treasurehunting

What is treasurehunting - or what do you have in mind?

Predominantly metaldetecting, but in some cases it is possible to find interesting artifacts without special devices. That is more about adventure- visiting cites and places where it is possible to find relatively intact history.

I guess looking with a metal detector in some places that are public and open might be allowed. But if you do find anything that is historical and/or valuable then you have to give it in to the government and would at best get a finder’s fee. But after the many wars fought here one is more likely to find worthless scrap, and in some cases live munitions. They still dig up live bombs on a regular basis. I think one is more likely to find a grenade or landmine than a golden treasure. And yes, those things still go boom after all of these years.

TominStuttgart wrote:

I guess looking with a metal detector in some places that are public and open might be allowed. But if you do find anything that is historical and/or valuable then you have to give it in to the government and would at best get a finder’s fee. But after the many wars fought here one is more likely to find worthless scrap, and in some cases live munitions. They still dig up live bombs on a regular basis. I think one is more likely to find a grenade or landmine than a golden treasure. And yes, those things still go boom after all of these years.

To be honest, I do archeology for about 10 years, and even studied it in the Uni.
I know about the laws and how the system works, and already had an experience with  working in museums, for museums, and returning some findings to them.
Concerning shells and stuff- they would never explode without  specific actions like heating, beating, or trying to re-detonate them, so they are relatively safe. Besides, finding this kind of things is some kind of help to goverment, which still strugling with post-war echoes. In some countries the Goverment even pays for this kind of findings.
I'm more interested in applied history of some places, than finding golden treasure. Germany has amazing history full of interesting places and periods, and I'm up for exploring it. And if someday I find something of a national value, I would withous hesitation give it to the local museum.
The thing is that artifacts of this kind are quite hard to find, though still possible. I think it is a question of pure luck. I've found many coins, badges, buttons etc. around Hamburg, but none of them was of a historical value. Though, I dug just a few times because of a lack of time and kameraden.
So, maybe next time I'm going to find another sensational "Nebra Disk", who knows!

You might be right about big bombs and shells, probably takes a considerable whack from a shovel to set one off. But small ordnances like grenades and mines are much more unstable.  I don't want to criticize the hobby because it sounds cool but I just wanted to give a warning. Many people think WWII was ancient history but the dangers still exist. Something like a land mine does not lose its potential to explode just because it might be 70 to 80 years old. And like I mentioned, stuff gets dug up all of the time. Mostly it doesn't make the news like the 2000 pound bomb found in the middle of Frankfurt a week ago. I had to evacuate my own apartment a few years back because we were within the danger zone of such a bomb.

Thanks for the suggestions!
I dug out many shells in my life, and kinda experienced with that kind of things.
It depends on the type of shell and detonation fuse, but generally it's quite safe.
And yes, there is always a possibillity to find a dangerous munitions like german butterfly-bomb SD-2, or something with chemical substances like phosgene or mustard gas, Kugelhandgranate with Augenkampfstoff etc. But the truth is that nobody used them in Hamburg or surrounding areas.