Full Time Meteor Hunting in UK

"Gazing up at the night sky, Rob Elliott is on constant alert for fireballs or streaks of light suddenly breaking up the darkness above him. As the UK's only full-time meteorite hunter, Elliott knows these falls from outer space can contain the most magnificent and exciting rock fragments created billions of years before the Earth was formed.

With specimens capable of fetching thousands of pounds depending on their rarity value – those from Mars and the Moon being the most prized – every meteorite shower is literally "treasure from Heaven".

A meteorite is a piece of a meteoroid or asteroid which has survived its journey through the Earth's atmosphere, falling to the ground without being destroyed. They are also known as fireballs or shooting stars."

Read more HERE.

Image Credit: The Scotsman

Scottish Treasure Stays Put

"The man who unearthed a hoard of Roman coins said the 'Gods will be pleased' after it was announced they will stay in the county where they were found.

The Frome hoard – the largest collection of Roman coins ever unearthed in a single container – will go to the Museum of Somer­set thanks to a grant of almost £300,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

The silver and bronze coins were found in Somerset last year by metal detector enthusiast Dave Crisp, from Wiltshire."

Read more HERE.
Another article HERE.

Image Credits: Ben Birchall / PA Wire

Looting the Scottish Countryside

"Scotland's rich archaeological heritage is being plundered by treasure hunters who fail to declare their finds in the national interest, authorities have warned.

A new report by Crown officials raises concerns over “serious under-reporting” by the lucky few who stumble across buried artifacts."

Read more HERE.

Scottish Enthusiasts Search for Treasure

"Thirty or so people move slowly across a muddy field in the pouring rain - and they think it's fun.

They've each got a metal detector, a small spade and - the most optimistic among them - a bag for treasure.

They don't like to be labelled treasure hunters though. They prefer to call their hobby - quietly searching these bleak, rain-soaked slopes - metal detecting."

Read more HERE.

Scot Lands Gold Treasure

"A metal-detecting enthusiast who uncovered a set of four gold Iron Age neckbands in a Stirlingshire field looks set to be awarded £462,000 for the find.

A decision has been made to allocate the find to the National Museums Scotland, on condition that they award the finder the sum of money.

Safari park keeper David Booth found the gold neck ornaments - known as torcs - in September 2009 on his first outing with a metal detector. The four items date from between 1st and 3rd century BC and were buried just six inches beneath the surface."

Read more HERE.

Image credits: Scotsman.com

Scottish MD Ride-A-Long

"It is late Friday morning and I am walking though a field, high up on the outskirts of Edinburgh, with the most beautiful view over the city you could ever hope to see.
There's the castle, the Salisbury Crags, and Inchmickery island in the Firth of Forth. A buzzard soars through the azure sky, while rabbits jink through the grass.

The man I am with, however, does not look up. He keeps his eyes on the ground and his mind focused on the extraordinary sounds coming through his headphones. Alastair Hacket is a metal detectorist and his concentration - like the treasure he hopes to find - is deep."

Read more HERE.