The detectorists

Why would anyone want to spend a wet, cold Sunday morning in a muddy field looking for treasures? I was curious, so I decided to see for myself.

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Metal detectorists are curious; they love history and archaeology. No surprise there. Walking and listening to the sound of the detector initially seemed like a bit of a lonesome activity, but one that takes place within a group. The skill is about making sense of the strange sound and deciding if it is worth stopping and getting on one’s knees to dig that very spot of earth. More often than not the decision comes down to: “at least I will know”. Sometimes something interesting lies beneath the ground, as if it was waiting to be found: a coin, a ring, a treasure... Sometimes, but not always. In any case, there is something therapeutic and exciting about the possibilities. And then there's the social side: the moments shared with friends, discussing what that piece of metal could be, determining the age of that coin, imagining the story of that old wedding ring... remembering that one find, from that one field, on that one day. I guess, the feeling of being the first person touching an object since it’s been lost or buried hundreds of years ago is what gets them out of bed on a wet, cold Sunday morning. And if nothing gets found today... well, there’s always next week.

 

This project was shot between January and May 2019. I am very grateful to all of the members of Exeter’s ISCA metal detecting club for welcoming me and sharing their passion with me for my first documentary project. It was a lot of fun.

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© Emilie Grand-Clement 2019