Welcome to “Up Yer Kilt”

Welcome to up yer kilt, a magazine for Scottish detectorists. I hope you like this

publication. I have wanted to start this project for some time now and finally have

had the courage to go ahead.

The reason the seed finally germinated was after reading some old detecting magazines

and drooling over some of the finds in England & Wales, it occurred to me that there

wasn't a single report or mention about Scotland. Does nobody detect or find things up

here? Well yes they do you only have to look at David Booths torcs or Toddy’s gold medieval

ring brooch to confirm this as they are both very special finds.

So sitting down to the computer one day I began a list of things I would like to find while

detecting and when I had finished dreaming of all these lovely things I was going to find

I put at the bottom of the list a Scottish magazine just for us Scots and anyone else with

an interest in detecting our fine land. The idea was born.

The idea lay dormant in the back of my tiny brain till one day while talking to Grant

online about the dig we had just been on, I stated “there should be a Scottish magazine

for us” and he said well “why don't you?! I will help” so here we are with the first

official edition of “Up Yer Kilt”.

I am not a journalist nor have I been trained as such, so I ask you guys to be patient

with this newbie, and ask you all to accept there are bound to be initial teething troubles,

but our aim is to have a magazine ready every three months and we will see where it

goes from there. This is where you guys come in. There is no point in having this

publication if you don't give us anything to put in it. So c’mon guys! every one of you

has a story to tell, or an idea you would like to see come to fruition. You all go detecting

regularly so post your best find up or if you don't want to write the article yourself then

give us the details and photos which will enable us to write it for you.

We are not nor will we be biased either towards or against any club or forum and will indeed

be requesting that all forums and clubs put something in the magazine. This

publication is neutral and will never deviate from that. Furthermore we will not

print anything derogatory about any club or forum nor will we be doing reviews on machines

that we do not personally own. Should you wish to publish results of any field test

or study with a specific machine then please forward it in the normal fashion.

We have asked Whites Electronics, being the only Scottish manufacturer, for help with

sponsorship and they have agreed, but we need your help, to help us, to make this a good

magazine for all detectorists from the newbie to the more expert, in other words something

for everyone.

If you have anything to put in the magazine you can email it to

upyerkilt1@hotmail.co.uk or if you want to speak to us one to one then you can contact

us on the above email and we will call you back.

Thanks guys

The Editor

3

Grant Maxwell-Thomson

Well! here we are in the maiden voyage of the first Scottish metal detecting magazine to represent all groups

including forums clubs and societies north of the border.

I am originally from Airdrie (currently living in Faslane), but have lived all over the UK due to having left

my life as a young chef in central belt Scotland behind some 20 years ago to see the world with the Royal

1avy. Initially as a chef, and for the last 17 years as a medic. A sailor like my father and grand father before

me.

I first took an interest in detecting about 13 years ago and spent hundreds of pounds on a machine only to

quickly lose interest due to there being little in the way of information online or any like minded company

readily available.(I get bored on my own). I wasted my money and time but these days you guys are there

with a wealth of information and generous advice.

However every now and again I’d pick up a copy of one of the two main England based metal detecting

magazines and feel the urge to get out and dig so eventually a few years ago I did just that! I was lucky

enough to gain permission to detect in an area rich in Roman finds and was re-hooked!

However as all good things come to an end, I upon reaching the point where I only had 2 years left of my 22

year military career, decided to move back home to Caledonia where I will retire and enjoy this fine hobby of

ours till my legs give in and my arms can’t dig.

I take the responsibility of assisting with bringing this publication to you in good shape very seriously, and

am grateful to Hugh for allowing me to be a part of what I suspect will be a real labour of love for him.

I have a fair amount of writing experience and have had several poems and large articles published in magazines

such as BMWCAR & Course Angler to name just two. In addition my work involves much report

writing and data analysis.

I am the very lucky boyfriend of Louise, a Sgt medic in the Air Force currently serving a 4 month tour

abroad (Aeromed).

You can find me on both Detectingscotland.com & Toddy’s Digs, and currently use a Minelab Etrac & a

White’s Matrix M6..

For all Scottish detectorists and detecting in our fine land, unbiased, non-political, non judgemental and

welcoming.

Grant

Shug

Hello and welcome.

My name is Shug and I live in Bonnybridge. I am married to Veronica (my poor

detecting widow) and have six children and five grandkids. I work in a Edinburgh

Church as a Church Officer and have done for nine years now.

I have been a fisherman all my life, but a year ago I went detecting with my brother

and loved it from the start. I was hooked you could say.

I didn't want to write this piece about myself because I want this magazine to be your

magazine but hey common courtesy says I should introduce myself.

So hi! and get writing for “your magazine” and for all the people who have helped so

far “Thank you”

Shug

4

TODDY’S DIGS

Toddy’s dig’s are going from strength to

strength with the latest dig (at the time of

writing) taking place inthe Grangemouth

area on the 6th February 2011.

There were twenty five detectorists on this

dig. This consisted of some regulars and a

few new people trying toddy’s digs for

the first time. We all met up and started at

nine o’clock and it wasn't long before the

first finds were getting pulled out of the

ground.

One of the regulars (Stewart) who detects

with his daughter (Cazzy) found the first

good coin of the day using a Minelab

Etrac.

It was a hammered coin, a nice “Edward II

Bury St Edmunds” and it wasn't going to

be his only silver on the day he was to bag

another three silver coins and numerous

other coins as well. A great days detecting

for Stewart.

This wasn't the only hammered of the day a

couple more were weeded out along with

lots of copper coins and a nice

Edinburgh token pulled up by one of the

new starts. The field we were detecting

on was huge and under stubble.

Toddy does not scrimp when it comes to

giving you plenty of land to move around

there was enough room for many more to

detect.

Toddy experience is vast, and he is

always available during the digs for

advice on how to set up your machine to

what setting are best for your way of

detecting. All of this, he does free for

anyone who joins his digs or forum.

If you want to join in one of Toddy’s digs

then all you have to do is join Toddy’s

detecting forum and ask to go on the

digs which are held every two weeks.

Toddy Irvine (above).

To join visit www.toddysdetecting.co.uk

5

“Living in the past”

by Carol Greenwell

I’ve always had a great passion for Scottish history. Being a patriot at

heart, to learn about the colourful, exciting and epic past of the country I

love is immensely gratifying. Currently I’m studying Scottish history at

Stirling University and I hope to make a career out of it eventually. So, you

could say my whole world revolves around history, considering I’m also an

avid detectorist!

My interest in detecting

developed because of my

dad. I knew he enjoyed

getting out detecting but

initially I didn't see what the

appeal was. That changed

one day when he was

showing me some of his

finds.

He had some roman coins he

had found and I remember

him saying to me “just

think, the last person that

touched that was a Roman!” Well when he put it like that it fired me up

with enthusiasm and I was raring to get out!

Some might say it’s a strange hobby for a girl and admittedly it doesn’t do

wonders for my poor nails…. But the benefits are numerous. I love

imagining the story behind my finds, even seemingly mundane artefacts are

enough to fire up my imagination. The buzz when you unearth an object of

times past is indescribable. The fresh

air and exercise are additional perks

Carol (Cazzy) with Sinclair and his son David.

Continue next page

Carols best coin a Roman Denarius

6

Another fantastic side to this hobby is the people I have met. I try to get to

digs as often as family and other commitments allow and I’m a member of

various forum’s so I have met many fellow detectorists. Admittedly, it is a

male dominated hobby, but I can honestly say that my gender has never

been an issue. Everyone is really welcoming and helpful, and it’s been great

meeting other people who are passionate about the hobby as I am, so I

never feel as I’m in the minority.

Metal detecting is a healthy, exciting hobby with an amazing sense of

camaraderie. A lot of people say “you shouldn’t live in the past” but I

disagree. In my opinion there’s a lot to be said for it.

Carols latest finds

What is a Denarius:

A denarius (plural denarii) is an ancient Roman coin made of silver. It was

originally equal to 10 asses, hence its name, although its value and silver content

decreased through the centuries of Rome's existance.

The denarius was struck from approximately 211 BC to 270 AD.

The denarius is believed by scholars to have been a Roman

soldier's daily pay.

7

Heart of the Matter

By David Drummond

Whether you like it or not there are times I am sure you all know when strange or

bizarre events start to happen.

Sometimes events can take on a pure coincidental nature and yet again in the back of

your mind you may start to question your own inner doubts.

Recently Valentine’s Day was celebrated

and the one symbol we all recognise for it

is the heart.

The heart has always been associated with

love and romance but there is also a

supernatural element to it as well which

can be traced down through the ages.

About three years ago I was metal

detecting on my own along an ancient

overgrown road which I was following in

a forest in Perthshire.

I had wondered if this old road had been

Roman or if it had been Medieval but to

me it looked more like the former.

I detected for some distance along the

track of the road and then my eyes were

drawn to an old tree standing next to an

old drystane dyke just to the right of the

road track.

My instincts kicked in and I headed for

the old tree.

For years I have always had a habit

whenever I was in old woods to check

around the roots and hollows of old trees and this old tree was no exception.

The search coil of my Ace 250 prodded away among the hollows and roots when as if

by magic I got a sudden tone coming through my headphones.

The tone and meter reading alerted me that

I should dig and that the target was only

four inches down.

So I dug carefully in the deep black soil and

for a few long seconds I had to hand sift

loose soil until my fingers felt something

small which initially felt like a misshapen

piece of wire.

But then my eyes nearly popped out when I

saw what I’d found.

Continued on the next page.

8

I had to take a minute to focus on what I’d just found so I sat on the dyke just

pondering over the object.

What I had recovered was a solid piece of

gold pure gold but not of a coin but an

artefact instead.

A heart of gold to be precise in the shape of

an old brooch.

A brooch very similar if not the real McCoy

to a Scottish Luckenbooth Brooch.

After finding this piece of gold I went to get

my camera and took pictures of the find

spot as well as the old tree.

It was while I was taking the photo’s that I

discovered the tree had a lot of ancient

graffiti carved on it especially above the

find spot.

What I managed to glean through the

carvings were initials and dates which

seemed to be of the 1700’s.

The tiny brooch is of some age and could

very well be of 18th century origin made

of solid gold it has no markings on it

whatsoever only the hinge on the reverse

and has at some stage in antiquity lost its

pin.

And now for some strange reason ever

since finding this heart shaped brooch I

have found quite a few other weird shaped

objects on my detecting travels.

Weird in that they are heart shaped as well.

The first was found a week after the brooch

when I was involved on an

archaeological field walk looking for flints

I came across a piece of slate crudely

shaped like a heart.

I now have a collection of stones and metal

finds I have found all heart shaped.

Is all this just pure coincidence or there

some kind of message I am supposed to

derive from it all.

I think I’ll let the readers ponder over that one?

9

The Second Detecting

Scotland Dig

The second Detecting Scotland dig was held on

13th February 2011. It was held in the Denny

area in Stirlingshire. The weather forecast for the

day was drizzle till noon and drying up in the

afternoon.

There were five fields altogether, two were

stubble fields and three were pasture so there was

plenty of fields to choose from. The thirty people

attending had more than enough space to detect

for two digs let alone one.

We all started after receiving our new detecting

Scotland car stickers and a few coins and lead

seals were getting pulled out from the fields.

Then just before lunch time Stewart pulled up

two hammered coins a nice Charles the first

shilling and a Elizabeth the first sixpence and Ben

(green) winkled out another Elizabeth the first

sixpence to make it three hammered in a matter of

minutes.

Word soon got out and everyone seemed to head

to the pasture fields where the hammered were

found. There were no more hammered to come

out of the field but a few copper coins were to

give themselves up.

During the afternoon a few silver coins were

found including a William the third sixpence

minted in 1696. This is one of the earliest milled

edge coins produced. It was pulled out by by Iain

(heart of lothian), who ended up with three silver

coins, a good days detecting in anyone's book.

Further finds were to come right up to clocking

off time with (fisherman) pulling up a thick coin

that he thought was roman but turned out to be

three turners all stuck together when cleaned.

Overall a very well organised dig and greatly

enjoyed by all who attended.

Anyone who wants to come to one of these digs

can all they have to do is join the forum at

detectingscotland.com and put your name down

for their digs.

10

Asking for Permission

Metal detecting is a great outdoor activity and there

are many public places to hunt for riches.

However there are times when you may want to

detect on private property. To do this, you must

obtain permission.

The best way to ask for permission is in person.

But, there is a right way and a wrong way to ask.

The right way is to dress presentably with neat

clothes, no hat or sunglasses, and do not have your

detector in on hand and a shovel in the other.

Identify yourself and explain what you would like

to do. You may want to include some local history

as one of the reasons you want to hunt on this

property. Ensure that you will not be destructive

and you will clean up any trash you find.

You may have to offer an incentive to your

prospect. For example, you may offer fifty percent

of your findings or you may just tell them that if

you find anything of value or something that the

owner may have previously lost you will hand it

over, trying to involve them in the historical

significance in anything you should find.

If you have more than one metal detector, you can

offer to have the homeowner metal detect along

with you. This serves a couple of purposes. They

get to participate and keep an eye on you and you

get to introduce them to the hobby.

It is also a good idea to hand out business cards

even if the people tell you no. They may have a

change of heart later on or may need your services

if they lose something of value.

Do not get discouraged if people tell you that you

cannot detect on their property. Thank them and

move on to the next property.

Once you do get permission, ensure that you fill all

of your holes, remove all of the trash, and leave the

area nicer than when you arrived.

You can also ask people who allowed you to detect

on their property to recommend you to friends or

relatives. Having a recommendation goes a long

way.

So, get out and start asking if you can detect in that

old church, 100 year old farm, or the turn of the

century schoolhouse. You will experience some

rejection but you will also achieve success and get

that permission and you may find that you are the

first person to have ever detected at that site.

Remember, too, that hunting on private property

without permission can be considered trespassing

and you may get arrested, fined, and have your

precious metal detecting equipment confiscated.

Happy Hunting.

Information for finders

What to do if you make a find

All finds, whether made by chance, by

metal-detecting, fieldwalking or archaeological

excavation are the property of the Crown and may

be claimed as treasure trove.

If you have found a coin and/or object which is

likely to be of historical or archaeological interest

or importance you must report it for treasure trove

assessment.

If you are not sure what type of find should be

reported please contact the treasure trove unit

(TTU) for advice in the first instance.

It is important not to dismiss a find if you don't

know what it is. The most unpromising find can

turn out to be an important missing piece of the

past.

How to report a find

Download and complete a reporting find form

email it to:

info@treasuretrovescotland.co.uk

or post it to the TTU.

or telephone and ask for a form to be sent to you.

If you have a digital image of the find you have

made it is very helpful to include this as an email

attachment or as a hard copy along with your form.

What will happen next

The TTU will contact you to acknowledge receipt

of your form

If the find is suitable for further assessment or for

recording purposes, arrangements will be made

with you for the find to be delivered to the TTU.

If the find is not appropriate for treasure trove

purposes (eg Victorian and modern coins,

Victorian and modern horse gear, brasses, buckles

and fragments of machinery etc,) you will be

advised.

Finds which are not claimed

Finds which are not claimed by the Crown are

returned to the finder by the along with an

individually numbered certificate stating that the

Crown is not exercising its right to claim.

Treatment of finds

Please do not clean or apply substances such as

wax or lacquer etc to coins or objects you have

found. Rewards will be reduced or waived for finds

which have been treated and/or damaged by

cleaning or the application of such substances.

Happy hunting

11

Buying your first machine.

Budget

Probably the most important thing, decide how much money you want to spend, and buy the best you

can for your budget, not forgetting to consider the second hand market seeking impartial advice from the

detecting forums.

Beach or land or both

Dedicated beach machines are called PI machines (pulse induction)

These machines are excellent at ignoring the heavy mineralisation of the sand and the water and salt

contents.

For both land and beach there are a few machines that say they can do it, don’t take that at face value,

phone the dealers up and ask their advise or ask forum members,

Do you lack patience

What I mean by this is are you easily frustrated?

If so then a top of the range machine with lots of things to tweak is probably not going to be ideal for

you.

You would be better with a switch on and go machine.

If you love to tinker and learn then these machines will get your detecting juices flowing and you will

do well with this type of machine

1otching

I personally believe this is more designed for the American detectorists, they dig a lot of parks, old

houses and schools, they don’t like to dig ring pulls etc so notching them out is something they do to

save time.

Trouble with this is not many (if any) US coinage falls into the pulltab/foil range, over here its a

different story.

Hammered coins often fall into this range and notching them out would make you miss them....

Weight

Some machines are very heavy to use or are unbalanced, a machine with a great big search coil might

look good for your 20 acre field, but swinging it for more than 2 hours may really take it out of you.

Try if possible to visit a shop and try the machine out,

or join a forum dig and get a feel for the machines used

on a dig.

Failing that ask on the forums, more often than not

someone has one or has used one and can advise you.

Research

The net and forums are awash with Field tests and

reports on different machines.

Pick a couple of machines in your price range and then

narrow down your research to these machines.

Don’t be afraid to phone the dealers up and ask

them.....also ask them what the best price they can do

for you....or maybe what extras they would throw in...

Second hand machines

As with all second hand items its buyers beware.

Buying second hand from a dealer is a good way, they

usually throw in some warranty and can test the

machine for you.

Most of all enjoy your machine and get to know

what it can do.

12

MORAYHUNTER DISCOVERS

AN IRON AGE VILLAGE

By Alistair McPherson

My name is Alistair McPherson born and bred in Morayshire

and currently residing in Elgin, and I have been detecting for 19

years and I can say that I have been very lucky with what I have

found so far.

This part of Scotland is largely ignored by historians but has

played its part in shaping the history of this nation. The items I

have found show that down through the centuries this small

corner of Scotland has had links to the Bronze age, Kings of

Ireland, the Emperors of Rome, the Yarls of the Vikings and the

medieval royalty of Europe.

These items have been mostly been claimed under Treasure

Trove law in Scotland and now reside in the Elgin museum

here in Morayshire and hopefully further artifacts that are found

locally will be housed there as well. Elgin museum is self

funded and well worth a look if you’re visiting the area as on

show it has a world class fossil display also a few of my

different items on show.

Having had several different types of detectors over the years

my mainstay machine was the whites XLT, However after 15

years made the fateful decision to upgrade to a new type and

sold my trusty XLT which I

still regret as it was like parting with a dear friend that you

know, and you will never see again but this short article is

not about the merits of different detectors which is a hotly

debated subject on all the worlds detecting forums.

I quickly found when I first started detecting, that some of

the broken bits of objects I was finding were in fact

historical items dating to the 18 and 19 hundreds, parts

of shoe buckles, horse buckles and military buttons.

Then I found this strange jug handle shaped object with

traces of red and yellow enamel and while watching a TV

program about a week later there was something similar

and it was an iron age roman brooch. After handing it in to

the local museum it was identified as a first century roman

brooch manufactured in the Liverpool area. That started

my relationship with Elgin museum something I

recommend and personally has been a fruitful experience

with advice and information being shared with each other.

A dragonesque brooch

which is made up of interjoined

trumpets this must

be one of my favourite finds

made by the Brigantes a

tribe in the Yorkshire area

circa 100AD.

An Iron age horse harness rein

joiner dating from about 100 to

200 AD again the trumpet motif is

present ,the artefact is unique and

has no known

Continued on the next page

parallels,

13

This has also resulted in my assisting the former curator in outreach visits to local groups

and library meetings giving talks on local history and promoting metal detecting as a hobby

and even making an appearance on the hour show with Stephen Jardine and how clean is

your house Aggie.

At present I am working with National

Museums of Scotland and Dr Fraser

Hunter on a site where I have discovered

an Iron age village of about seven to nine

round houses. This has been quite rich in

finds from two roman coin hoards (one of

silver and one of copper alloy coins) and

numerous brooches also. There is some

evidence that the site maybe have been

occupied from the bronze age. The site

has now been surveyed by Dr Tessa

Poller of Glasgow University the last

outing was done in severe weather which

I must applaud her for. At present I am awaiting confirmation that Dr Fraser Hunter will be

doing a dig at the end of this summer 2011, here’s hoping.

Good luck and may all your coins be hammered.

Ali.

Four Viking strap ends three of which (the ones with the hole)

were made in Dublin in or about 900 AD.

Fourth and fifth images are of my best rings to

date. The first a 13th century gold and sapphire

ring which more than likely belonged to a high

ranking member of the Church and the fifth is a

cracking gold ring which is still awaiting dating

by 1ational Museums of Scotland dates that have

been offered by different experts are from the

10th to the 14th but will have to wait and see.

What is a Turner

Scottish Charles II (1649-1685)

Scottish copper Turner or Bodle (twopence) 1663 issue. 19mm.

From the:

HA1DBOOK OF THE COI1S OF GREAT BRITAI1.

Turner Ist issue Obv. CAR.D.G.SCOT.A1G.FRA.ET.HIB.R;m.m. cross of five pellets. Crown above C.R.; on r.,

mark of value II (=2d). Rev.1EMO.ME.IMPV1E.LACESSET.thistle with leaves, not crowned AE.8 wt 40.8 The II

may be for the current value of the coin or may be for "secundus"

To give some idea of 'value' a quart of the best ale or beer by measure sealed cost 1d in 1625. So for that turner/bodle

or half groat you could have had about 4 pints of beer in 1663.

The latin 1EMO.ME.IMPV1E.LACESSET stands for 'Dunna mess wit me or y'll git a Glasgy kiss', or in english

'1o one shall hurt me with impunity'

14

Toddy’s Roman Dig

Sunday 20th February and another of Toddy’s digs get under way. The sun was out

and it was dry unusual for Toddy’s digs at this time of year.

We headed out on the fields with a

Roman fort just a stone throws

away and a lake in the distance.

There were around thirty odd

people there and once again a few

new people as well.

Its good to see Toddy’s digs being so

well attended.

We had three pasture fields to

detect on once again more than

enough room for everyone.

We got to the fields and started

detecting with a few finds coming up right away. The main finds were copper coins

from farthings to pennies and pieces of lead from bag seals to big chunks. There

were lots of silver coins appearing to ranging from Victorian Threepence and

Sixpences to a nice George the Third bullhead. There was a nice George the Second

copper coin too.

I saw a lot of pendants in peoples finds at this dig, more than I have seen at any

other dig, the farm workers at this farm must have liked their jewellery.

At the end of the dig Toddy and a few others all tried out their machines on a

recovery speed test bed which was good to see all these different machines and how

they performed especially how middle of the range machines performed against the

top of the range machines.

All in all another good dig and although there wasn't any roman artefacts found

there was still plenty digging. If you would like to go to one of Toddy’s digs then go

to Toddy’s Forum page register and ask to go on his next dig its as easy as that.

You can find Toddy’s forum at www.toddysdetecting.co.uk

15