E.Petukauskas searches for underground treasures with a metal detector: “You never know what to expect” | Lifetime

Anyone can buy the detector

The metal detector first came into the hands of E. Petukauskas a long time ago; He doesn’t even remember the exact year, but says he had to do it for work reasons. The man was so fond of searching for things hidden underground that today he does it for his own pleasure.

“I work in the forest, you need to find geodetic landmarks that have metal on them, so I use a finder. When I first heard the signal with the detector, we started digging and found several coins from the Soviet era. Then I was hooked. Now it’s fun for me, I go out to have a good time, ”says E. Petukauskas.

Metal detectors in Lithuania are freely available to anyone who wants them, and the specialist warns that the number of people using them is growing. The Metal Detector Users Club established by E. Petukauskas and his colleagues in 2014 currently numbers 35 people.

“We founded the club because of the restrictions that did not satisfy us at the time. We had the equipment, the experience and the use of detectors was suddenly banned – you can buy, you can have it, you can’t use it much. After the consultation, we decided to use our experience and help the archaeologists whenever we can. That’s how it all started.

Today, the community of metal detector users is expanding quite strongly, people like to actively share photos that capture their findings. There are a few thousand people who are sympathetic to this occupation. We receive requests to join the club or teach how to use the search engines, ”says E. Petukauskas.

If a person has bought a metal finder for his own pleasure, he can use it anywhere, wherever he wants. It should only be considered if the area has no owner.

“You must respect private property, agree with the owner, obtain his permission to register his property. In addition, there are objects of cultural heritage to which it is forbidden to go for pleasure ”, explains E. Petukauskas.

There are a few thousand people who are sympathetic to this occupation.

If the search is not for pleasure, but an organized intelligence is carried out, E.Petukauskas gathers the necessary number of people from his team, which depends on the size of the territory, and then the search begins.

“We all lined up beautifully and neatly and ran out of detectors across the field. When we find an object, we excavate it, if, in our opinion, it has value, we mark it with a flag, the archaeologist comes to inspect and evaluate it, or puts it in the records, or puts it in the trash ”, says E. Petukauskas .

Randa valuable historical finds

The club’s founder says metal detector users typically don’t plan time for amateur exploration. Everyone chooses when it suits them and wants to spend a few hours searching.

“Some, driving to work and having free time, stop somewhere, pull out a detector and run through the field. If you plan a search earlier, drive first, survey the area, check to see if anyone lives nearby, then ask permission, if you get one, start exploring. If not, drive somewhere else. There are areas where there are no people around, then remove the detector and act immediately ”, says E. Petukauskas.

E. Petukauskas chooses the territory to be searched with a metal detector in several ways: sometimes pointing at the map and driving there, and sometimes selecting nearby neighborhoods or areas that are on the road. Although you expect to find something interesting each time, you are usually looking for worthless finds.

“We mainly dig up garbage; where people live, there is a lot of metal and garbage. We found plugs, wires, other iron objects. We talked to each other that if it is for you, you will find it, and if not, you will pass. You never know where it awaits you, there there is the charm of searching ”, says E.Petukauskas.

Among a lot of rubbish, E. Petukauskas and his colleagues sometimes find interesting and valuable historical finds. Unable to immediately determine its value, finder users photograph the object and send it to archaeologists for evaluation.

“We usually find historical objects together with archaeologists when we participate in the exploration of objects of cultural heritage. There are several finds there: for example, last year we did an exploration in Kernavė, near the mounds. We really found quite impressive items: Jagiellonian coins, Lithuanian long pieces, matrix rings. It is unique. We pass everything on to archaeologists, who record coordinates, write reports, identify finds, which are deposited in archives or museums, ”explains E. Petukauskas.

We talked to each other that if you are destined, you will find, and if not, you will pass.

The founder of the club has not found financially valuable objects and does not react with much enthusiasm to other finds; for E. Petukauskas, the process and the search for the object are more important than its value. In addition, for professionals, the find is usually much more valuable than their own.

“I am satisfied with all the findings. I do not appreciate that one thing is good and another bad. It does not matter, even if there will be a plug. Sometimes you go around the field for half a day, you do not find anything and then, detecting the signal, you dig a plug.Sometimes you spit, sometimes you’re happy.

And experts appreciate more: where the object was found, how it was found, at what depth, in what position. They value everything, they make descriptions. If a very unique find is made, explorations are made, they ask us for more help, along with the participation of archaeologists who record everything. Thus, a cemetery was found in the Alytus district: a colleague, walking by chance, found a brooch from Roman times. After the exploration, the repository was identified ”, recalls E.Petukauskas.

It is difficult to assess the value of objects found immediately; sometimes, just by showing it to a specialist you can discover that the finding is unique. Suspecting that an item may have value, E.Petukauskas and his colleagues give it away and throw the others in the trash.

“All plugs travel to the garbage. Coins from the Soviet era that cannot be identified can be set aside; sometimes, after a while, someone looks through the literature to find out the value, ”says E. Petukauskas. He says it’s not a shame to hand over the finds, and when he sees them displayed at the exhibition, he’s glad he was able to contribute to that.

Among the most frequently found trash and objects of historical value, E. Petukauskas also encounters unpleasantly surprising creatures.

“Sometimes we use a metal detector to amuse ourselves in bodies of water, so I found razor blades thrown into the water among the rubble of the mountain, and once I found a metal prosthesis. Findings not very pleasant, but thrown away, ”says E.Petukauskas.

It is precisely as one of the greatest difficulties in the search that the founder identifies not only obtaining the permission of the landowner, but also removing the garbage from the field that awaits the end of the exploration.

“We found many of them. At one event, we left the garbage found two years ago to a farmer, who took it for delivery and reported that it was 3.5 tons, 300 people collected in one day,” recalls the man.

Help people find lost jewelry and keys.

Between working with archaeologists and hobbyist searches, E. Petukauskas often receives requests for help from people. Especially in the warm season, they lose a variety of jewels that they can no longer find.

“Usually there are wedding and engagement rings. When the finger ring is a little loose, it is very easy for it to get lost in the water. Things are expensive, not so much in monetary value as close to the heart. In the summer, to You often have to go to the water to look for rings, chains, piercings and lose the keys to your house or car. This year, when it snowed, we also received requests to find items that people lost, “says E. Petukauskas.

E.Petukauskas’s colleagues have also received more interesting requests: once people lost their video camera while kayaking, they wanted to find it.

“They were filming while sailing and at some point they noticed that the camera was missing. He more or less remembered the place, so his colleague started looking for him, but for a while he didn’t find anything, he lost hope, but he heard a signal and took out his camera ”, recalls E.Petukauskas.

E. Petukauskas always asks people to describe the circumstances of the loss of an object, the place, to remember in as much detail as possible when they realized that they no longer had it. The indicated details make the search much easier.

“People have been disappointed when the item couldn’t be found because it was unclear if it was actually lost there. We always warn people that we may not find it. Searches are always interesting, we don’t know exactly what to expect, ”says the club’s founder.

E.Petukauskas and his colleagues provide free assistance to residents who request help; the best reward for them is emotions when people recover a lost item.

E.Petukauskas himself spends more time on amateur intelligence in the summer, when the days are longer, so after work there is still enough time to pick up a metal detector and conduct searches.

“It’s nice to go into a body of water after work, cool off, and at the same time, after taking the finder, run out and see if I find anything interesting. I like the feeling of surprise better. There is always a surprise, you never know what you will find, ”says E. Petukauskas.

Although E.Petukauskas does not value found objects, he admits that he sometimes dreams of fulfilling the script of the film: finding a treasure chest.

“Just as every soldier dreams of becoming a general, we also dream of treasure. What you can know. You never know what’s under the ground ”, he smiles.