‘Nighthawk’ looters at Hadrian’s Wall dig 50 holes in hunt for treasure

Illegal metal detectorists accused by heritage group of ‘stealing knowledge’ from protected Roman site

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have accused “nighthawks” on Hadrian’s Wall of “stealing knowledge” in the illegal search for treasure at the protected historic site.

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, Historic England, the government agency, has 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 20th Legion of the Roman Army, in their search for ancient artefacts.

Now the heritage agency has warned that the actions of a few lawless individuals are “robbing us all of the knowledge” about the past by taking artefacts from the site without understanding their potential significance.

“We don’t know what they are taking so they are in essence stealing knowledge,” said a Historic England spokesman. “It is also the scale of the problem that is a worry to us, it is hard to look after the site.

“At this stage we don’t know about damage to the structure of the wall but there have been investigations in the past on the site which are really invasive so the best protection for these artefacts is for them to stay buried.”

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 added.

The discovery is the latest in a spate of nighthawking incidents along the wall, at Corbridge, Housesteads and Steel Rigg, over the past three years. All the sites are protected as scheduled monuments where using a metal detector without proper authorisation is a criminal offence.

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

Mike Collins, Historic England’s inspector of ancient monuments at Hadrian’s Wall, said: “These nighthawks are committing a criminal offence and we’d like everyone’s help to ensure they are caught. Together we can protect the precious shared legacy that our archaeological sites hold.” Mark Harrison, of Historic England, added: “Illegal metal detecting is not a victimless crime. We may never see or fully understand the objects taken or damaged because they have been removed from their original sites with no care or record as to their history or context.”

There are plenty of despicable crimes that cause damage out of all proportion to the mean gains of their perpetrators. Stealing lead from church roofs, so that ancient treasures within are ruined, is one, or taking cabling from railway tracksides. But few promise so little gain for such pointless damage as metal detectorists digging into parts of Hadrian’s Wall by night. In one section recently 50 holes have been dug. Elsewhere, wonderful things have been found by detectorists – the golden Ringlemere cup, made 1,700 years before Christ, or the lovely gold and silver plaques found at Ashwell. Anyone who loves such beautiful things will want them to be understood. The ignorant damage by nighthawks at Hadrian’s Wall simply shows that the Romans’ defensive work did not keep out all the barbarians.