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Detecting History Podcast

Detecting History Podcast

Written by: Katie MacDoyle
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About this listen

A weekly UK podcast exploring the real history uncovered by metal detectorists, mudlarkers and amateur archaeologists across Britain.

Hosted by Katie MacDoyle, the Detecting History Podcast brings together the people, finds, laws and discoveries shaping the hobby today. Episodes cover historic artefacts, coins and objects found in the field, the Treasure Act and Portable Antiquities Scheme, evolving legislation, and the wider archaeological story behind every find.

Featuring expert interviews, field stories, solo investigations and reporting on major developments in the detecting world, because every signal tells a story.

Find us on all socials /detectinghistorychannel

10% off some items at Regton.com using promo code DHPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie MacDoyle
World
Episodes
  • The Detectorists Actor Who Finds More Than History | Kenneth Collard
    May 2 2026

    This week's episode is a special one as its the 100th one! Our guest is very special too....! Actor Kenneth Collard, known to this community as the Mayor from the BBC series The Detectorists, and to a wider audience from Cuckoo, House of the Dragon, The Capture and most recently Beyond Paradise. But Kenneth has been a detectorist since the early 1980s, long before any of those credits, starting out with a basic C-scope in the forests of Germany and chasing that coin-shaped thrill ever since.

    During lockdown, Kenneth picked up his Equinox 800 and turned to the Thames foreshore, barely getting his PLA permit before the system closed. He has been learning to read the foreshore ever since, mentored by experienced mudlarks and working alongside his now great friend Carrie from Carry On Larkin.

    In this episode Kenneth talks about filming The Detectorists alongside Mackenzie Crook, the tobacco pipe bowl depicting an African man that was displayed in the Museum of London Docklands Secrets of the Thames exhibition alongside a cowry shell Kenneth found at the same moment, and his all-time top find, which has nothing to do with history and everything to do with being in the right place at the right time.

    He also shares his plans to develop a mudlarking TV show, talks about the Spanish Ardite minted in Barcelona for a child king and a Peruvian silver two reals found on the same stretch of foreshore, and signs off with one of the most genuinely motivating closers this podcast has had.

    Watch the full interview version of this episode from 6:30pm on YouTube at youtube.com/@detectinghistorychannel | Find Detecting History on Instagram and YouTube at @detectinghistorychannel | Use code DHPodcast at Regton.com for 10% off some items.

    Hit the follow button to get all the new episodes first!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    57 mins
  • Gloucestershire Detectorists: Roman Hoards, Hammered Gold and a Find Never Seen in Britain
    Apr 25 2026

    Darren Searle and Rod from Gloucestershire Detectorists join Katie to tell the story of two finds that most detectorists will never experience in a lifetime of searching.

    The first: a scattered Roman hoard where both Darren and Rod's very first signals on a brand new field turned out to be Roman coins. What followed was multiple return visits, over 400 coins recovered, a Roman silver ring and a Roman lead seal found by Rod that was nearly discarded as scrap and turned out to be unique in Britain.

    The second: a hammered scattered hoard on a farm where the landowner had been openly sceptical about the hobby. The find included quarter nobles and half nobles, and eventually 26 hammered coins recovered over several visits. That one went to auction and found a home with an American historian who supports archaeological digs in the UK.

    Darren also talks through their Minelab Manticore setup, the moment the Manticore picked up a deep gold hammered coin that the Nox 600 couldn't reach, how their relationship with their FLO made the Treasure Act process far smoother than most, and what is still on the bucket list including a gold stater and a gold Roman.

    Watch the full interview version of this episode from 6:30pm on Friday on YouTube at youtube.com/@detectinghistorychannel | Find Detecting History on Instagram and YouTube at @detectinghistorychannel | Use code DHPodcast at regton.com for 10% off some items.

    Hit the follow button to get all the new episodes first!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    54 mins
  • Erin and Jamie Bottles from the Deep: A WWII Revolver, Two Hoards and Loch Larking in Scotland
    Apr 19 2026

    Jamie and Erin from Bottles from the Deep join Katie to talk about loch larking, their unique hobby of snorkeling in Scottish lochs to find Victorian bottles, ceramics and all sorts of historical treasures.

    Jamie shares the story of finding a rare WWII Colt Commando revolver in a loch, discovering a scattered medieval coin hoard whilst metal detecting dating to around 1307 with coins from Alexander III, John Balliol and Edward I, and a secret Bronze Age hoard found just one week earlier. Erin talks about their favourite finds including Codd marble bottles, Staffordshire Flow Blue ceramics, cocaine-infused Victorian wine bottles and why every loch in Scotland seems to have a teapot in it.

    They also cover how they research new lochs using the National Library of Scotland maps, LiDAR and old fishing spots, plus Jamie's journey into metal detecting with his Minelab Equinox 600. Find Jamie and Erin on both YouTube and Instagram @bottlesfromthedeep.

    Watch the full interview version of this episode from 6:30pm on YouTube at youtube.com/@detectinghistorychannel | Find Detecting History on Instagram and YouTube at @detectinghistorychannel | Use code DHPodcast at regton.com for 10% off some items.

    Hit the follow button to get all the new episodes first!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
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