In this episode of Detecting History, I’m joined by Murray Price, one of the five detectorists behind the Bearded Bleepers, detecting across the Surrey Hills.

We talk about Murray’s metal detecting journey, his detector upgrades from the Garrett Ace 150 to the Vanquish 540 and now the Equinox 900, plus the kit he relies on in the field (and why comfort and weight matter when you’re swinging all day).

Then we get into the big story: the Bearded Bleepers have created a display with the Sheer Museum, showcasing finds and stories from the local landscape, with an evolving exhibition that opens when the museum reopens on 14 February 2026

We also cover:

• How Murray approaches getting permissions (flyers on gates, parish magazines, community outreach, and realistic success rates)
• The “why” of detecting: mental health, friendship, fitness, and learning history through objects
• Murray’s favourite finds, including a Women’s Land Army badge, a Dutch WWII coin with RAF context near Dunsfold, and a confirmed early medieval dagger pommel
• Tips for beginners: why slowing down and working methodically can beat “head for the hills”
• Bucket list targets (Saxon or Viking buckles), plus a bit of Richard III history chat

Find the Bearded Bleepers online:

Website: https://beardedbleepers.co.uk/

Instagram/Facebook: @beardedbleepers

Shout-outs in this episode: Ray & Steve – Adventures In Finding Stuff, and the rest of the Bearded Bleepers crew: Jan, Ashley, Michael H, and Michael, plus Marsha at Sheer Museum.

If you enjoy the episode, please follow the show, leave a rating, and come say hello on socials. And remember: just keep digging.

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This midweek episode focuses on events in British history that fall between the 20th and 25th of February.

We begin with the coronation of Edward VI in 1547, a nine-year-old king whose Protestant regents pushed England through its most radical religious transformation. Churches changed, rituals disappeared and devotional objects were removed, hidden or destroyed.

We then move to 1570, when Elizabeth I was formally excommunicated by Pope Pius V. The decision intensified religious division, strengthened state surveillance and forced Catholic worship underground.

Finally, we step into the lived reality of late winter Britain. February marked the hungry gap, when food ran low, labourers moved for work, militias prepared for spring campaigns and markets shaped daily survival. These movements explain why coins, clothing fasteners, trade items and devotional artefacts are still found in the soil today.

This is the story of Tudor power, religious change and the everyday lives beneath it.

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In this episode of the Detecting History Podcast, I’m joined by John MacEachen, better known as the Scottish Detectorist. With tens of thousands of YouTube subscribers and millions of views, John has become one of the most recognisable and respected voices in the detecting community.

We explore how he first got into metal detecting, the machines he’s used across 26 years in the hobby, and how technology has transformed the way we search and record history. John shares insights into filming detecting content for YouTube, improving audio and visual quality, and the realities behind running a successful detecting channel.

We also dive into some of his most memorable finds, from Bronze Age axe heads and Roman material to Scottish coinage and deeply personal artefacts that connect directly to people of the past. The conversation highlights why detecting is about far more than coins, it’s about stories, context and human connection.

A key part of the discussion focuses on the differences between detecting in Scotland and England, including Treasure Trove, reporting responsibilities, and why responsible detecting matters more than ever. John also offers practical advice for beginners on choosing the right machine, gaining permissions, perseverance in the field, and starting a detecting YouTube channel.

Whether you’re new to the hobby or have years behind the coil, this episode is a brilliant look at the mindset, discipline and passion behind successful metal detecting and content creation.

The Scottish Detectorist YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/@thescottishdetectorist

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This week’s midweek episode explores the deeper history of Valentine’s Day in Britain, long before cards, chocolates and commercial traditions took hold.

We start with the origins of Saint Valentine, the Christian martyr whose execution on 14 February shaped the feast day, and trace how the meaning evolved through the Middle Ages. By the time of Chaucer and the Tudor court, Valentine’s Day had become tied to courtship, symbolism, alliances and royal culture, with jewellery, posy rings and personal tokens exchanged as part of carefully staged rituals of affection and status.

These are exactly the kinds of personal objects that sometimes survive in the soil and end up rediscovered centuries later by metal detectorists.

The episode then turns to the other side of 14 February in British history, the death of Captain James Cook in 1779. From his beginnings on Whitby coal ships to his voyages with HMS Resolution and his role in charting the Pacific, Cook’s life represents both scientific exploration and the expansion of empire.

His death in Hawaii highlights the tensions, misunderstandings and cultural collisions that often accompanied exploration, and the complex legacy he left behind.

Together, these two stories show how a single date can hold multiple meanings in British history: love and power, exploration and conflict, personal objects and global movement — all leaving traces that still shape what ends up in the ground today.

Happy Valentines!

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In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Steve Price, known on Instagram as the Dapper Detectorist, for a brilliant chat about finds, fieldcraft and why metal detecting is as much about mindset as it is about machines.

Steve shares the story of his stunning medieval gold finger ring discovery, the long treasure process that followed, and what it felt like to finally have it returned. We also talk Roman artefacts, Celtic coins, gold finds, and the personal items that really bring the past to life.

We get into detectors too: Minelab vs XP, learning tones, working different land types, and why understanding your machine matters more than chasing numbers on the screen.

There’s honest discussion around permissions, group digs vs solo detecting, beginner mistakes, and the mental benefits of getting out into the fields and switching off from everyday life.

If you’re new to detecting, thinking about starting, or just love hearing real stories from the ground, this one’s for you.

Stay lucky, and just keep digging.

10% off some items at Regton Metal Detectors using promo code DHPodcast

Find Steve on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_dapper_detectorist/

Watch the interviews here: Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@DetectingHistoryChannel

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In this midweek episode, we step back into two pivotal February moments that reshaped power in England.

First, we return to early February 1014 and the sudden death of Viking king Sweyn Forkbeard, a moment that briefly restored Anglo-Saxon rule and exposed how fragile kingship was in early medieval England.

Then we move forward to 8 February 1587 and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots — one of the most dramatic and politically charged events in royal history, where Elizabeth I authorised the death of another monarch and sent shockwaves across Britain and Europe.

From Viking conquest and shifting loyalties to Tudor intrigue, religion and royal power, this episode explores how two very different moments reveal the same truth: the English crown has never been secure for long.

We also connect both periods to the material culture left behind — Anglo-Scandinavian coins and stycas, and Tudor artefacts tied to identity, propaganda and belief.

Two centuries apart. One theme: power, legitimacy and survival.

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This week I’m joined by Tom and Matt, the creators of the Detector Maps app, calling in from Queensland, Australia (while I’m in the UK with my steak dinner).

We get into how their backgrounds in mineral exploration and gold prospecting shaped the app, what it’s like detecting in remote Aussie conditions (40°C heat, and long drives), and how that “field-first” thinking has turned into a seriously useful tool for UK detectorists.

• How Tom got started using detectors for mineral exploration and then found his own gold using a Minelab GPX 4500

• Why early mornings can mean quieter, more stable detecting (and more nuggets)

• The core Detector Maps features UK detectorists are loving: old maps, LiDAR, offline maps, tracking, and layers in one place

• PAS integration: how the Portable Antiquities Scheme dataset is handled, categorised, and linked back to records

• Filtering PAS finds by material and period, plus the “no finds” heatmap concept

• Property boundaries and using Inspire IDs to help identify landowners for permissions

• NDVI explained: crop stress mapping and how it can reveal archaeology that doesn’t show in satellite or even LiDAR

• Listener Q&A: PAS data onboarding, and why LiDAR coverage varies in Australia’s Victorian High Country

• What’s next: Academy/user guides, stability upgrades, new regions (Canada), and some “top secret” features in the pipeline

• A feature request I’d love: drawing a line or boundary with an alert if I drift off track while detecting

Facebook and Instagram: Detector Maps

Email: hello@DetectorMaps.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the Detecting History Podcast so you never miss a release, and leave a review on your podcast app. It massively helps new listeners find the show.

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In this mini midweek episode of the Detecting History Podcast, we mark 1 February 1707, the day the English Parliament formally ratified the Act of Union under the reign of Queen Anne.

This moment did not yet create Great Britain, that would come later on 1 May 1707, but it was the point at which the union became irreversible. England and Scotland were now locked into a shared political, financial and military future at a time when Britain was under enormous pressure from war, debt and the rising cost of empire.

We explore why the Act of Union mattered so deeply in 1707, including Britain’s involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession, the growing power of Parliament, and the tightening control over silver, taxation and money supply. These pressures shaped not only the future of the country, but the coinage of Queen Anne herself.

For metal detectorists, Queen Anne coins sit high on many bucket lists, yet even experienced searchers rarely find them. In this episode we explain why. Anne’s coinage was well struck, high quality, heavily regulated and extremely valuable. Silver was strategic, carefully controlled, rarely lost, and after her death much of it was systematically melted down and restruck to fund war and empire.

More than 300 years later, detectorists still feel the impact of those decisions every time they search a field and come up empty handed. It isn’t bad luck. It’s history.

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