Probe goers

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The probe user is a person who uses a metal detector to search for objects in the ground . In technical jargon, this process is often referred to as probing among probe users . In most cases, a permit from the landowner and the monument and often nature conservation authorities is required. There is also the question of ownership of the finds and the problem of the destruction of archaeological findingswhich could only enable a historical understanding of the finds. However, this destruction usually only occurs by robbers, i.e. probe users without a permit, as there is a lack of documentation. In addition, archaeologists do not see the objects that are discovered by predatory graves. Probe users with the so-called research permit, or NFG for short, are usually even an aid to archeology, as they dig up finds that would never be found by archaeologists.

Probe walkers in a field

Beginnings

Metal detectors were developed to locate land mines and ammunition . They were used by the armies in and after the Second World War in ordnance disposal . In the early 1960s, former mine detectors were used by private individuals in the United States to find lost valuables on beaches and to find metal objects in ghost towns and civil war battlefields .

From the 1960s, the first metal detectors for private use, for treasure hunting ( Treasure Hunting ) were produced. Well-known manufacturers included Fisher Laboratories, White's and Garrett.

The treasure hunt first found its way into Europe in the early 1970s and quickly spread across the continent from Great Britain. The number of probe users and treasure hunters in Europe is estimated at several hundred thousand.

Different orientations

Most probe users specialize in a certain area. A distinction is made between the following goals:

Antique search

Probes during excavations on the area of ​​the Roman camp Porta Westfalica

The motivation of the antique seeker is based on curiosity and the search for our historical roots. The aim of the probe is to find objects that were lost hundreds or thousands of years ago, deliberately deposited in graves or deposited in the ground. The search for or the removal of archaeological material by digging is, however, legally regulated to a certain extent and is subject to the monument protection laws of the federal states in Germany . However, many "historically motivated" probe users destroy more of history through ignorance than they gain viable knowledge, which on top of that is usually not adequately (comprehensibly) made available to the public and science ( see damage caused by probe users ). Findings are often kept secret or even falsified.

Job search

Here owners of metal detectors work to track down things for a private or public client that have been lost or deliberately hidden. The probe user can use the knowledge he has acquired over many years in handling metal detectors to the full and thus recreate things that would otherwise be lost forever for the client.

Recovery of the fallen

More than 800,000 German soldiers are still missing more than 70 years after the end of the Second World War . Often the relatives only had the hope that the tracing service of the German Red Cross, which continues an intensive search for missing persons to this day, will be successful. But some probe users have also set up private search services in recent years that deal with the subject of the recovery of the dead. This field of activity is very sensitive, as it can be about disturbing the peace of the dead and unprofessional recovery of objects can completely destroy the chance to clarify the fate of missing persons.

Gold prospecting

Some detectorists have specialized in the search for natural gold in the form of nuggets and small gold flakes. This search is on the rise, especially in Australia.

Search for meteorites

The search for meteorites has enjoyed increasing popularity for several years. The fall (as the observation of a meteorite decline is called) is discovered more frequently than before. So the sky has been systematically examined by the European fireball network for years .

The case and the discovery of the Neuschwanstein meteorite received special attention . Most of it was located by amateur researchers, evaluated by meteorite researchers and sold to the Bavarian government. Mr. Grau, one of the finders, has even dropped out of his studies and is professionally looking for other German meteorites.

Militaria

A large number of probe users in Germany are exclusively concerned with the search for the legacies of the two world wars (medals, pieces of equipment and uniforms), the so-called militaria . The number of these seekers makes up about a third of all probe users. In contrast to the search for antiquities, the search for World War II relics is much easier in terms of research. The world wars have left their mark almost everywhere in Germany. Foxholes , bunkers , cover ditches and, of course, stories from contemporary witnesses are simple clues.

Modern search

For some probe users who shy away from the supposed effort of an approval procedure, the search for modern relics seems to be an interesting and uncomplicated alternative. In the vast majority of German federal states, however, the monument protection laws make no distinction between looking for objects that are modern and medieval or even older. In fact, archaeologically significant sites are not infrequently located on the same areas as modern sites.

Treasure hunt

The classic treasure hunt is the targeted search for lost or hidden values. This is usually preceded by intensive research, with the detector ultimately being used to pinpoint the treasure . Mention is here z. B. the search for lost war coffers, the Nibelungen treasure or gold supposedly hidden by the National Socialists.

Underground

In the last two world wars, thousands of underground facilities and tunnel systems were built on German soil. Most of these were used to produce goods essential to the war effort or to protect the civilian population.

Underwater search

The search with metal detectors under water deals with all found objects that have been preserved under the water surface. That can be B. be lost individual objects, but also complete shipwrecks.

Beach search

Searching for a beach is the search for jewelry, change, etc. on the beach and shore. Finds here used to fall under beach law ; the general provisions for finds now apply.

Winter Sondeln

Also called snow probes, it is a search in snow or ice. The search is carried out either in the earth under the snow or in the snow itself and above an ice surface. When searching in mostly frozen earth, the snow thickness is subtracted from the radius of the detector. The search in the snow is mostly done on ski slopes and snow-covered paths. Since most detectors are waterproof, they can withstand immersion in snow.

equipment

  • Metal detector
  • Excavation tools ( feldspars , pimples , sieves , excavation knives, pocket Fund)
  • GPS for storage of location coordinates
  • Writing material and photo to document the location
  • Approval from the monument preservation authorities
  • Pin pointer for the detailed determination of the storage location within the excavation site

Legal situation in Germany

The legal situation in all German federal states is regulated by monument protection laws. An excavation or research permit is required for the targeted search for archaeological monuments and, above all, for digging on them , otherwise severe penalties are imminent. In some federal states, it is considered an administrative offense to accept that you come across monuments in the ground . Approval is granted by the lower or upper monument protection authorities or the state monument offices and is subject to conditions.

Only in Bavaria do the finds discovered by probe goers belong to the discoverer and half to the landowner according to § 984 BGB . In all other federal states, however, a treasure shelf applies , according to which such finds fall to the state without compensation to the property owner or the finder. In some federal states z. B. Hessen, however, the finders receive a reward. All historical and archaeological finds (including relics from both world wars in some federal states) must be reported to the monument authorities in accordance with the monument protection laws.

Probe walkers on a meadow

Unauthorized research and excavations on archaeological monuments are known as robbery excavations . They not only violate monument law, but also usually constitute an offense of embezzlement and possibly damage to property that is harmful to the public .

Risks

The motivation for such robbery excavations is usually to enrich oneself by selling the finds or to include the finds in one's own private collection. In addition, the bones of fallen soldiers can be tracked down on the basis of their metal identification tags and various items of equipment, which can possibly disturb the peace of the dead . There are marked war cemeteries , but with the large number of dead, chance finds cannot be ruled out. In Germany there is no limited rest period for this .

archeology

The best known case of robbery with the help of metal detectors is that of the Nebra Sky Disc , in which the archaeological investigation could only take place afterwards. In other cases, illegal explorers are on the move after archaeological discoveries have become known, such as in 2015 at the Roman marching camp in Wilkenburg . Although finds of financial value are not always to be expected, the objects themselves are of great importance for research in the context of the find.

Even if a probe digger digs for finds in apparently archaeologically “harmless” places and removes them from the ground, there is always the danger that archaeologically important findings , references, connections and identification aids will be irreversibly destroyed. In addition, the unity of the finds is no longer given and the scientific value is significantly reduced as a result. The misappropriation of less valuable found objects (e.g. fragments of fibulae, fittings, coins, etc.) deprives science of essential foundations. The willingness to buy objects with obscure origins creates the market for robbers and stolen goods . The statement made by many probe users that they would only be active in the already disturbed plow horizon and avoid graves is not a counter-argument, since in the event of improper excavation it cannot be determined in which soil horizon a find is made (in some places the "plow horizon" is only sufficient a few centimeters deep) or whether there is a grave (bones may long have passed and only precise observation of the location can decide whether it is a grave). In addition, scattered finds in the plow horizon are important information about old house locations or about the course of a battle when mapped exactly. Probes who are not archaeologically trained and do not follow a coordinated research concept destroy all this information and the historical source value of their finds.

Danger to probe users

The search for military legacies poses various dangers and problems. Probe users can be harmed when attempting to defuse found ammunition themselves or endanger third parties when they are (illegally) transported and stored.

Search permits

Surveyors with a search permit can do valuable voluntary work in the preservation of monuments by reporting unknown soil monuments and providing new knowledge about known soil monuments. Nevertheless, there are still a large number of probe users who, unreportedly, market their finds mainly via the Internet. In Baden-Württemberg, the Department of Monument Preservation of the Ministry of Economics has published a leaflet on this. In Hesse, the State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse, in cooperation with the Robbery Excavation of the Hessian State Criminal Police Office, also explained the legal situation there in a leaflet. In Lower Saxony, the amendment of the Lower Saxony Monument Protection Act in 2011 made the search for archaeological finds with metal detectors subject to approval. Since 2012, the Lower Saxony State Office for the Preservation of Monuments has been offering theoretical and practical courses on the use of metal probes to search for soil monuments on a regular basis. With this qualification, the participants can apply for a search permit from a lower monument protection authority. As of 2018, around 300 probe users in Lower Saxony had a permit from the monument authorities. In Rhineland-Palatinate North, for example, you have to attend a certain number of lectures on state archeology as advanced training in order to get your research permit, or NfG for short, extended. In Schleswig-Holstein a corresponding certification course must be attended by the Schleswig-Holstein State Archaeological Office .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h DIGS-Online: German interest group of probe users
  2. ↑ Simon Benne: Probe walkers in the Roman camp in: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung of December 29, 2015.
  3. ↑ Information on how to behave and how to preserve evidence when probing people and robbery graves are encountered (PDF; 1.4 MB) Ministry of Economics, Baden-Württemberg. January 2014. Accessed July 9, 2020.
  4. ^ Robbery excavations - no trivial offense (PDF; 11.3 kB) State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse and Hessian State Criminal Police Office. 2005. Accessed July 9, 2020.
  5. ↑ Leaflet on the qualification of probe users in Lower Saxony (PDF, 224 kB)
  6. ↑ 300 amateur archaeologists are in Lower Saxony in the district newspaper of April 29, 2018
  7. ↑ Come on, we'll find treasure - but with a license from ndr.de from April 29, 2018
  8. ↑ Certification courses at the ALSH