The Successful Treasure Hunter's Essential Site Research Manual: How to Find Productive Metal Detecting Sites

By David Villanueva

THE SECRETS OF SITE RESEARCH FINALLY REVEALED…
Now you can quickly learn how to put your metal detector's search-coil in the right place every time.
Find productive sites
If nothing much ever happened where you search, then all you can expect your finds bag to contain is — nothing much. So to bring home the finds you need to search sites where human activity took place in the past. But how do you locate such sites? You could try your local library but you can't go into a library and ask the librarian to find you a productive detecting site. They just wouldn't know what to look for. You could employ an expensive professional researcher but I guess that's out of the question for most of us. So you'll probably be taking the do-it-yourself approach. It can often be a daunting task, particularly if you are a novice, to find sources of data of direct use to you in amongst vast archives of material and it can take years to learn exactly what reference sources are out there. With one exception, I couldn't even recommend a comprehensive book on the subject as nearly every "How to Research" book I know of is either well out of date or so academic that you would probably struggle to get past the contents page. The exception is The Successful Treasure Hunter's Essential Site Research Manual: How to Find Productive Metal Detecting Sites, which clearly explains easy research techniques to find sites for the recovery of coins and artifacts.
Document & archive research simplified
If you are interested in improving your finds rate, you need this book, whether you are a beginner or an old-hand, even if you have no previous knowledge of research. It will tell you how to find essential records and how to carry out research in libraries, archives or on a computer — whether you own one or not. You will be able to read "case studies" and see the results, so you can decide the best form of research to find the type of coins and relics, which interest you.
Practical map reading and everything you need to know about maps, plans and charts
Maps are an important tool for site research so the main types of map since the 16th century are discussed in detail, including: county maps; Ordnance Survey; town plans; road maps; road, river, canal and railway construction maps; enclosure and tithe maps; estate maps; and sea charts.
Working with aerial photographs
Studying aerial photographs used to be an expensive pastime but now, with the advent of hi-tech digital aerial and satellite photography, you can study the Planet from the air for nothing. This opens up exciting avenues of research where not only can you spot crop-marks but also such features as Roman and medieval farming, ancient routes, or even the positions of unknown Roman villas. Some archaeologists believe that 95% of archaeological sites have yet to be discovered!
Uncover local history
To "flesh out the bones" of your research you should look, even if only briefly, at written local histories. I am sure you will find them fascinating and just one book could suggest hundreds of potential sites, confirm your map and/or aerial photograph research, and help you secure that permission.
Save time and effort
I know of no other book that will guide you swiftly to all the best sources for finding interesting and productive sites for metal detecting, with the added bonus of easily gained permission. It will serve you well for years to come.
Contents include: * Using Archives, Libraries and Computers * County Maps * Ordnance Survey Maps * Practical Map Reading * Town Plans * Road Maps * Road, Railway and Waterway Construction Maps * Enclosure and Tithe Maps * Estate Maps * Sea Charts * Aerial Photographs, Maps and Surveys * Local Histories * The Domesday Book * Markets and Fairs
"A UK book but applicable to anywhere in the World." Andy Sabisch in The Treasure Hunter's Handbook

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Villanueva
• Release date: Oct 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301419456

David Villanueva

David Villanueva (1951- ) was born in Birmingham, England, where he grew up. In the early 1970s his mother bought him a copy of Ted Fletcher's book A Fortune Under Your Feet, which, together with David's great interest in history inspired him to buy a metal detector and take up treasure hunting as a hobby. Family stories about the origins and history behind David's Spanish surname also spawned the hobby of genealogy. A career move brought David to Whitstable in Kent, England, and it was here that David's love of history research developed into great success both in metal detecting and family history research. A little later David felt the urge to put pen to paper and started writing articles for the two British metal detecting magazines - Treasure Hunting and The Searcher – which have published more than two dozens of David's articles between them. Success in writing articles soon led to David's first book: The Successful Treasure Hunter's Essential Dowsing Manual: How to Easily Develop Your Latent Skills to Find Treasure in Abundance, published in both digital format and paperback. To date, David has written over a dozen books in the metal detecting, treasure hunting and family history genres.

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The Successful Treasure Hunter's Essential Site Research Manual: How to Find Productive Metal Detecting Sites

by David Villanueva

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Copyright © 2012 David Villanueva

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

2. USING ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES AND COMPUTERS

3. COUNTY MAPS

4. ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS

5. PRACTICAL MAP READING

6. TOWN PLANS

7. ROAD MAPS

8. ROAD, RAILWAY AND WATERWAY CONSTRUCTION MAPS

9. ENCLOSURE AND TITHE MAPS

10. ESTATE MAPS

11. SEA CHARTS

12. AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, MAPS AND SURVEYS

13. LOCAL HISTORIES

14. THE DOMESDAY BOOK

15. MARKETS AND FAIRS

16. CODE OF PRACTICE

17. GREAT BOOKS IN PRINT BY THE SAME AUTHOR

1. INTRODUCTION

In forty years involvement in the metal detecting hobby, I have become successful in making interesting and valuable finds on a regular basis. I put this down to three factors – frequent metal detecting forays, local history research and dowsing. The amount of time you spend detecting is largely up to you and I can do little other than to say that if lack of search permission prevents you sallying forth, then local history research will greatly improve your chances of obtaining permissions. Dowsing is covered in my earlier publication – The Successful Treasure Hunter’s Essential Dowsing Manual and I will concentrate here on research to find those dream sites.

While I would never turn down the opportunity of searching any land, as nobody knows what might have been lost or buried anywhere in the past, if we habitually search sites where nothing much ever happened then usually our find bags will contain nothing much. Site research not only results in more and better quality finds but also provides some reasons as to why we find things where we do adding interest and a sense of history to our fascinating hobby.

Before we start delving into the actual research it would be prudent to think about where to research. It’s all very well finding an interesting site, which is a two-hour drive away but do you want to waste so much valuable detecting time when you could find a site nearer home which is just as good? Also, as a generalization, it is easier to gain permission in places where you are already known. If you already have permission to search some land then I would suggest that the place to start your research is right there and surrounding land. Not only may you find interesting sites on the land itself but also you will find others nearby and generally ‘your’ landowner will know other landowners for miles around, which will help you get permission for the other sites. If you do not already have land then start at home and work out from there. Remember also that if you live near the coast or a tidal river you should be able to find sites where you may not need permission to metal detect or you can buy a permit. And before you say you are not interested in loose change, I know beach and river sites that yield coins and artefacts going back 2000 years and earlier.

The big question is: what do you research? There are many types of site, which can be researched but I like to restrict my choice to sites potentially having a long history – the longer the better. This is not as difficult to achieve as it might sound since, before the Industrial Revolution, early sites tended to be used or reused for centuries so it is fairly easy to find sites containing losses from many periods, perhaps spanning 2000 years or more. Other considerations are that large numbers of people or wealthy persons or traders should have frequented the site. And if you can find a site that had all three groups – crowds, the wealthy and traders – then, providing you can search it with a metal detector, you will have a veritable gold mine. Types of site that satisfy my criteria are churches, fairs, manor houses, markets, mills, track-ways, and other gathering places. The list is not exhaustive and once you start your research, potentially productive sites will become obvious.

I have basically split the research into two sections – maps and local histories. Maps are pretty essential as, whatever research you may do, you will need to look at a map to place that research into context on the ground. You could actually do your research using just maps but you would be missing out a lot on the background details which only local histories will provide and this could make an enormous difference to the success of your research as well as the success of your site search.

So without further ado, let’s get down to business – happy researching.

2. USING ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES AND COMPUTERS

Getting Organized

One thing you will soon discover once you start your research is that you very quickly become inundated with pieces of paper as you collect notes, photocopies and other ephemera. If you get yourself organized from the start you'll be able to keep everything in control and save time and effort by not unnecessarily duplicating work you've already done. If you have and use a portable computer you probably won’t need much else but for traditional research the essential items are:

* A notebook and pencil for jotting down information as you find it.

* A diary, preferably portable, for logging appointments, as you will need to book a place and/or equipment at most research establishments.

* A paper filing system. The filing system is largely a matter of choice and to some extent depends on how much storage room you can allocate and whether you want to spend money on fancy binders. I use the simple cheap colored card document wallets. I have one wallet for current research, which includes any notes or documents I may need to use while working on the project. Every project then has it's own wallet or series of numbered wallets as the amount of material expands. E.g. SITE A – 1, SITE A – 2, SITE A – 3, Etc.. Other than finding somewhere to put the wallets such as a draw or box that's all there is to it.

Research Facilities

* Libraries, Archives, Local Studies, County Record Offices

I’m a great believer in using other people’s research so the starting place to find your material is your local library. You will probably be surprised how much local history material your nearest library holds. The smallest will have a range of loan or reference books on Local History as well as maps and directories. They will also be able to tell you what other record repositories exist nearby. There will usually be photocopying facilities, for a small fee and you should be able to order books they do not have, at least from within the County.

The larger libraries and archives will have large collections of local material probably covering as wide an area as the entire county and collections of more specialist material such as private documents and tithe maps.

The great advantages of County Record Offices is that they hold vast amounts of material relevant to the county they serve, have the local knowledge often necessary for searching the records and, as many records will be on microfilm, the equipment to view and copy. Particularly useful will be their collections of, sometimes original, Parish records.

* The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU holds a vast quantity of Government records for the whole of England, covering areas such as Admiralty, Army, Maps, etc. Unless you live locally, you would not expect to have to consult records here frequently but nevertheless, well worth considering if you require information on far-flung areas or military campaigns for example.

Equipment

When using many research facilities it will be necessary to book time on equipment and you will need to know what it is you want to do whilst you are there. I would suggest you phone or email them a week or so before you want to visit and ask whether they have the material you want to look at, what format it comes in and whether you need to book equipment. Also enquire whether you need a reader’s ticket – usually fairly easy to obtain but you will need identification and possibly a passport size photograph or two.

* Computers

The largest library in the world is the Internet and while you may struggle to access local items for free, it is absolutely brilliant for maps and for tracking down books or atlas' for research. Try http://www.bookfinder.com You do have to buy the books but even so, if you are serious about researching sites then it is far better to have your own copies of material you refer to often. If you are not on the Internet at home you needn’t be excluded as you can gain access at your local library or Internet Café.

While it is perfectly possible to carry out Local History Research without using a computer at all, computers offer the advantage of speeding up the process greatly.

The main tasks you can accomplish are:

* Organizing your information and producing reports

* Word-processing for letter writing etc.

* Working with spreadsheets and databases for sorting information

* Rapid correspondence between friends, researchers, libraries, archives etc. by email

* Accessing the Internet which is basically an enormous international library

* Searching on-line databases, archives etc.

* Subscribing to Newsgroups and Lists which provide group discussions on local history, metal detecting and almost any other topic under the sun

* Searching for information on anything

* Setting up a web site to promote your research or your hobby

* Purchasing of books and almost anything else

Search Engines

Since the Internet is made up of thousands of ‘sites’ or ‘libraries’ holding millions of ‘web pages’, to find information unaided would be near impossible. Luckily there is a fantastic tool called a search engine that allows you to type in ‘keywords’ for the information you want to find and then in a few seconds comes back with a list of relevant web pages and links to take you there. The web pages will be presented in the search