Looking for a needle in a haystack or often bite: metal detectorists scour kilometers on land in the hope of finding valuable or old items. Viking treasures have already been found on Wieringen, so is there even more hidden underground?
Since the corona pandemic, the number of metal detectorists has increased considerably, Mathijs Laan notes. He and his father have had a metal detector shop in Hippolytushoef for years. People from all over the country – and sometimes even beyond – come there for the latest models.
The metal detectors are widely used by archaeologists, but also increasingly by hobbyists. “It’s a fanatical hobby,” Mathijs also notes. Beepers, as metal detectorists are also called, are often very driven to find something valuable.
This is due to the accessibility of the hobby. You don’t need a permit like in other countries. So after purchasing a metal detector you can go straight away. “That’s why many people bought a metal detector during the pandemic, because they couldn’t do much else,” says Mathijs.
Database
Quite often something is found. You regularly come across photos of special finds on social media. But they are not always reported to PAN (Portable Antiquities Netherlands), an organization that has been keeping a database of all special finds since 2016.
Very unfortunate, says Mathijs, who also tells his customers that the PAN is important for the maintenance of the hobby. “How beautiful it is to record that and link history to it,” he explains. It often happens that experts investigate which century objects come from and to which population group something belongs.
In the video below, Mathijs searches for hidden treasures on Wierings soil (text continues below the video).
Viking treasure
It is certain that a number of special finds have already been made on Wieringen. In 1996 a spectacular discovery was made in the village of Westerklief. In a jar, which was stuffed with grass, was a silver treasure.
Mathijs does not know whether there are more Viking treasures than the two finds that have been found on the Wieringse soil in recent years. The pagers therefore do not come to Wieringen in large numbers in search of other hidden gems. “It is not the case that Viking treasures are searched here every day”, Mathijs laughs, “But there will certainly be something beautiful here.”