Beyond the Bookshelf: Detectorists

Detectorists: The recent discovery of a hoard of more than 5,000 Anglo-Saxon silver coins in a Buckhamshire field is big news. It is the largest trove of Anglo-Saxon coins discovered in modern times. Numismatists and archaeologists will be poring over them for years. The find was made by metal detector enthusiast Paul Coleman, member of the Weekend Wanderers metal detecting club. It’s the second time in recent years that Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered. Readers might remember the Staffordshire Hoard, found in a field near Lichfield in 2009—some 3,500 gold and silver artifacts primarily of martial apparel and equipage. That historic find was made by Terry Herbert, another amateur metal detectorist.In fact, metal detecting is big in Britain. Here in the US, we see folk patrolling the beach with detectors in search of lost change and jewelry. The avocation takes on a higher seriousness in Britain, where 80 percent of the landscape is littered with the bits and bobs of human occupation drifting back thousands of years.

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Lance (Mackenzie Crook) and Andy (Toby Jones) are into something big.[/caption]

With impeccable timing, Acorn has released a mild-mannered, critically acclaimed BBC series on the very theme. Detectorists tells of the gentle adventures of two ardent “detectorists” and the hobby they have pursued for years together. Welcome to the world where enthusiastic club members compare the relative merits of varying makes and models of metal detectors.
Best friends Andy and Lance are an eccentric team, devoted to scouring the landscape with their underground sonar in search of treasure, obsessed with finding a legendary royal Saxon burial barge and its attendant loot that they are convinced lies beneath Farmer Bishop’s fields. Meanwhile, there are Andy’s not-so-longsuffering girlfriend and Lance’s dim, predatory ex-wife, who ran off with the Pizza Hut manager, hovering over life. There are also the oddball members of the DMDC (that’s the Danebury Metal Detecting Club) and a requisite pair of semi-heavy bad guys, who Lance continually reminds us look like Simon & Garfunkel.

BAFTA Award winner for best comedy and best comedy writing, Detectorists has won adoring reviews for its warmth, eccentricity and sheer humanity. It’s not difficult to understand why. One of the greatest themes of English-language poetry and passion is here. Our unassuming hobbyists are on the Quest, as sure as Odysseus and King Arthur’s knights. Elusive Saxon treasure is just another Grail. The tale is told with whimsy and with caring; Lance and Andy are humble Everymen. They watched University Challenge on telly last night; both admitted that didn’t get any questions right. But they watched.
Detectorists is a treasure itself, and a real change of pace. The heroes and their supporting characters are all loveable, and recognizable. The story is fun, and simply profound. You may be tempted to get a metal detector.

DVD: Detectorists starring Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones. Acorn Media, 6 episodes, approximately 180 minutes, $34.99.