Every year, ancient objects turn up in Dorset’s fields, gardens and riverbanks, brought to light by metal detectors, dog walkers and gardeners.
It falls to Ciorstaidh Hayward-Trevarthen, Dorset Council’s finds liaison officer and her assistant Nancy Grace to work out what they are.
They are county custodians for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a recording project for finds made outside organised archaeological digs. It’s aimed at metal detectorists and anyone who stumbles across something unusual in a field or back garden.
Under the Treasure Act 1996, certain objects, including coins and prehistoric metal items, must legally be reported to the coroner.
Everything else is researched, logged and returned to the finder.
At a recent finds day at Beaminster Museum, Ciorstaidh was handed a small hoard of medieval silver coins alongside
Roman brooches, buckles and pottery fragments. “Sometimes these finds tell a whole new story with new sites found,” she says.
“Or they will back up or enhance what we already know and help us better understand old sites.”
Ciorstaidh studied archaeology prehistory at Sheffield University and then qualified as a teacher. She has also worked as a field archaeologist.
Metal detectors find declared treasure
One Dorset discovery has stayed with her above all others – a gold lunula, a thin, crescent-shaped neck ornament decorated with geometric patterns, dating to the Early Bronze Age.
It was unearthed by a metal detector in March 2014 from the Tarrant Valley. It surfaced in three separate pieces and is now on display at Dorset Museum and Art Gallery’s Treasure! Lost and Found exhibition.
“It’s not a common find for mainland England and is out of place in rural Dorset. I think I’d only ever seen one in a book up
to that point,” says Ciorstaidh.
Her background as a prehistorian shows in what excites her most: two hand axes, distinctive tool types linked to Neanderthal activity.
“It’s just really interesting to see such amazing objects made by non-modern humans kicking around in Dorset,” she enthuses.
Whatever arrives, Ciorstaidh and Nancy treat it with curiosity, care, and an eye for the story.
Found something? Email clear overhead photos, with a ruler for scale against a white background, to finds@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
Find out more at finds.org.uk
More stories about metal detectors
- A rare Roman coin hoard unearthed in Askerswell is on display at Dorset Museum. The hoard of 627 silver denarius coins was recovered in 2017 during a metal detecting rally.
- Jewel in the ground: Metal detectorist Keith Brown reunites loved ones with their buried treasures. “I was happy to take a look and duly turned up with my metal detecting equipment,” he said.