“I found a sword that I held with one hand” – kudupinter World News Network

Dave Derby stands in a field, wearing a worn camouflage baseball cap and large black wireless headphones over his ears. He also wears a gray thermal jacket. Behind him you can see grass and trees. — caption, Dave Derby began using metal detectors in the 1960s after discovering a Georgian-era coin.

- Author, Katy Prickett
- Author title, BBCNews
55 minutes
Reading time: 7 mins

At 90 years old, Dave Derby has achieved what many metal detecting enthusiasts dream of: a discovery that changes history. And besides, he did it twice.

His first major discovery was that of a magnificent Roman villa near Northampton, United Kingdom, followed by that of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

Archaeologist Stephen Young says Derby “represents the best of what it means to be a metal detector hobbyist and archeology enthusiast.”

But for Derby, from Kislingbury in the United Kingdom, finding ancient artifacts is his greatest joy.

“You pick it up and think, ‘What was the previous owner like?’” he says.

A black and white image by Dave Derby from the 1970s. He looks to the left of the frame and wears wired headphones and a half-buttoned jacket over a turtleneck. Behind him is the grassy edge of a ditch. — caption, In the 1970s, police occasionally asked Derby for help finding items and he even found a gun, but not the one they were looking for.

Derby’s interest in metal detecting dates back to 1964, when he helped his father in the garden.

“All of a sudden he bent down and picked something up and it turned out to be a coin,” Derby recalls.

Experts at the Northampton Museum told them that it dates from the reign of George III. (1760 to 1820).

“I was fascinated by what they showed me, so I decided to buy a metal detector,” he says.

An aerial view of the excavation of a Roman villa emerging from the brown earth. On the right you can see the stone foundations of a building in which two archaeologists are located. Below, at least 22 archaeologists stand and kneel with buckets and other containers. — caption, Derby’s discovery at Nether Heyford, near Northampton, became a community archeology project.

Derby made many discoveries over the decades, but the first to bring him international fame was the 1996 discovery of a Roman villa at Whitehall Farm.

The sprawling early 3rd to late 4th century complex included two mosaic-floored baths and two 2nd-century roundhouses.

“I was exploring a certain area and as I looked around I saw ceramic fragments. Then I started finding Roman coins,” says Derby.

“The farmer came over to see how I was doing and I told him, ‘There’s a Roman site here.'”

Artistic replica of a Roman villa complex at the end of the 4th century. It shows a two-story villa with a terracotta roof and a window on the gable end. On the ground floor there is a covered gallery with columns and an entrance. On your right you will see a round house and to the right of it another building. — caption, Years of excavations have revealed what the ancient Roman villa discovered by Derby looked like.

They asked Young, who had worked with Derby since the mid-1980s, for advice.

“The site is an exceptional example of a late Roman villa that was in use until the mid-5th century, 50 years after the supposed end of Roman Empire Britain,” explains the retired University of Northampton professor.

The discovery at Nether Heyford, near Northampton, was the impetus for Clamp, a community archeology project that ran until 2012 and attracted students, volunteers and archaeologists from around the world.

Excavation of the skeleton of a man lying on his side with his head tilted to the left and his legs bent. Below are the remains of a sword. A blue and white pole was placed beneath the remains. — caption, His discovery of a sword and a skeleton helped archaeologists uncover a previously unknown cemetery.

Derby’s next big discovery came when the same landowner offered him another field to explore.

“I went to this lovely flat field and about 30 feet from the hedge I had a fantastic signal at the top,” he says.

“A woman’s Saxon brooch turned up, so I dug further and found a piece of metal that I thought might be part of a sword.” And that wasn’t all.

“I called my son and told him, ‘You have to come, I found a sword and he’s holding it with one hand,'” he says.

When his son Peter arrived, police were already on site to check that the human remains were not the result of a recent murder.

The 2003 discovery became known as the Anglo-Saxon warrior.

Subsequent excavations in the area uncovered five additional graves and some 23 remains were discovered several years later.

Dave Derby with his metal detector at Whitehall Farm during excavations in 2003. He is hunched over and holding the detector in his right hand. Behind him you can see ditches and open land. — caption, Derby was among the volunteers who assisted archaeologists in excavating the Roman villa and cemetery sites.

Among the remains appeared to be “foederati,” soldiers of continental origin who the Romans had invited to Britain as part of a treaty for military support, Young said.

The burials revealed family groupings and some women’s remains were found to be of local origin.

Analysis revealed that some could date back to 430 AD. BC, around the time the Roman Empire collapsed.

This makes the site “a critical site of national importance for the post-Roman period and early migrations in the 5th century AD,” says Young.

Other finds include the early 6th-century burial of a Mercian warrior and a 7th-century burial mound containing a man with a sword, the rediscovery of which “is thanks to Dave Derby,” he adds.

“I am fortunate to have worked with him and to have witnessed his talent and undoubted ability to advance our understanding of the archaeological context,” says Young.

Five views of an oval Anglo-Saxon gold and gemstone pendant. The dark, flat-tipped gemstone, possibly a garnet, is set in a hammered gold frame with a hanging ring at the top. The four top views show the left side of the pendant, the front with the gemstone, the back, which is simply gold, and the right side. The last view among the others shows a side view of the trailer from its base. — caption, One of his favorite finds is a 7th century pendant found in Woodend in 2019, which no museum wanted to acquire and which was kept by the landowner’s wife.

Derby remains passionate about metal detecting, now accompanied by Peter, who comments: “I feel like we’re modern time travelers; we dig holes in the ground and discover something that hasn’t seen the light of day, sometimes for thousands of years.”

All gold and silver discoveries over 300 years old are reported to the Northamptonshire Finds Officer in accordance with legal requirements.

One of Derby’s favorite finds is a 7th-century gold and gemstone pendant that no museum wanted to acquire. Therefore it was returned to the landowner and is now owned by his wife.

“I prefer finding artifacts because they belonged to someone and you wonder, ‘What were they doing there?'” he says.

“It’s one of the most amazing hobbies I’ve ever had.”