Hampshire
Metal detecting in Test Valley.
Some of the richest detecting country in southern England: chalk downland either side of the Test, dense with prehistoric and Roman activity. We've recorded 162 digs here. Locations are shown approximately, out of respect for the landowners and the ground we're trusted with.
The land around Test Valley
Test Valley runs from the downs above Andover south along the Test to Romsey. The chalk is high and open in the north around Grateley, Amport and the Wallops, then falls into the water meadows of the valley floor. Field sizes are large, drainage is excellent, and the plough turns fresh material season after season.
What's underfoot
This is exceptional archaeology. The Roman road network converges near Andover, the Danebury hillfort landscape sits at the heart of the district, and the Grateley–Quarley area has produced nationally important Iron Age and Roman material. Saxon and medieval settlement follows the same valleys, so a single field can span two thousand years.
How we search here
Clean chalk over flint. Signals are crisp and depth is good, but there is a great deal of ground here — we work methodically and mark anything worth returning to. Digs run midweek by written agreement with the landowner. We meet in the morning, spread out across the permission and search until mid-afternoon, refilling every hole as we go.
We have walked land around Andover, Amport, Appleshaw, Grateley, Broughton, Houghton, Hurstbourne Tarrant and Ampfield.
We have 162 recorded digs in the Test Valley district, spread across 24 parishes, part of 487+ digs across Hampshire. Every member works to the NCMD Code of Conduct, and finds of note are reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme through our local Finds Liaison Officer.
Significant Finds
No published finds from Test Valley yet.
Surveys in this district are ongoing, and records still working through the Portable Antiquities Scheme are not published here until they're released. In the meantime you can browse everything we've recorded elsewhere.
Browse the full finds gallery →