METAL DETECTORS AND “PRODUCTIVE SITES”.

METAL DETECTORS AND “PRODUCTIVE SITES”. In 1983, says Katharina Ulmschneider, the archaeologica evidence came from major excavations of “emporia” which had produced “not only vast amounts of Continental pottery, querns, and glass, but also unprecedented quantities of coins”. Shortly thereafter, metal detectors came into use, and finds were made without requiring large scale digs. The places where large quantities of metalwork and coins have thus been found are known by the term of art as “productive sites”. These sites show use of coins over a much wider area than had been thought. Since these coins are thought to have been lost by somebody centuries ago, they are also thought as well to show more intensive use of the coins. The “productive sites” are thought to have been locations of smaller markets and fairs.