ONE of the detectorists who discovered the world’s largest hoard of Celtic coins in a field in Grouville has welcomed the launch of a £250,000 fund to promote research into the collection.
Richard Miles, who unearthed the Le Catillon II hoard with Reg Mead in 2012, called the fund ‘an exciting development’, which would help promote both the find and the Island to the wider world.
He said: ‘The people of Jersey paid for the hoard so it is important that we get maximum impact for the Island.
‘We don’t want it just to become a museum exhibit; it needs to be part of a story that is shared with the world. We also envisage that money earned from that story will be reinvested back in the trust.’
The £250,000 allocation was part of an agreement signed between the Crown and government in 2021, when the latter bought the hoard for £4.25m.
That quarter of a million pounds has been given to the Highlands Foundation – Highlands College’s charitable arm – to administer and allocate.
The money will be ringfenced for scientific and educational research into the Le Catillon II hoard, and made available before the end of the year to staff, students and alumni of Highlands College, as well as for research by any third party in Jersey or from overseas wishing to further investigate the historic discovery.
One such example for potential use of the funding is already being considered by the Highlands Adult Community Education team, which is looking to run courses for metal detectorists to teach more Islanders about the hobby.
Mr Miles said that such a use would help add a sense of responsibility in detectoring.
This issue came to the fore recently when it was revealed that there had been instances of ‘night-hawking’ – or the illegal search for, and removal of, antiquities using metal detectors – at the Le Catillon site.
For this reason, the Société Jersiaise has applied to Planning to conduct a non-intrusive survey of the area to search for and remove remaining coins and other artefacts, if found.
Mr Miles, who is part of the team who will carry out that study, said that there were great examples of positive partnerships between detectorists and heritage bodies in the UK, and there was no reason that could not happen in Jersey.
He said: ‘There are about 30 members of the club in Jersey, and we always encourage newcomers but ensure they abide by the rules. It is all about going about it responsibly. There is no point leaving artefacts in the ground because they are vulnerable to damage from ploughing and natural corrosion. It is good to get them out for the benefit of research.
‘We are hoping this wider geophysical survey on the site will reveal more of our past; it is extremely exciting.’
Commenting on the new fund, Highlands Foundation chair David Lord said: ‘The trustees of the foundation were honoured to be approached by His Majesty’s Receiver General to be the vehicle for the administration and distribution of this significant sum of money.’
He added: ‘The opportunity for Highlands College and the foundation to be involved in further discovery work of the Le Catillon Hoard is very exciting and adds another opportunity for the Island’s population to appreciate the amazing resource that Highlands College is to education in Jersey.’
