a dance.' 'There it was, a glint of pure gold, shiny as the day it was dropped, six inches down in the mud. 'It's very rare to put a name to anything you find.' The treasure was crafted about 300 years ago to commemorate a member of the British nobility, called Sir Bassingbourne Gawdry. A hollowed-out part of the ring's exterior depicts what's thought to be a skull, while an inscription on the interior records his death date. The oval depression on the exterior contains jewellery enamel – a material made by fusing powdered glass or ceramic at high temperatures. Against the grayish background, black spots and lines have been used to create the squashed-looking skull, Live Science reports. Mr Weale made the find on August 9 last year, but it has only just been declared treasure having being studied through the Portable Antiquities Scheme by experts at the British Museum. It pays tribute to Sir Bassingbourne Gawdry, the 3rd Baronet of Harling, who died in a hunting accident in 1723, aged 56. He is described as a 'notable sportsman' who liked 'rackety exploits'. The name and date of death of the baronet are inscribed on the inside of the ring. The inscription reads 'B.G. Bart. ob: 10. Oct: 1723. aet: 56,' which means 'B.G. Baronet, died 10th October 1723, aged 56', according to historian Helen Geake. Sir Bassingbourne Gawdry likely left orders for several of these 'mourning rings' to be made when he died, but only one has been found by Mr Weale. Who was Sir Bassingbourne Gawdry? Sir Bassingbourne Gawdy (1667-1723), 3rd Baronet of Harling, was a member of the British nobility. He was son of Norfolk painter Sir John Gawdy, who was deaf all his life and an early pioneer of sign language. Bassingbourne died in a hunting accident in 1723, aged 56. Records suggest he died unmarried and that his hereditary title went extinct. But who exactly owned this particular ring 300 years ago is still something of a mystery. Records suggest Sir Bassingbourne Gawdy was unmarried and without children – so perhaps it was owned by a close friend or associate. Sir Bassingbourne Gawdry was the son of famous painter Sir John Gawdy (1639-1699) who, along with his brother Framlingham, was born deaf and mute. The brothers hold the distinction of being the first known British born deaf persons to be educated and taught to read and write through sign language. John is recorded as a handsome and intelligent man with a notable talent for painting, for which he 'attained no small degree of celebrity', according to one record. But Bassingbourne (his son) remained unmarried and upon his death from his accident on October 10, 1723 the baronetcy became extinct. Both John and Bassingbourne were part of a successful and influential family of lawyers who flourished in Norfolk and Suffolk in the 16th and 17th century. The Gawdy family is said to have descended from Sir Brews Gawdey, a French knight who was captured during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). After being taken prisoner in 1352, it appears Sir Brews Gawdey was naturalised and settled in Suffolk, although the Gawdy Hall estate in Norfolk was built by the family in the 1500s. Queen Elizabeth I is thought to have stayed in Gawdy Hall in 1578. Mr Weale, who has been a detectorist since he was seven years old, said discovery of the historic ring 'turned out to be one of my best days'. 'Over the years I've found all sorts of treasures including a hoard of late Roman coins, gold rings and jewellery,' he told the BBC. 'Last year was a particularly good year for detecting as, thanks to the rainfall, the moisture levels in the ground were very high.
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Nighthawkers hunted by police after historic Devon castle is targeted by the illegal late night metal detectorists
Illegal metal detectorists have triggered a police hunt after they trespassed the grounds of an historic castle. Officials say they are investigating an incident of 'nighthawking' in Lydford where the intruders left multiple holes in their wake. The target was medieval Lydford Castle and Saxon Town in Lydford on the fringe of Dartmoor. Nighthawking involves trespassing on land and stealing historical objects for profit or personal gain and is considered 'heritage theft'. The area boasts two castles - a post Conquest castle and a 13th century stone tower which was used as a prison. English Heritage manages the protected site which is a tourist attraction. It comes after a gang of five metal detectorists admitted illegally plundering ancient artefacts from protected historic sites during a series of night-time raids. The quintent unearthed and stole bronze axe heads and old coins from Beeston Castle, in Cheshire and the Grade II-listed Roche Abbey in Yorkshire while using metal detectors. According to legend, Richard II is said to have buried royal treasure in the grounds of Beeston Castle, although none has ever been discovered, while Roche Abbey is home to the remains of a 12th Century monastery. Chester Magistrates Court heard English Heritage and police discovered the crime after the grounds at both sites were found littered with holes in December 2019. Analysis of a suspect's mobile uncovered a five-strong nighthawking WhatsApp group, as well as details of their haul. The five appeared at Chester Magistrates last Friday, after the investigation by Cheshire Police, Historic England and South Yorkshire Police. They were handed a five-year CBO banning them from metal detecting at any English Heritage site - a first for Cheshire and the North West. Gary Flanagan, 33, and John Lorne, 29, admitted taking coins and artefacts from Beeston Castle and Roche Abbey in December 2019. Flanagan, of Audenshaw, Greater Manchester, was handed £1,100 in fines and costs while Lorne, of Droylsden, Greater Manchester, must pay £1,760. Daniel Lloyd, 33, and James Ward, 32, both of Droylsden, admitted taking bronze age axe head's and coins from Beeston Castle in December 2019. Lloyd was ordered to pay £600 while Ward - who also admitted producing a small quantity of cannabis - was ordered to pay £1,430. Curtis Barlow, 32, of Droylsden, admitted taking coins and artefacts from Roche Abbey in December 2019 and ordered to pay £572. All five were each ordered to pay an £85 victims surcharge and must forfeit their metal detectors, worth an estimated value of £1,000. Mark Harrison, head of Heritage Crime Strategy for Historic England, said: 'A decade ago we didn't have the techniques necessary to investigate this criminal behaviour. 'We have now developed the expertise, capability and partnerships to identify and prosecute the small criminal minority of nighthawks. Curtis Barlow (left) and Francis Ward (right) were part of the five-strong nighthawking gang Gary Flanagan, 33 (left) and John Lorne, 29 (right) also admitted illegally plundering the sites Daniel Lloyd, 33, of Droylsden, was the fifth gang member banned from metal detecting at English Heritage sites 'The overwhelming majority of metal detectorists comply with the legislation and codes of practice.' Mr Harrison added: 'When thieves steal artefacts from a protected archaeological site, they are stealing from all of us and damaging something often irreplaceable.' English Heritage properties curator Win Scutt said: 'Illegal metal detecting robs us of our past. 'Whilst this prosecution is good news, sadly the damage incidents like these cause can never be repaired. 'Beeston Castle and Roche Abbey are protected in law because of the lessons we can learn from their unique archaeology. 'Unlawful attacks like these can cause such insight to be lost forever.'
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Police officer, 50, who was jailed after secretly selling rare gold coins is told he could have made more than £100,000 if had been honest
A police officer who went to prison for pocketing £15,000 from selling rare Saxon gold coins that didn't belong to him has now learned he could have made over £100,000 if he had been straight. Amateur detectorist and PC David Cockle, 50, was jailed for 16 months after he admitted the theft of ten early medieval coins which he unearthed and sold secretly for £15,000. Rules around treasure finds mean they must be officially declared before they can be sold but Cockle failed to tell anyone about 7th-century gold coins he found while metal detecting on a farmer's land. Now it's emerged that the former detectorist partner and the farmer who he cheated on have shared a payout of £367,200 they got by sticking to the rules - meaning Cockle could not only have avoided losing his reputation and going to prison but also had a six-figure sum instead. The coins were among 131 found by him and another detectorist in a field in west Norfolk, making it Britain's largest ever hoard of seventh-century gold coins. The former Norfolk officer and the other detectorist both had agreements with the landowner to report any finds and split any reward money. The hoard was declared treasure trove in 2021, and 129 of the coins along with four gold fragments from the field have now been acquired for £367,200 by Norwich Castle Museum. The money is being split as a reward between the landowner and the honest detectorist who reported his finds over a period of years while Cockle received nothing. Cockle was unable to return to the field after his dishonesty was uncovered, meaning he missed out on the chance of finding more coins and getting a larger share of any future reward. But the other detectorist who had already found 35 coins, was allowed to continue searching and discovered another 85. Cockle ignored his contract with the landowner after he dug up ten Merovingian Tremissis coins dating back to the late 6th century and early 7th century. Ipswich Crown Court heard how he secretly sold the coins to a dealer in three batches for £15,000 between August 2014 and October 2015, and pocketed the cash. His dishonesty was uncovered after he bragged to fellow officers about his find, and how he was not reporting it. Cockle had lied to coin dealer Michael Vosper that he had found the coins individually at different sites, meaning they did not have to be reported to a coroner. Prosecutor Gerald Pounder said that Mr Vosper had sold some of the coins and had been forced to reimburse the buyers as they had bought stolen property. Cockle who previously lived in Wereham, Norfolk, and later moved to Leigh, Lancashire, admitted the theft of coins between April 2012 and November 2015. The court heard he had carried out the fraud to help pay for his divorce. But Judge Rupert Overbury told him that he was motivated by 'greed' and to pay for his gambling habit, and had caused 'significant and irreversible' harm as archaeological work was not carried out immediately at the site. The judge jailed him for 16 months after accusing him of 'bringing the metal detecting community into disrepute'. He said: 'Many enjoy the pastime for the enjoyment and thrill of finding something significant. I have no doubt that the confidence of landowners and the general public in the good intentions of detectorists will be eroded particularly in the area where the coins were found. 'It is plain that you deliberately and dishonestly chose not to inform the authorities to maximise any profit from the sale of your treasure. You spun a web of deceit to a legitimate dealer in coins.' The judge also issued Cockle with a criminal behaviour order banning him from being involved in metal detecting for five years Cockle who had been metal detecting for 30 years, was said to be full of remorse and the court heard he had given up his hobby. He was later ordered to repay the £15,000 he made from the coins at a Proceeds of Crime hearing. The hoard at the museum features 118 coin designs from 51 different European mints, as well as ten coins from Byzantium, including two from Constantinople. Most of them are Frankish tremisses from the Merovingian Frankish Kingdoms that occupied much of modern-day France, Germany, Switzerland and the Low Countries. The tremisses were the first coins made and used in Europe after the fall of the Roman empire and predate the first gold coinage made in Anglo-Saxon England. The collection is one of only eight hoards of this coin type known from Europe and only the third from the UK. It is believed that the Norfolk hoard was buried in around 610 AD, judging from the date of the newest coins. The coins acquired by the museum are two less than the declared size of the treasure hoard as one of the coins stolen by Cockle was never recovered. Dr Tim Pestell, the senior curator of archaeology at Norwich Castle Museum, said: 'As with all Treasure rewards, the money is split 50/50 between the landowner and the finder. 'In this case, the full reward value was paid to the landowner for those coins found by the jailed detectorist.' A Norfolk County Council spokesperson said: 'Thanks to the responsible detectorist, we are now able to explore an internationally-significant find that will open a new window into the past.' Cockle was sacked at a Norfolk police misconduct hearing when the county's chief constable Simon Bailey described his theft as 'one of the grossest breaches of trust.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bournemouth metal detectorist awarded for helping hundreds
A volunteer metal detectorist who has reunited more than 300 lost items with their owners has been honoured by a Wiles, from Bournemouth, received the community award from the chair of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council on said he began detecting as a hobby in 2009 and it had now become "a public service" which he was contacted about daily."I love to help people and it's great to see their faces when you give things back," he said. Mr Wiles works full-time for a software company but started detecting in the evenings out of a love for said he began finding Roman coins but then decided to use his hobby to help the items he has successfully located are rings, watches, mobile phones, hearing aids and said when people get the items back "it's really emotional"."For the 300th person I helped, I found a ring for this 12-year-old girl," Mr Wiles added: "It was not valuable but it was one she bought with her mum on one of her shopping trips, so for her it was really sentimental."So it's never around the value of the item, it's always around what it means to the person." Mr Wiles received one of the council's Chairman Awards for Mayors of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole all nominated a person or group, and they were presented with certificates in recognition of work carried out in each local at the presentation event at the civic centre, Mayor of Bournemouth George Farquhar described Mr Wiles as an "exemplar of selfless and skill in the assistance of others".He added he "brings great joy and relief to so many, particularly as many losses are in the sand on our glorious beaches, and without his intervention would never be recovered".After Mr Wiles' 200th find, local artist Matthew Byrom created a mural of him in Bournemouth. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
