One of the bugbears of the late Randal Bingley was metal detecting. He would often add some derogatory remarks about dectorists when talking about something else. (Although there was a rumour that towards the end of his life, he tried it himself.) I wonder how he would have felt about the next meeting of the Local History Society which is Steve Newman talking about Metal Detecting.

Randal’s objection was that important finds could go unreported and even if they were reported, the archaeological context would be unknown or even destroyed. To some extent, these concerns have been addressed by the portable antiquities scheme which was instituted in 1997 to encourage reporting by metal detectorists and others. It is certainly the case that the Staffordshire Hoard was found only as a result of metal detecting.

Nonetheless, it is still the case that local historians are less well aware of the results of metal detecting than they should be. There is a “productive site” in (East?) Tilbury that deserves greater study and investigation, but for which the details are little known. It could be an interesting evening.

The meeting is at 8.00pm at the Adult Community College, Richmond Road, Grays on Friday 20th November.