Exceptional detecting county. The Cotswold limestone, Thames Valley gravels and Berkshire Downs chalk combine with a dense Roman road network and Iron Age hillfort heritage.
FROM THE PORTABLE ANTIQUITIES SCHEME
Selected archaeological finds from the PAS records for Oxfordshire.
MEDIEVALA Medieval copper alloy bar mount, dating to the period c. AD 1350-1400. The mount consists of a flat piece of metal which is…
Explore this findPhoto: Judy Pearsall · CC-BY
Licence label and image metadata on the linked PAS record.
MEDIEVALMedieval coin: penny of Henry III (1216-72) minted in London by Nicole between 1248 and 1250.
Explore this findPhoto: Oxfordshire County Council · CC-BY
Licence label and image metadata on the linked PAS record.
Jurassic limestone (Cotswolds) excellent preservation. Thames Valley gravel terraces highly productive. Chalk in the south (Chilterns fringe). Gault and Oxford Clay in the vale.
Cotswold limestone arable, Thames valley gravel terrace farmland, fields along Akeman Street, Watling Street and Fosse Way
Roman coins and high-quality bronzes, Iron Age Dobunni and Atrebates coins, Bronze Age hoards on the limestone plateau, Saxon material in the Thames corridor, medieval material
The White Horse area (Uffington) has produced Bronze Age material of national significance. Roman Alchester produces consistent high-quality finds. Thames corridor Saxon material is consistently found.
The limestone plateau between Chipping Norton and Burford is outstanding. Thames valley fields near Abingdon and Dorchester are consistently productive for all periods.
You can detect on private land in Oxfordshire 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 Oxfordshire 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.
Oxfordshire 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 37,817 database records representing 53,094 recorded objects for Oxfordshire, 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.
Check the current adopted rules with Oxford City Council for its parks. Other Oxfordshire sites have separate landowners and permission conditions.
PAS data from finds.org.uk. Last checked 2 November 2026.
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