‘I’ve found a sword – and there’s a hand on the end of it’
Some metal detectorists dream of making a history-changing discovery, and 90-year-old Dave Derby has done it twice.
His first major discovery was a large Roman villa near Northampton, which was followed by an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.
Archaeologist Stephen Young says Mr Derby “best represents what it means to be a metal detectorist and archeology enthusiast”.
But for Mr Derby, from Kislingbury, near Northamptonshire, the greatest joy is finding antiquities.
“I took it and asked, ‘What kind of person was the person who owned this place?’ “You think,” he says.
In the 1970s, police sometimes asked him to help track down items and even found a gun; But he couldn’t find the gun they were looking for. [Peter Derby]
His interest in metal detecting dates back to 1964, when he was helping his father in his garden.
“All of a sudden he bent down and picked up something, and it was a coin,” Mr. Derby recalled.
Northampton Museum experts announced that this work belongs to the period of George III (1760-1820).
“I loved what they showed me and decided to buy a metal detector.”
Mr Derby’s discovery at Nether Heyford, near Northampton, turned into a community archeology project [CLASP]
He made many finds over the decades, but it was the discovery of a Roman villa at Whitehall Farm in 1996 that first attracted international attention.
Dating from the early 3rd to the late 4th centuries, the extensive complex consisted of two baths with mosaic floors and two 2nd-century roundhouses.
“I was doing research in a particular area and I was looking around and there was pottery lying around, then I started finding Roman coins,” Mr Derby says.
“The farmer came to see how I was doing and I said, ‘You’ve got a Roman estate here.'”
Years of excavations revealed that it was at the center of a farmland stretching around 10 acres (four hectares). [CLASP]
They turned to Mr. Young, who had worked with Mr. Derby since the mid-1980s, for advice.
“This site is a rare example of a late villa settlement that remained in use until the mid-5th century, 50 years after the accepted end of imperial Roman Britain,” explains the former lecturer at the University of Northampton.
Exploration at Nether Heyford near Northampton has been improved. Clasp, a community archeology project that lasted until 2012It attracts students, volunteers and archaeologists from around the world.
The discovery of a sword and skeleton helped archaeologists uncover a previously unknown cemetery [CLASP]
Mr. Derby’s next great discovery came when the same landowner offered him another site to investigate.
“I went to this beautiful flat area and was about 10 yards (9m) from the hedges at the top, when I got this great signal,” he says.
“And it turned up a Saxon brooch of a woman, so I kept digging around and found a piece of metal that I thought might have been part of a sword.
“I called my son and said, ‘You must come; I found a sword and there is a hand on the end of it!’ I said.”
The police had arrived to check whether human remains belonged to a recent murder when his son Peter appeared.
The discovery in 2003 became known as the Anglo-Saxon fighter.
Subsequent excavations in the area uncovered five more graves, and some 23 groups of remains were discovered a few years later.
Mr Derby was among volunteers who helped archaeologists excavate villa and burial sites [CLASP]
What were the remains of these? Looks like “feodorati”, soldiers of continental origin Mr Young says he was invited to Britain by the Romans to provide military support as part of the agreement.
The graves revealed family groups, and some female remains were identified as being of local origin.
Analysis suggested that some probably date back to 430 AD, around the time the Roman empire collapsed.
This makes it “a seminal site of national importance for the post-Roman and early migration period of the 5th century AD,” Mr. Young says.
Other finds include Mercian warrior graves from the early 6th century and the mound burial of a sword-wielding man from the 7th century, whose rediscovery “was left to Dave Derby”, he adds.
“I am fortunate to be able to work with him and combine his talent and undoubted skills to enhance our understanding of the archaeological narrative,” says Mr. Young.
Among his favorite finds is a 7th-century necklace found at Woodend in 2019 that no museum wanted to acquire; Now the landowner’s wife wears it [The Portable Antiquities Scheme]
Mr Derby continues to enjoy metal detecting and Peter says: “I feel like we’re modern-day travellers, digging holes in the ground and sometimes uncovering something that hasn’t seen the light for thousands of years.”
all Gold and silver finds dating back more than 300 yearsIt is reported to the Northamptonshire finds liaison officer in accordance with the law.
One of Mr Derby’s favorites is a 7th-century gold and gemstone necklace that was returned to the landowner and is now worn by his wife.
“I prefer to find artifacts; they belong to someone and ask, ‘What were they doing there?’ “You think,” he says.
“This is one of the greatest hobbies I’ve ever had.”
Mr Derby is now joined by his son Peter, who has finally discovered the metal detecting bug after years of persistence. [Peter Derby]
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