Talking to Metal Detectorists in the Field: A Methodology for Analysing Motivations and Attitudes to Landscape

Abstract

This paper presents original qualitative data collected from twelve extensive ‘go-along’ interviews conducted with metal detectorists between June 2012 and August 2014. It has two principal aims: first, to reflect on the go-along methodology and present the coding structure used in the thematic analysis of these attitudes, and, secondly, to explore the metal detectorists’ experience of landscape. The background of the study will be discussed before the go-along methodology and coding structure are presented in detail. An in-depth analysis of the interview data will follow, presented by theme, in order to demonstrate that the detectorists’ attitudes to landscape exceed what might be conjured by traditional preconceptions of the hobbyists as treasure hunters, and instead comprise a complex set of attitudes, motivations, and attachments. Finally, the efficacy of the methodology will be evaluated along with its potential transference for future research.

Keywords:

• metal detecting
• go-along interview
• phenomenology
• attitudes
• landscape
• heritage

Acknowledgements

I would like to offer sincere thanks to all of the interviewees for this research, who welcomed me into their sites, their cars, and often their homes, with such magnanimity — it was a pleasure to speak to them.

Note on contributor

Felicity Winkley is an early-career researcher. She was recently awarded her PhD in Heritage Studies at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, where her research discussed the motivations and practices of metal-detector users in England and their attitudes to landscape. Whilst at UCL she worked as a museum Engager and curated several exhibitions for the Public and Cultural Engagement (PACE) department. Her interests are wide-ranging, but include the management of heritage landscapes, museology, oral history, phenomenology, and behavioural geography. In 2009–10, she held a Headley Trust internship, training as a Finds Liaison Officer with the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS).