Glacial till across most of the county, with productive river valleys along the Dee and Weaver. Strong Roman heritage from the legionary fortress at Chester.
FROM THE PORTABLE ANTIQUITIES SCHEME
Selected archaeological finds from the PAS records for Cheshire.
POST MEDIEVALA copper alloy horse brass known as a fly or head terret dangler, dating to the post-medieval period, c. AD 1850 - 1920.
Explore this findPhoto: National Museums Liverpool · CC-BY
Licence label and image metadata on the linked PAS record.
POST MEDIEVALA copper alloy 'snake' buckle of the post medieval period. It is moulded in the shape of a snake with the tail and the…
Explore this findPhoto: Pauline M Clarke · CC-BY
Licence label and image metadata on the linked PAS record.
No county-linked FLO profile is listed here. Browse the FLO directory to check reporting contacts and area coverage.
Glacial boulder clay dominates, with Triassic sandstone underlying. River terrace gravels along the Dee, Mersey and Weaver offer better detection conditions than the heavy clay uplands.
Dee and Weaver river valley farmland, fields adjacent to Roman roads from Chester (Deva), medieval estate land
Roman military fittings and coins near Chester, medieval material in the river valleys, post-medieval trade tokens and weights
Roman material from the Chester hinterland is consistently found. Viking-age silver has been reported in the Wirral area.
Ground balance for the boulder clay. River valley gravels are much more permeable and easier to detect. Target high ground overlooking river crossings.
You can detect on private land in Cheshire with the landowner’s permission. You must avoid scheduled monuments, SSSIs and other protected sites. Joining a local club is the easiest way to reach permissioned land.
Yes. Metal detecting is legal in Cheshire on land where you have the landowner’s permission, as long as you avoid protected sites and follow the law on reporting treasure and recording finds.
Cheshire is covered by a Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Liaison Officer who records finds made by the public. See the FLO section on this page for contact details, or search finds.org.uk.
PAS lists 9,508 database records representing 19,672 recorded objects for Cheshire, checked 2 November 2026. These are recorded entries rather than a count of every find made. The period and object-type categories shown in the PAS section are selected, incomplete lists.
Cheshire West and Chester restricts detecting on its land to approved archaeological investigations. Check with Cheshire East, Warrington or Halton separately for their sites.
PAS data from finds.org.uk. Last checked 2 November 2026.
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