The Searcher - May 2026

What’s new in this issue?

Searcher team member Tom Lucking exclusively reveals how events unfolded when they discovered an internationally significant Iron Age hoard. As it wouldn’t have been found without a metal detector (and it’s such an amazing find), I felt it was really worth celebrating on the cover. 

We also have the 2024 Nations’ Greatest Find competition nominations, which looks to be another hard judging task. Other highlights include a Bronze Age hoard discovered on a charity dig by Simon Browning and a gold aureus found in Wales by Paul McLoughlin.

Our technical piece this month is a field test on the new Minelab Vanquish 360, which looks to be a great machine, and Permission Impossible Part 2 is on Gaining & Keeping Permission by David Villaneuva, providing advice on one of the biggest hurdles in this hobby, and is well worth a read.