Metal Detecting as a Cash Crop at Butley Priory

At the Suffolk Sandlands-Metal Detecting UK pay-to-dig event at Butley in Suffolk there were "Stunning ancient discoveries" according to the "Unearthed Detecting TV" channel. The hirsute presenter's accent giving away that he'd come a long way to loot these Suffolk fields for artefacts to take away. More than that, he reveals his involvement is even greater: "we've got a group of detectorists out here already and the next three or four days will be very very interesting. I'm going to be alongside the detectorists doing a bit of detecting myself with John the other tour guide and we hope to bring you some wonderful finds from all ages" So from that, it looks like he's one of the organizers making money from pay-to-dig looting artefacts from the archaeological record (in his case, that'd be from a county the other end of the country). Right under the noses of the arkies in Suffolk. 

Posted on You Tube by @unearthed-detecting-tv Mar 23, 2025 - 1,606 views .

 The blurb goes: 

"Metal detecting at the Suffolk Sandlands Tours doesn't get much better, what an amazing experience, discovering history from the Bronze Age all the way through to the modern era, with treasure unearthed within the first few hours! Such an amazing group too, with dedicated metal detectorists all searching as a team".

Here's the blurb for Suffolk Sandlands Tours

Butley Priory
"Metal Detecting Holidays in Suffolk
Treasure hunters, we offer specialist metal detecting tours in the Suffolk countryside, with access to many acres of private farmland. In the heart of Suffolk close to the ancient burial ground of Sutton Hoo. As featured in The Mail on Sunday and The Telegraph [...] The BAFTA award winning BBC's Detectorists [was] filmed nearby, with Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones [...]
Three full days metal detecting guided by our experienced hosts for the duration of your stay.
Expert identification of finds, recording with t he PAS of required artefacts and your own personal finds box provided for all your finds."

Hang the effing presentation "box", what about these records? PAS database: County:Suffolk, District: Suffolk Coastal, Parish: Butley Created after: Wednesday 1st January 2020 (Covid): FOUR records. yet this is not the first time this rapacious group of tekkie-tourists, sopme from the USA, have been there...
Sudbourne same search terms, 0 results.
Gedgrave same search terms, one result SF-61DC76 

Orford  same search terms, one result : SF-A91E49  

So, what's going on there? Very few of the many items we see being found in their videos are getting on record

This however needs to be seen in the context of aggressively taunting comments on the forums and social media from this milieu, like those to the effect of: 

"Amateur archaeologists uncovering more history than the 'professionals' that highlights the pathetic attempts of they (sic), and their university-educated 'experts', to uncover anything of significance",

"finds and discoveries you and your bigoted friends as so-called uncoverers of the past can only dream about!",

"how many treasure finds does the Department for Culture, Media and Sport show were found by archaeologists? The ones who have lost the plot are not us, but you and your tiny group of unenlightened fossilized archaeologists. We will continue to contribute all that is important regarding our country's history...",

or a comment posted to this blog: that seems to be related to this very same group:
"Sorry to interrupt your nap Paul, but do you not think you should get on with the job of disparaging detectorists instead of dreaming of treasures you will never Unearthed [UK]" .

There is a big mega-hypocritical gap between words (puerile taunts) and grown-up responsible action. The claims to be reporting huge numbers of "discoveries" are here shown to be hollow. We need to recognise the number of detectorists sheltering under the comfy umbrella supplied by the PAS, but in fact who have no active connection with it. One day those "sleepy fossilised" jobsworths of the British archaeological establishment will wake up to THEIR responsibilities while the looters continue to loot from under their noses.