British antiquities scheme yields rich harvest

An Iron Age comb featured in the Portable Antiquities Scheme in an undated handout photo, released to Reuters on November 22, 2007. A unique bronze Iron Age comb with intricate designs was one of the star finds last year by metal detectorists reported on Thursday in the annual report of the United Kingdom's Portable Antiquities Scheme.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A unique bronze Iron Age comb with intricate designs was one of the star finds last year by British metal detectorists reported on Thursday in the annual report of the country's Portable Antiquities Scheme.

The piece, dated at between 25 and 75 AD and the only one of its type ever found in Britain, was among 58,290 archaeological items reported under the scheme in 2006 -- three-quarters of which were unearthed by detectorists.

In the 10 years the voluntary scheme has been running more than 300,000 historical objects have been recorded and their details logged on the www.finds.org.uk website.

"This is now the largest database of its kind in the world ... attracting scholarly interest from across the globe," said PAS head Roger Bland.

Another star item discovered last year was a Roman third century bronze casting of a miniature horse and rider discovered together and in almost pristine condition by detectorist Duncan Pangborn who described himself as "thrilled" by his find.

"This is part of our history and it was fantastic to find and hold it," he said, adding that it now occupied pride of place on his mantlepiece at home.

While many of the declared items are coins, they also include jewellery, buttons, clasps, rings, decorative objects, cutlery and even a 13th century seal inscribed as the "Seal of Walter of Longdown".

Bland said the scheme, run by the British Museum, had ensured that far more finds were now being declared than ever before, adding hugely to the sum of knowledge and fuelling the public appetite for more.

"This really is beginning to rewrite our history," he told a news conference to issue the PAS annual report.

"Over 5,000 people have offered finds in the past year. Obviously not everything is being reported but it is far higher in this country than anywhere else in the world," he said.

Bland also said the raised awareness of the subject had meant an increase in the number of reports by members of the public when potentially undeclared items came up for sale.

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge praised the success of the scheme whose website registered 82 million hits last year and is now being used at the basis for 17 doctoral theses.

"This report brings home to us once again the extent and richness of our hidden heritage," she said.

"I am pleased to acknowledge the many thousands of responsible metal detectorists and amateur archaeologists who continue to help make the past a living thing for present and future generations," she added.

(Reporting by Jeremy Lovell; editing by Paul Casciato)