Suffolk Sandlands Detecting Tour Hoard Find

I have discussed Suffolk Sandlands Detecting Tours based at Butley Abbey before on this blog. The detectorists involved are Andy Sampson - from Orford, John French from Suffolk, and Graeme Rushton from up North. They were all related to ITV's crass series "Great British Treasure Hunt" with Henry Cole.

A video shows some detecting on the "tour" with some serious misidentifications, the sprue of a bronze casting (note the BA hoard found apparently nearby) was called a "weight" and a Flavian coin is missnamed a "Jewponidus" [recte: dupondius].

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Posted on YouTube by Unearthed Detecting TV May 12, 2025

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 Some finds are shown being pulled from the ground and cleaned immediately on camera. 

Without precise geolocation or stratigraphic recording, key contextual data (e.g., exact depth, soil composition, proximity to other items) will be lost. The film shows no documentation of this type being undertaken, at the end while a pile of loose objects is shown, none of any documentation done is displayed, suggesting documentation was not the most important part of the operation. The film raises concerns about documentation standards, potential for incomplete recovery and recording, risk of missed smaller or fragile artifacts. The team mentions they suspected more items were present and are recovering them piecemeal.

In line with current detecting lore, the fragmentation of the items in the hoard is mentioned, bolstering the "it's only in the ploughsoil" narrative, some artifacts are described as broken due to  modern ploughing.  Some of this looks to me to be ancient damage. Let us hope when this is professionally recorded the FLO looks at this evidence objectively and honestly (after all the ancient damage is an archaeological feature of the deposit). 

Since so many UK Bronze Ages (and Iron Age) hoards are being recovered through metal detecting, time is well-overdue for a good long look at the actual archaeological effects of this manner of discovery, particularly the suitability of the masses of material being recovered ad hoc like this instead as a result of more controlled and fully documented excavation for the kind of work currently being carried out on the continent on excavated assemblages. 

Missing Viking Treasure Coin Found in London

A somewhat misleading clickbait headline: 'Missing Viking treasure coin unearthed in London' ( BBC 22.05.2025) A coin, believed to belong to the undeclared Leominster Hoard (dug up by detectorists George Powell and Layton Davies), has been found for sale "in Croydon, London". Of the c. 300 coins dug up, with other metal objects, in a Herefordshire field in 2015, more than 230 coins are still missing and "police investigations are ongoing". In 2019, Powell and Davies, from Pontypridd, were convicted of stealing the hoard of gold jewels and silver coins and hiding the find, only 72 of the coins have been found.

Police believe they are in the hands of organised crime gangs across the world and now one has been found on sale in London. "We have been notified by colleagues at the Metropolitan Police that a coin, believed to be part of the Herefordshire Hoard, has surfaced for sale in Croydon," said Det Insp Ben Pearson, from West Mercia Police. "Enquiries are ongoing to establish how this coin came to be in London.

The coins that were in the hoard are of types that are generally quite expensive, so one would expect this to have been in the hands of a specialist dealer. As far as I know, there are none such in Croydon, though quite a few generalised dealers involved in house clearance etc. - no names leap out (neither can one rule out a pawn shop). So, it will be interesting to know how the coin reached teh seller, and who and how it was spotted.

And indeed, whether a random coin of the 'right type' floating around on the market can indeed be tied with 100% certainty to a specific dug up context.

Where the Wider Public Gets its History From These Days

 

The sheer volume of misleading or low-quality historical content on YouTube has long been a source of frustration—but the situation has deteriorated dramatically with the rise of AI-generated media. What was once a trickle of poorly-researched amateur content has become a flood of slick, algorithm-driven productions masquerading as educational material. Many of these videos are over an hour long, narrated with convincingly human-like synthetic voices, and assembled from scripts churned out by data-scraping algorithms that lack any meaningful sense of context, nuance, or scholarly rigor. They're often accompanied by AI-generated visuals that are not just inaccurate, but profoundly disorienting—depictions of historical scenes and figures that blend anachronisms, stereotypes, and outright fabrications into something resembling a digital hallucination.

What’s most troubling is not just the existence of this material, but the scale of its reach. Large platforms reward engagement, not accuracy, and these videos often outperform more carefully researched content in terms of views and visibility. In an era when critical thinking skills are increasingly undervalued or outright dismissed, the implications are deeply unsettling. If we continue to consume knowledge passively—favoring aesthetic appeal and emotional stimulation over accuracy and understanding—we risk creating a culture that is both misinformed and manipulable. At that point, the question is no longer just about bad history, but about whether we’re quietly surrendering the intellectual foundations of a free society in favor of a comforting but dangerous illusion.

When Influencers Meet Antiquity: "Mr Beast" Sparks Debate Over Access to Mexico's Sacred Sites

           Jimmy Donaldson - "MrBeast" (Msn)          

US YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson ("MrBeast"), has stirred controversy after publishing a video in which he visited some of Mexico’s most important archaeological sites including shots from restricted areas considered sacred to Mexico’s pre-Hispanic cultures (Isabel Dempsey, 'YouTuber MrBeast sparks outrage by filming at Mexico’s archaeological sites' independent 16 May 2025). The controversy stems from the unprecedented level of access granted to Donaldson and his team. In the video, which has already garnered over 60 million views since its release on May 10, the content creator is seen entering restricted areas of pre-Hispanic heritage sites, some of which are typically off-limits to the public—and even to professional archaeologists.

At one point in the footage, MrBeast exclaims, “I can’t believe the government is letting us do this. It’s truly crazy. Not even archaeologists are allowed in here”. Among the more contentious moments is what appears to be a drone shot taken from within the sacred structure of El Castillo at Chichén Itzá as well as footage suggesting a helicopter landing near a site and Donaldson handling what seems to be an ancient ceremonial mask.

In response, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), which operates under the country’s Ministry of Culture, clarified that the visit was authorized through formal channels. According to their statement, all filming was carried out with official permission, and in collaboration with the Mexican Ministry of Tourism. It was later revealed that the request for access did not come directly from MrBeast but through federal tourism authorities.

Even President Claudia Sheinbaum weighed in on the matter, stating on May 14 that while a permit had indeed been granted for the filming, she had requested an internal review of the conditions under which it was issued. “If the terms were violated,” she said, “then the appropriate sanctions should be considered.”

To address specific claims, INAH has denied that any drone flew within protected structures, asserting instead that shots appearing to be taken from inside were likely achieved through post-production techniques. The organization also dismissed suggestions that MrBeast landed at the sites via helicopter or handled an authentic pre-Hispanic artifact, stating that the mask shown in the video was a modern replica.

Despite the uproar, INAH expressed hope that the video might serve a positive purpose: attracting younger audiences to the rich cultural and historical legacy of Mexico’s ancient civilizations. The video has reignited ongoing debates around heritage tourism, digital media, and the ethics of influencer access to cultural patrimony for commercial purposes. "MrBeast" has yet to comment publicly.

Treasure finds in London hit record high

The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show there were 29 treasure finds declared to coroners in 2024 in London (Adam Care, ' Treasure finds in London hit record high' Barnet Post 17 May, 2025) The reporter is excited that across England and Wales, the number of suspected treasure finds last year has reached a new all-time high of 1,363 and the number of treasure finds reported in London has hit a record high, new figures show. The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show there were 29 treasure finds declared to coroners in 2024 in London. This was more than the year before, when there were five. The figures also show across England and Wales there were 500 inquests concluded into finds by coroners. Of these, 98% (491) returned a conclusion of treasure, an increase from 96% in 2023

But Keith Westcott, founder of the Detectorists Institute and Foundation, which represents metal detectorists across the UK, warned caring for historical items “places a significant financial burden on museums and local heritage bodies”, while funding for conservation is “regrettably, in decline”. He said: “If we are to ensure that culturally important finds [...] not only reported but meaningfully preserved and studied, urgent attention must be given to supporting the institutions that care for them. “Detectorists are increasingly aware of their role in stewardship—a principle the DIF actively promotes through education and the development of professional standards—but this must be matched by national support for the heritage infrastructure that underpins responsible discovery.”

'Detectorists are increasingly aware of their role in stewardship' - 'Is that all of them Mr Westcott, or a minority, it'd be nice if you could be more specific. Of course museums need more funding nationally, but a lot of that money tends to come from regional budgets. It would be a great saving if the money for looking after the things dug up by hobbyist explorers went towards the cnservation and preservaton of the finds. Artefact hunters say they are not despoiling the archaeological record, but ":preserving the past", but perhaps their role in that cannot be considered completed the moment they habnd it over to somebody else to look after.

Hat tip Dave Coward.

Polish Metal Detectorists Fight On

'Ciemna Strona Archeobiznesu Cz. 4' ["The DARK SIDE of the Archaeo-business part 4"] - Trailer Lots of pictures of roadworks... and loud, over-dramatic music in this next part of a long-running series of a hostile dirt-digging online "dialogue of the deaf" between Polish tekkies and arkies.

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Posted on You Tube by Polski Związek Eksploratorów Apr 26, 2025    

Why is this happening everywhere? Who, objectively, not rhetorically, is defending whose "interests"? Who can and should mediate - and on what basis - when the "discussion" is mired in the rut it is? 

Moscow Metro Installs Replica of Stalin Monument

Recent years have seen a steady rehabilitation of Jozef Stalin in Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Now Moscow’s Metro has installed a replica of a monument to the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin that had been removed in a purge of his memory during the Soviet Union’s de-Stalinization campaign in the 1960s (Moscow Metro Installs Replica of Stalin Monument May 15, 2025)

The life-sized bas-relief had been unveiled in 1950 at Taganskaya Station but was dismantled in the 1960s. The removal made way for a new transfer corridor, and the original sculpture is believed to have been destroyed. “Experts are currently recreating the composition from archival photographs and documents. We plan to complete the work in the near future,” Moscow’s Metro had said in a statement released Saturday. The monument was unveiled to the public on Thursday, following Victory Day celebrations last week and the 90th anniversary of the Moscow Metro, which was first opened during the height of Stalin’s rule. Architectural historian Alexander Zinoviyev said several key elements of the original relief were not preserved in the recreation, including the ceramic panel, certain colors and ornamental details around the edges. “Ultimately, this resulted in more of an ideological gesture than a genuine attempt to restore the historical architectural appearance,” Zinoviyev wrote on Telegram.

The new work seems a rather stiff composition, it would be interesting to compare it with the original work in the Socialist-Realism style.