How not to lose history

Machine translation of the original editorial information.

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Inside this issue

1. 10 · On a forgotten retreat
2. 34 · Rare Wehrmacht daggers
3. 40 · A pre-Christmas present

Dear readers,

This year’s second issue of Detektor Revue is being published just as the deadline for the Okes competition draws to a close, so once again – and hopefully for good – we have the opportunity to choose a location to suit our own tastes. I therefore wish all our readers continued undisturbed expeditions into the countryside and some fine spring finds. I hope that in this issue of our magazine, too, you will find a varied read that will not only inspire your own searches but perhaps also encourage you to submit an article in which you can share your successes and experiences with the readers of Detektor revue.

So what can you look forward to?

In the opening feature, ‘Artefact of the Month’, Petr Smítka presents an interesting addition to his collection: a unique customs service buckle. ‘How Not to Lose History’ is the title we have given to our in-depth interview with archaeologist David Novák from the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences about the recently launched PAS system – a system for registering finds handed over by treasure hunters to archaeologists, as we know it from the UK. In the article ‘Forgotten Retreat’, the treasure hunter Tomáš demonstrates that there are still places in this country where no one has yet searched. What follows is the continuation of the article ‘The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine’ about the adventurous search for the richest and most famous mine in American history. In the tenth instalment of our ‘Let’s Save History’ series, we continue to follow how treasure hunters are helping to preserve our archaeological heritage.

Nazi treasures – fact or misinformation? – in this issue you will find the continuation of the popular series by treasure hunter and researcher Rudolf Hakl, which is sure to appeal not only to those interested in the treasures of the Third Reich, but to history in general. In the in-depth article Stolen History by our contributor Matthew Shipley, we follow the search by British investigators and archaeologists for a treasure of inestimable value, which led two treasure hunters all the way to court.

In response to the question ‘So what’s the story with those torsos?’, a police expert, Mgr., answers in the ‘Advice’ section. Stanislav Kapl. You can find answers to your questions regarding button finds in the regular column ‘The Button Collector’s Advice’, prepared for you by button expert and collector Ivo Tomáš. In this issue, too, lovers of bladed weapons will find something to their liking; PetkoZberatel presents further interesting additions to his remarkable collection, this time rare Wehrmacht daggers. In the current ‘Letters to the Editor’ section, our reader and treasure hunter Bedřich issues an urgent appeal to those who leave sites looking as though a herd of pigs had been there. This is followed by an article entitled ‘A Pre-Christmas Present’, in which JendaKvaska recounts how a porcelain Sudetenware figurine brought an early Christmas to two friends.

Do you return to sites you have already searched? This is another question we asked treasure hunters in your favourite poll. Once again, those interested in the history of weapons produced by Czechoslovak manufacturers will not be disappointed – a study by the military technology historian Jan Škarka focuses on another outstanding product from Škoda: the 15 cm M.14 howitzer.

Of course, we couldn’t leave out our regular short story – not just for metal detectorists – which this time was written for us by Zdeněk Jarchovský and aptly titled ‘An Archaeologist’s Paradise’.