Colin Michael Ashcroft
Bio
I was first introduced to metal detecting during the early 1990’s. My dad had a simple Viking metal detector.
I started metal detecting years later with a Minelab X-Terra 505, after me and my dad had purchased one each. Not long after this, we attended our first metal detecting event, which was a Minelab Charity dig in 2018. Later in 2018, I purchased a Minelab Equinox 800. I put many hours in, learning my machine, finding some amazing history along the way. In 2019, I had the unique opportunity to assist together with my friend, on the excavation of a Roman settlement in Belgium, which lasted nearly 2 years. I used my Minelab Equinox 800 to save many Roman artefacts and coins. Some of these have since had scientific papers written about them. One even made the national news recently! This experience opened doors to other excavations, it was the start of my relationship with archaeologists and archaeology. I believe and hope, experiences like this help archaeologists and metal detectorists in the future to work together. This is reflected in the many exciting opportunities, events and organisations associated with metal detecting, which are now officially collaborating with the heritage of Belgium today.
From here I went on to use the Minelab 900. Now I use the Minelab Manticore. This machine rises above anything I have ever used in the past. I am a history hunter. I love to make new discoveries, change the understanding/reveal the history of a site through my metal detecting finds. Assisting archaeologists is an important aspect of what I do, bridging the gap between metal detecting and archaeology, emphasising how important metal detecting can be in assisting archaeologists on an excavation of an archaeological site. I love to step onto a field and let my imagination go wild, fed by the landscape, history and what I find. Witness nature's marvels, and make a discovery, whether it be a button, rare artefact, a coin from two thousand years ago, or a finds bag full of trash. I always walk off the field with a smile on my face!
My favourite finds: Oldest: Middle Bronze Age hand sickle/harvest knife, circa 1500 - 2000 BC. Unique: Dutch gold hammered coin, one of a kind, circa 16th century. Favourite: Roman fibula - First of its kind to be found in Belgium, one of 16 worldwide: a love token with an inscribed message from a person to their loved one, in Latin! Message read: Come now, my love.
Detectors
