Metal Detection

The speaker at our meeting on Thursday, 11th July was William Hargreaves, Chair of Lune Valley Metal Detecting Club. William comes from Fleetwood and he began his talk by telling us about beachcombing there with his father. They mainly found coins, but in 1973 they bought a metal detector and continued seeking finds on the beaches in the area. At Blackpool, on the beach, using the metal detector they found a George Vth penny - a very lage copper coin. With a much more sensitive metal detector at York William found a silver coin bearing the head ofRoman Emporer Vespasian dated AD 79. He has helped people find lost wedding rings and a farmer, when a piece of machinery come off an implement and the farmer was unable to locate it. The Lune Valley club members have made significant finds - The Silverdale Hoard, the Hauxley Hoard and a tortoiseshell brooch from a Viking burial site near the River Eden. The latter find has led to a wider archaeological investigation of the burial site.

The members greatly appreciated the very interesting display of finds which William brought with him.