Nighthawking threat to Hadrian’s Wall

Archaeologists have raised the alarm over loss and damage caused by nighthawks in the illegal search for treasure along Hadrian’s Wall.

More than 50 holes dug by people undertaking illegal metal detecting have been found at the Brunton Turret section of the 1,900-year-old World Heritage Site, government heritage agency Historic England said.

Nighthawks, the term for illegal metal detectorists, have targeted the turret and well-preserved section of wall, which was built by the men of the Twentieth Legion of the Roman army, in their search for ancient artefacts.

The ruins of the Brunton Turret section are surrounded by further buried archaeological remains from the frontier of the Roman empire, which are very vulnerable to damage from nighthawks, Historic England said.

The discovery is the latest in a spate of nighthawking incidents along the wall, at Corbridge, Housesteads and Steel Rigg, over the last three years.

All the sites are protected as scheduled monuments where using a metal detector without proper authorisation is a criminal offence.

Historic England is calling on visitors to Hadrian’s Wall and Tyne Valley residents to report illegal metal detecting which is “causing loss and damage to our shared cultural heritage”.

Treasure hunters have been targeting Hadrian’s Wall.