Exciting discoveries of a treasure hunter in a carrot farm
Mr Baxter, who has also written a book entitled 'My Life as a Scottish Metal Detector', says people don't realize how difficult it is to find antiquities; In a farm 90% of the time there is nothing to find and that can make anyone bored and frustrated.
When Alan Baxter found a medieval ring in a farmer's field, he knew there might be more artifacts in the area, but the remains of the oat crop wouldn't let his metal detector get close to the ground. So he waited. Four years later, the farmer planted carrots and harvested them.
The 44-year-old told BBC News Scotland: “To harvest carrots, you have to plow deep and I was able to put my metal detector directly into the soil after harvesting. I was getting a signal every 3 feet. I could not move, every step found something. I didn't want to go back home.”
The pinnacle of his discoveries in 2022 was a hoard of small coins from the reign of King James III of Scotland in the 15th century: “The first coin I found I knew was rare because I know coins well. “In a few weeks, I found 52 of them.”
According to Mr. Baxter: “These 500-year-old copper coins were worth a quarterpenny and were in very good condition, irregular in shape; The noble emblem of the cross shield on one side and the crown on the other side.
“It's a wonderful experience to hold something that is hundreds of years old. I was so excited that it lasted all day and night.”
An expert from the National Museum of Scotland said this is the first hoard of James III's farthings (a quarter penny) to be discovered since 1919.
Metal detectorists like Mr. Baxter must obtain permission from landowners to search and hand over anything they find to the authorities for analysis and recording.
Under Scottish law, all archaeological, historical or cultural finds must be reported and the royal authorities have the right to claim them, so neither metal detectorists nor landowners have the right to own any archaeological finds in Scotland.
Finds that are assigned to a museum through the government's treasury system are usually recognized with an award to the finder. The prize, whatever it is, is divided between the land owner and the finder.
Mr. Baxter has worked on many campuses and found things that completely protect them all. For example, in the 14-hectare fields in Fife, he has found more than 500 pieces from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages.
“I go to farmers with samples of my previous finds and show them what I do and ask them for permission to metal detect on their land. “You should try to present yourself well, apply gel to your hair, wash your car and wear nice clothes.”
“Of course I hate it, because it's not pleasant to talk to the landowner about it. “Farmers are busy and don't have the patience to talk to someone who wants to find metal in their land.”
James III treasure news is published in Numismatic Magazine. This magazine reports on Britain's best ancient finds. In this magazine, the news of two Baliol coins that Mr. Baxter discovered in the Fife area was also published. These farthings are extremely rare and are the only two ever found in Scotland.”
This discovery was assigned to the National Museum of Scotland and £5,000 was paid to the finder.
In addition, Mr. Baxter has found 69 medieval coins from the reign of King Edward I, whose army invaded Scotland at the end of the 13th century.
His first discovery of a medieval ring in Fife dates from the 13th and 14th centuries: “At first I thought it was in a bottle, because when I took it out of the ground I could see the silver edges. “But when I saw the inscriptions on the side and the big clasped hands on the front, I thought to myself, this is a medieval ring.”
“It was amazing to find it because it was a sunny day and it was sparkling and it was in very good condition because it had a gold coating that protected it from dirt.”
Mr. Baxter, who is a laboratory technician, believes that this is an engagement ring: “The owner of this ring must have been of high status, because it weighs 9.5 grams. It is a heavy piece. “A medieval penny weighed about 1.2 grams, this one is about the size of seven medieval coins, so it's unlikely that a peasant owned it.”
This ring is silver but gold plated. When the metal detector detected it, it was eight inches below the ground.
Mr Baxter, who has written a book called Making History: My Life as a Scottish Metal Detector, says it is hard for people to understand how difficult it is to find antiquities. In a farm, 90% of the time there is nothing to find.
It is difficult to find items that are more than 500 and 600 years old, because the population was much smaller then. Mr Baxter says a field may be full of artefacts but metal detectors cannot detect them because the crops are too tall.
