Focus on UK Metal Detecting: UK retailers Cash in on Treasure Publicity

Heritage Action have spotted a thought-provoking advert (Nigel Swift, 'Britain’s Secret Treasures Series 2: evidence that retailers are preparing for a rush!' 02/03/2013). A nationwide chain of 200 electrical superstores is currently advertising what it describes as a "fully functioning entry-level metal detector for £19.99!". Heritage Action write:

Very basic, certainly, but perfectly able to let someone find, remove and tell no-one about every single metal artefact in the top two or three inches of every field in Britain. And here’s the best bit – if you order one on line they’ll deliver it to your door within 90 minutes! 

The conservation group muses about whether the projected second series of the PAS-sponsored programme "Britain's Secret Treasures" will affect sales, as they showed the first one with its “half-hour, peak-time free advert” for metal detecting did. What however is clear is that if each of the 200 stores sells 50 machines, that will be a further 10,000 new metal detector users out in the fields trying their luck in the next few months.

Nobody can say to what degree repeated offers like this promoted by the publicity given to Treasure hunting in the archaeological record given (as a deliberate strategy nota bene) by the PAS will cause archaeological damage. Even a machine like this in the hands of somebody who does not know what they are doing has the potential to cause them to do irreparable damage to an archaeological site. 

I am going to be charitable here,and assume that the PAS is onto this and has already agreed with the retailer that each box will contain a PAS leaflet and the (official) 'Code for Responsible Metal Detecting in England and (for the moment) Wales'. If they read them, the new tekkie once they've been bitten by the bug will be encouraged to join a metal detecting club where... most likely they will be laughed out and told to take this cheapo plastic crap away and come back when they've got a proper "Gold-Grabber X0007 mk7" or "Site-Wrecker Plus" with backlit screen and 'silent mode' working. Then the metal detector manufacturers start seeing their profits rise.

Returning to the topic of "Britain's Secret Treasure Shame Series II", as HA put it:

People might ask how many of those 10,000 newbies (and the many tens of thousands to be created by other retailers) will heed any ditchwater-dull “best practice” messages that ITV may reluctantly allow to be inserted between the silver oohs and golden aahs in the programmes? Not many I should imagine. After the last series there was a huge boom in detector sales but not a commensurate one in recording. Seriously, what does that tell you?

As they say, something like this could only happen in Bonkers Britain.

In the US archaeologists and conservation-minded members of the public campaigned against (and stopped one of) the two detecting-based reality shows being broadcast on American TV last year. In Britain there was barely a peep from anyone about the emission and shameful content of "Britain's Secret Treasures Series I". In such a situation it seems very unlikely to me (for I do not believe in either miracles or coin fairies and elves) that there will be a peep of protest about plans to create a "Britain's Secret Treasure Series II".