MORE than 1,000 metal detectorists from across the globe will descend on a large swathe of land in West Oxfordshire this weekend.

The two-day Big Detectival, on land at Leafield, near Witney, is one of the biggest of its kind – with detectorists visiting from the United States and from across Europe, where detecting is mostly illegal.

Playing a pivotal role in recording finds from the rally across 1,000 acres will be Oxfordshire County Council’s Finds Liaison Officer Anni Byard.

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Ms Byard, an experienced archaeologist and author who has worked for the county for the past decade, sees events like these a crucial part of understanding the history of Oxfordshire over thousands of years.

She said: “It’s going to be really hard work, but great fun and will help us gather more evidence of who lived here and a better understanding of our history.”

Finds unearthed will be photographed, dated and analysed and some may even be classed as treasure.

Ms Byard is expecting a tough two days of carefully bagging and itemising everything prised from the ground.

Last time a similar detector-fest revealed more than 500 items – the equivalent to six months’ work of recording, but it also gave evidence of Iron Age and Roman settlements and Saxon activity. Each item is registered with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which is run by the British Museum to encourage the recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales.