'Sometimes I wake up from a dream and I don't know if I'm with my wife or in Iraq... And then I know that I have to go out with the detector...'

So says a Danish veteran diagnosed with PTSD after participating in international missions to Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo, among other places. He is one of a growing group of Danish veterans who use amateur archaeology and the metal detector as tools in the fight against PTSD and other post-deployment injuries.

With the metal detector in hand and in their search for Danefæ, the Danish veterans experience that they can once again contribute to society, become part of meaningful communities with other veterans and hobby archaeologists and find peace from the myriad of thoughts.

Amateur archaeology, and especially the search for the past with metal detectors, is becoming more and more popular. Every day, amateur archaeologists contribute with sensational finds in Danish archaeology. Several finds have helped to rewrite Denmark's history. But it is not only archaeological finds that the detector operators find. Many of them also find ways to mental recovery. As recent research points out, archaeology in general and metal detector archaeology in particular can be health-promoting.

Denmark has introduced its own program for veterans with psychological injuries
In fact, several initiatives and research efforts, especially in the UK and the USA, have been created to include injured war veterans in archaeological activities. And Denmark has also got its own introductory program called VETEKTOR BUDDY. The program lends veterans the necessary gear, and experienced detector operators help veterans into the hobby as their mentors.

But why is the metal detector hobby particularly rewarding for mentally damaged veterans?
"There is an overlap between the intellectual, technical and practical skills that the veterans have been trained during their time in the military, and then the skills you need as a detector operator," says Aja Smith, who is the project manager for VETEKTOR BUDDY.

In addition, there is an overlap between the values and aspirations that led the young people into the military in the first place, and then the values and the larger purpose that the hobby is based on and feeds into.

"Before, they fought to defend Denmark – now they help to safeguard the Danish cultural heritage. Being able to contribute to a larger cause of national and cultural historical value is important for the veterans," says Aja Smith.

Volunteer mentors, the communities and strengthened self-confidence
But the program is not just about archaeology – although it is absolutely central for both veterans and mentors. The program is also about experiencing that you are part of a community and that other people are interested in you for the person you are.

The smaller and larger communities that are created between mentors and veterans in local groups and the volunteer mentors play a crucial role in veterans' recovery.

But many of the veteran participants gradually also find their own fields, talk to landowners and perhaps even invite others in the program to search their own fields. They seek knowledge about local historical events and find maps in the archives. And they generally find that the skills they trained as soldiers become relevant again. And all this gives many veterans not only a sense of meaningfulness, but also strengthened self-confidence.

"Veterans are super good detector operators – they generally have a really good understanding of terrain, are good at handling technical gear and are trained to work in a structured way. In the program, we experience the veterans as resourceful people who have been affected by extraordinarily difficult experiences and therefore quite naturally have different after-reactions. There is room for that – lots of space," says Aja Smith.

Contact
Aja Smith, post.doc, Project Manager
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mobile: 28 99 25 86
Mail: aja@cas.au.dk

Andres Minos Dobat, Associate Professor, behind the project
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mobile: 41 11 86 89
Mail: farkado@cas.au.dk