Story-telling and archaeology are two talents with a common purpose. Adam Daubney, Lincolnshire's Finds Liaison Officer since 2003, has a passion for both, along with problem solving, which makes him very good at his job. Dawn Hinsley finds out more...
Finding answers and the tales they reveal made Adam Daubney want to become an archaeologist more than anything else.
"I love problem solving and the research and being part of a profession where you can add to this growing bank of knowledge and interpret that for the public," says the 32-year-old.
After studying antiquities and pre-history at university, Adam started out by getting his hands dirty on digs in Lincolnshire.
The job of assistant keep archaeologist for the City and County Museum (now part of The Collection) followed.
As Lincolnshire's Finds Liaison Officer, working for the Portable Antiquities Scheme and Lincolnshire County Council, Adam's keen love of interpreting history and engaging an audience hasn't wavered.
Every find that comes in and every site that gets reported brings with it a sense of discovery.
Recently we had a new Anglo Saxon cemetery in south Lincolnshire. A lady who is a metal detectorist discovered sixth century brooches which would have come from the grave of a very wealthy lady and a shield and iron spear that would have come from the grave of a high status male.
I went out and visited the site with her and it looks like a burial cemetery. I looked at our maps of what we know of that area and it's just completely blank so we are discovering something totally new to us here.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme employs one finds officer in each county. Anyone who finds anything can bring it to us and have it identified. We don't deal with antiques – people get confused between antiquities and antiques – we are not interested in granny's heirlooms.
In England and Wales you only have to report something that is in the Treasures Act – 90 per cent of the things I see on a daily basis are not treasure.
Over the last ten years I have got to know a lot of metal detectorists and have been building relationships with them so they feel comfortable reporting objects.
It's only because of metal detectorists in Lincolnshire that we know so much about what has happened here. I work with more than 170 metal detectorists who regularly report to me what they find – they are really passionate about what they do and about history. People feel it's their duty to history to report objects they don't actually have to report.
Every find I record is valuable and in Lincolnshire I record 3,500 a year.
Personally, I have always wanted to find a pre-historic axe. I just love that period of our history and I would love to walk across a field one day and see a 300,000 year old axe waiting for discovery. We only have about 30 known examples in Lincolnshire.
To me as an archaeologist, each find is exciting and interesting but there are ones that really stand out from the crowd.
I am a bit of a coin nerd – I really like coins and the stories they tell. Last year two metal detectorists discovered a hoard of Spanish/American gold doubloons – from the same era as 'Pieces Of Eight', so it makes you think of pirates and treasure.
We have never had gold doubloons before and it's the only hoard of its type in the entire country. So this is unique.
They are dated between 1790 and 1802. These coins where the highest gold denomination circulating in the western world. They were international currency but not the sort of thing used in everyday transactions.
Coin hoards for me are particularly interesting finds because they raise a whole host of questions – who buried it, why they buried it, and most intriguingly why they didn't return for it.
On each coin is a little mint mark and they have come all the way from sites like Nicaragua, Brazil, Bolivia and Santiago in Chile. So what are they doing in a field in Lincolnshire?
I am actually agonisingly close to discovering who brought them here – and why. But I can't prove it. I have been working with the land owner and looking at deeds to the field where they were found. There's a suggestion the field was owned by a gentleman called Sir Robert Hobart.
He was mayor of Lincoln in the late 1700s. But then, really interestingly, in the early 1800s he took up a new job as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
Are these coins that were given to him as some diplomatic gesture?
The coins are from the Napoleonic Wars. Could they come from captured Spanish galleons? You can think up all sorts of stories behind them.
But you wonder why someone didn't come back for these coins – usually the reason is because they died.
Interestingly Sir Robert Hobart fell off his horse in the early 1800s and died as a result of his injuries.
This is the great thing about archaeology – you get finds and interpret them and tell stories. Coins in particular are very accessible objects for people as well – everyone knows what they are and can easily relate them to their own experiences.
Another great find we had last year was a lead spindle whorl used for spinning. This was found on the Lincolnshire coastline and it was covered in Norse Runes which date to the 11th century.
Similar objects had been found along the coastal ports in Norway which shows really great connections between Norway and Lincolnshire.
The runes have been looked at by a specialist and he says they invoke the Norse god Odin.
It's a really interesting object because it's not precious metal and something which would have been owned by everyday people in society.
But it gives us an interesting glimpse into religion in Lincolnshire. We have this melting pot of Christianity, Norse religion and possibly some myth in there as well.
Archaeology is great because it shows us that Lincolnshire has always been multi-cultural.
There's no such thing as England for the English. We have had invasions and settlers and we have traded with the continent over many thousands of years.
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