Archaeologists And Metal Detectorists Working Together

[Steve Herschbach]

"NEW LONDON, Conn. — Keith Wille was metal detecting in the woods of Connecticut a few years ago when he found a triangle of brass about 21/2-inches long with a small hole in the middle. He thought little of the find at first, and threw it in his scrap pile. Wille, 29, is a manager at a survival training company, but spends most of his spare time metal detecting. In September, Wille drove from his home to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center with several boxes of objects — the highlights of his recent collecting. The museum — a vast, glassy structure that looks like an airport terminal, complete with a 185-foot-tall traffic- control-style tower — is a testament to the years when the Foxwoods Resort Casino made the Pequots the wealthiest tribe in the nation.

Although those fortunes have declined, the Pequots are still financing projects by the archaeologist Kevin McBride, who works full time on what Lori Potter, a spokeswoman for the Mashantucket Pequot Nation, called “history that’s written by the conquered and not by the conqueror.” Inside the museum, Wille unpacked his boxes, displaying items discovered around the Pequots’ homeland: George Washington inaugural buttons, musket and cannon balls, a gold ring, commemorative spoons, a 100-year-old military insignia and the triangle of brass. McBride, the museum’s director of research, and David Naumec, its senior historian, inspected the lot, but were most curious about the crude brass triangle. They knew it was a kettle point, an arrowhead fashioned from a piece of a brass trade kettle (which resembles a pail) — an archaeological signature of the 17th century."

Rest of the story with photos

[filthylucre]

It's nice to see people getting along who may have a different opinion on certain things in life whether it's politics or the simple hobby / obsession of metal detecting and treasure hunting. The objects found in this article were made of iron, brass and lead. Not Gold..... Gold changes everything. Gold changes everybody. The history of mankind revolves around gold and other valuables dug from the ground, but gold is # 1..... always has been, always will be. If the gentlemen in the story started finding gold in any quantity the story would have been different.

[jasong]

I wish the archaeologists around here would work with me. I've written email after email for years with just crickets for a response even though I volunteer for free, and I really think I could help them achieve one particular goal they've been working on for over 3 decades here with no forward progress.

I think a lot of relic hunters and gold prospectors could really help the field as a whole out if they'd just open their minds up a bit to new volunteers but aside from a few stories like this post's subject, it seems to not really happen much though other than occasional exceptions.