Mike Newman with his metal detector
Tue Mar 24 00:00:00 UTC+0800 2009
On a grey and misty afternoon on Pembroke Beach, a man is systematically sweeping the sand. He is listening intently through his earphones, anticipating the sound which would alert him that he has found metal. You will sometimes see him in the rain, or in the dark, since he prefers it when the beach is quiet.
I asked Mike Newman what got him into metal detecting – and he answered – "my dogs". When rolling stones while out walking his dogs, Mike started to notice shiny coins that were lodged in between rocks.
He said for him the hobby is mostly about the fresh air and exercise, but he admits it is also about curiosity because you never know what you will find. On what he would most like to find, he said some gold would be nice, but most of the small artefacts he has found have not even been valued – he really is not interested in the money.
Mike said he takes everything he finds off the beaches – from unexploded mines to little bits of rubbish. All his interesting finds are cleaned, and taken to the States Archeaology Department. He said it is important that metal detectorists work with the archaeologists.
Mike's treasure hunting also provides a bit of a public service by regularly clearing the beaches of dangerous metal objects like cutlery left over from picnics.
I asked Mike Newman what got him into metal detecting – and he answered – "my dogs". When rolling stones while out walking his dogs, Mike started to notice shiny coins that were lodged in between rocks.
He said for him the hobby is mostly about the fresh air and exercise, but he admits it is also about curiosity because you never know what you will find. On what he would most like to find, he said some gold would be nice, but most of the small artefacts he has found have not even been valued – he really is not interested in the money.
Mike said he takes everything he finds off the beaches – from unexploded mines to little bits of rubbish. All his interesting finds are cleaned, and taken to the States Archeaology Department. He said it is important that metal detectorists work with the archaeologists.
Mike's treasure hunting also provides a bit of a public service by regularly clearing the beaches of dangerous metal objects like cutlery left over from picnics.
