No treasure discoveries in South London since 2018

Part of a Roman coin hoard found in Snodland in north Kent is looked at closely by a British Museum worker; the coin hoard, discovered by a digger driver, is made up of over 3,600 coins and is part of the British Museum's annual report of treasure finds at the British Museum in London.

Detectorists in South London have not reported any treasure discoveries since 2018, new figures show – despite a national increase.

The Institute of Detectorists said many people picked up the hobby during the pandemic, likely leading to the surge in treasure finds in England and Wales.

The Treasure Act, introduced in 1997, defines treasure as discoveries older than 300 years. It includes coins, prehistoric metallic objects and artefacts that are at least 10% precious metal such as gold or silver.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice show one treasure find was reported to South London Coroner's Court, which is responsible for holding treasure inquests, in 2018. It is the only recorded discovery in the area in the past decade.

This is despite a national increase in finds in recent years.

Across England and Wales, 2022 saw a 20% increase in treasure finds on the year before with 1,087 reported to coroners. It is the highest number of discoveries since records began in 1997.

In London, four treasure finds were reported to coroners' courts last year.

Keith Westcott, founder of the Institute of Detectorists, said: "It was definitely the lockdown periods that brought the idea and interest of metal detecting to a lot of people who were sat at home, all day indoors thinking of what would give them a reason to get outdoors."

However, Mr Westcott added the growing interest in detecting must also be met with awareness of the hobby's requirements and responsibilities.

"Probably as little as 10% of what's found is recorded, so a dramatic improvement in that is needed if interest continues to grow," he said.

"People see these finds as objects of interest, but in reality it is part of an archeologic record of the area it was found in. So there has to be an understanding of the context around whatever is found."

The Ministry of Justice said the number of treasure finds reported steadily increased from 1997 when the Treasure Act was introduced, up to 2017. But since 2018 the number has been "more volatile" and was impacted by Covid-19 restrictions in recent years.

It added: "There has been a big surge in metal detecting activity during (and also since) the pandemic."

The increase in treasure finds comes as the Government has introduced a new definition of treasure which is due to be implemented later this year. It will update the definition of objects of historical importance to those more than 200 years old rather than 300 years old.

Additionally, objects can be of importance regardless of the type of metal they are made from as long as they provide an important insight into the country’s heritage.