18/09/2026 — Amsterdam

On 18 September, the student collaborators involved in Grounded Memories: Metal Detecting as Mindful Heritage in Action came together at the Meertens Institute in Amsterdam for a full-day masterclass.

​Frank Hemeltjen from KIEN presents. Photo by June Zhang.​

The masterclass was designed to introduce the students to the background, aims, and stakeholder engagement meeting of the project, prepare them for the upcoming object interviews, and begin developing ideas for the project’s co-creative visual representation work.

The day brought together students from KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp and Utrecht University, alongside members of the Grounded Memories project team and partners working on metal detecting, archaeology and heritage in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The programme began with an introduction to metal detecting as a hobby and community, presented from different perspectives. Richard Francken (DDA) introduced the practices of metal detecting and collecting, while Suzanne Venhorst (PAN) discussed current approaches to the hobby through the Portable Antiquities of the Netherlands. Frank Hemeltjen (Kenniscentrum Immaterieel Erfgoed Nederland, KIEN) and Wim Burggraaff (RCE) introduced the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and KIEN’s work surrounding this area, the FARO Convention, and RCE’s Faro platform. Pieterjan Deckers (KU Leuven) presented the project outline and goals, followed by Sophie Elpers (Meertens Institute and UAntwerp), who shared the results of the project's kickoff meeting.

A central part of the masterclass focused on object interviews and ethnographic methods. Line Dalile (UAntwerp) introduced approaches to object interviews and led an exercise and discussion with the students, including attention to ethical questions in fieldwork and intangible heritage.

Line Dalile (University of Antwerp). Photo by June Zhang.

In the afternoon, Pieterjan Deckers led an artefact study on archaeological approaches to metalwork, combining a lecture with a practical exercise. The day then continued with June Zhang’s session on the project’s upcoming co-creative visual representation workshop, followed by discussion of the project timeline, student pairings and practical arrangements.

The masterclass marks an important step in preparing the students for their work in the field. Over the coming period, they will contribute to the project's exploration of how metal detecting connects people with objects, memories, places and communities.

Post-workshop drinks! Photo by Sophie Elpers.

We thank all the students, project partners and guest contributors for their participation, knowledge and thoughtful discussions, and the Meertens Institute in Amsterdam for their hospitality.