The find of a lifetime

Machine translation of the original editorial information.

Archived issue; a purchase offer is not currently confirmed.

Inside this issue

1. 20 · Balázs Komoróczy: Archaeologists and Treasure Hunters II
2. 26 · Hand grenades – death is still ticking
3. 28 · SS-Totenkopfring – The Story of a Ring

Historical introduction: prices, events and dates refer to the original publication.

Dear readers,

The latest issue of Detektor revue is currently leaving the printers and is on its way to your letterboxes and the usual retail outlets. It is marked as No. 5/2017. And, as always, here’s a little taster to whet your appetite.

We begin, as is traditional, with our regular ‘Artefact of the Month’ feature, which this time features an unusual attic find: a sum of money—an extraordinary amount even for its time—consisting of bundles of socialist 100- and 500-koruna notes. We have titled the article ‘Savings with an Expired Guarantee’. In his report ‘The Find of a Lifetime’, treasure hunter Víťa writes about his discovery of a hoard from the Late Bronze Age and his collaboration with archaeologists to recover it. ‘Family Rivalry’ – that’s what Pepek79 called his account of what led him to take up treasure hunting and his rivalry with his dad. What follows is a look back at the fifth meeting of treasure hunters with Detektorweb in Moravia – Protivanov 2017. Acci, our regular contributor and a master at unearthing unique stories buried in the layers of time, was there when the mass grave from the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 was uncovered. He titled his article ‘McBonaparte’, with a contemporary twist. The ‘Archaeological Snippets’ section unravels the mystery of the Babylonian tablet; you will also learn that the first adhesive in history was produced by Neanderthals and discover the newly discovered tomb of a royal goldsmith in Egypt. ‘Do you sell your finds?’ is the question we put to treasure hunters in our regular ‘Poll’ section. ‘It’s always better for something to be in a box in a repository than lost’ is the title of the second part of the in-depth interview we conducted with our leading archaeologist, Mgr. Balázs Komoróczy, Ph. D. On the relationship between treasure hunters and archaeologists. This is followed by the article ‘Hand grenades – death is still ticking’, in which Wood highlights the basic types of hand grenades that metal detectorists may find in the field. Marek Charvát set out to trace the SS-Totenkopfring belonging to Hermann Kluckhohn, Heydrich’s personal aide, in his detailed article The Story of a Ring. Fans of short stories will certainly enjoy The Ghost – another magical tale by Rovin. ‘The Stinking Messenger of Youth’ – that is what Kasander called his article. The discovery of a peculiar little bottle in a rubbish bin not only revealed to him the remarkable history of an extraordinary medicinal product, but also transported him back to his childhood for a moment.

For those who do not wish to treat their finds like delicate flowers or irreversibly damage them through improper handling, we present the next instalment of our series ‘The Conservator’s Lair’. acci shares his experience from his work as a museum conservator with you. In this instalment, we’ll advise you on how to care for silver finds. Ivo Tomáš, a collector and expert, answers your questions about button finds in the regular column ‘The Button Collector’s Advice Corner’.

Those interested in military technology will certainly welcome another study by the military technology historian Jan Škarka, this time on the subject of the 105mm heavy gun model 13. And finally, we’re all certainly looking forward to the tenth instalment of the diary kept by our fellow treasure hunter Jarda, who has been writing it since the 1990s – back in the pioneering days of metal-detecting in this country. We are reprinting it under the title The Treasure Hunter’s Testament.

Source: Detektorweb