The Daily Dig is a UK metal detecting news and views site for people who care more about history than hype. Perfect for when youve done all the YouTube videos, Facebook groups and TikTok. Here you can sit quietly and have a read, preferably with a cup of tea and a biscuit. We are early-morning detectorists who think too much. The sort who see a ploughed field as a timeline, not just “permission”.
We like: maps, archives, farmers, the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and leaving a field looking as if we were never there. We dislike: nighthawking, dodgy raffles, crater digging, and anything that treats history like clickbait.
What we believe:
History first, ego second
Farmers are partners, not land access
Reporting finds properly actually matters
If it damages the hobby, we will call it out
What you will find on The Daily Dig:
Long-form stories from real hunts, including bad days and empty fields
Deep dives into the history behind the finds, not just a photo and a shrug
Straight-talking guides to permissions, ethics and doing it right in the UK
Honest, experience-based talk about machines and methods, not scripted reviews
What you will not find:
Get-rich-quick nonsense
Glorifying illegal detecting
Clickbait designed to impress algorithms rather than detectorists
Behind The Daily Dig is a few detectorists who spend weekdays knee-deep in technology and data, and weekends knee-deep in mud. That mix shows: we care about evidence, patterns, context and telling the full story, not just waving shiny things at a camera.
If you are new to detecting, we will help you start properly. If you are experienced, you might nod, disagree, shout at the screen a bit – and that is fine. If you are a farmer, know this: we are firmly on the side of respect, honesty and leaving your land as we found it.
In short, The Daily Dig is a small rebellion against shallow detecting content. Less noise, more nuance. Less jackpot fantasy, more real history.
If that sounds like your sort of madness, stick around. The ground remembers. We are just here to listen.
