Commercial
Metal Detecting
Services.
Add Expertise to your programme.
Deliver at scale, on Time.
Flexible, scalable, certified field teams with predictable, pass-through pricing and proven results
Large projects exceed internal survey capacity
Programme pressure forces compromise
We provide dedicated, supervised metal-detecting teams
built for commerical survey delivery
at scale
Overview
GVMD-Commercial provides specialist metal detecting teams to support commercial archaeological, environmental, and infrastructure-led projects.
Delivery integrates directly into client-led programmes, method statements, and client-authored Written Schemes of Investigation (WSI), providing additional survey capacity where internal resources and skills are constrained.
Teams are deployed as supervised field units operating to agreed models and site controls.
Capacity can be scaled across multiple concurrent work areas, supported by the internal recruitment, training, certification, and quality management processes developed specifically for commercial survey environments by GVMD-Commercial.
Core Capabilities
Large-area field deployment
Metal detecting survey teams deployed at scale to deliver agreed coverage across large and programme-critical areas.
Survey intensity is defined by the client and commonly delivered at 20%, 50%, or 100% coverage, depending on project requirements.
Archaeological contractor support
Fieldwork is delivered strictly in accordance with a client-authored Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) and client supervision.
GVMD-Commercial teams operate as an integrated survey workstream within wider archaeological programmes, coordinating directly with site supervisors and project managers.
Construction and enabling works support
Responsive mobilisation to support pre-construction programme-critical phases.
Team size and deployment are configured to meet project demands while maintaining supervision, consistency, and auditability.
Field mobility and logistics
GVMD-Commercial deploys dedicated 4×4 vehicles in support of field teams.
Vehicle numbers are scaled dynamically in line with team size, site extent, access constraints, and programme requirements, ensuring continuous field mobility across large or remote work areas.
Proven
CAPABILITY
Project Spotlight
GVMD-Commercial supported a leading UK-based commercial archaeology contractor delivering a major large-scale infrastructure project in 2025.
Landscape: Ridge & Furrow, Pasture
Area: ~120 hectares
Duration: 5 weeks
Survey intensity: 20% transects
Finds: >100kg of non-ferous artefacts recovered
GVMD-Commercial provided supervised metal detecting survey teams working in coordination with the client’s archaeological and geospatial staff.
A field unit of 7 GVMD operatives, led by two experienced team leads, operated across concurrent work areas. GVMD provided its own off-road capability throughout the project.
Process refinements proposed during delivery were adopted within the agreed methodology, increasing daily output without increasing client staffing levels.
Artefacts were recovered and bagged in situ by GVMD-Commercial operatives, with logging and post-excavation processes managed by the client team in line with project requirements. Archaeologists & Detectorists collaborated as one team.
Survey Methodology
Transect-based or gridded coverage delivered to agreed survey designs
Use of high-end, commercially appropriate metal detecting equipment across all field teams
Ability to standardise detector make and model across a deployed team where required, removing equipment-driven variability as a risk to results
Supervised field teams operating to defined coverage and control models
Controlled artefact recovery and bagging in situ
Regular reporting & feedback to client site supervisor
Clear escalation pathways for anomalous or potentially hazardous finds
Survey Outputs
GVMD Commercial provides controlled field recovery integrated into client-led recording and reporting workflows.
Field outputs are limited to:
-
Recovery and bagging of artefacts in situ
-
Artefact spacial data integrity for client logging
-
Daily progress and coverage reporting to site supervisor
All finds processing, cataloguing, spatial data capture, interpretation, and reporting are undertaken by the client archaeological team unless otherwise agreed.
Differentiators
Expert-led delivery
All operatives are trained and certified through GVMD’s internal skills programme, developed specifically for commercial survey delivery.
Controlled team quality
Recruitment, training, certification and deployment are managed internally, ensuring consistent standards across all projects and work areas.
Ex-military field leadership
Field leadership experience relevant to the recognition and appropriate escalation of potential unexploded ordnance (UXO).
Qualified Nurse Practitioner
On-site medical capability providing enhanced first-aid and incident response during field operations.
Commercially aligned delivery
Survey teams & SOPs structured to integrate cleanly into client programmes, procurement models, and audit requirements, under client supervision or autonomous.
Scaling Survey Capacity
Specialist metal-detecting teams - risk mitigation
Programme risk: resourcing &
delivery
Large survey areas can exceed internal
field capacity.
GVMD deploys scalable survey teams
matched to project requirements.
• Teams configured to survey scale and
programme demands
• Rapid mobilisation and redeployment
• Dedicated 4×4 vehicles for large or
remote sites
• Deployment across multiple
concurrent work areas
Additional survey capacity without diverting archaeological staff.
Operational risk: competence &
supervision
Dedicated teams focused exclusively on
metal-detecting survey delivery
• Trained and certified operatives with
commercial survey experience
• Dedicated field leadership and
supervision structure
• Standardised high-performance
detecting equipment across the entire
team of operatives
• Defined coverage models and
supervised controlled field operations
Consistent survey execution and
operational control.
Commercial risk: reporting, governance & compliance
Survey work delivered within structured
project frameworks.
• Delivered to client WSI or agreed
survey design
• Controlled artefact recovery in situ
• Daily coverage and progress reporting
• Confidentiality controls and NDA-bound
operatives
• Full commercial insurance cover
• Traceable outputs and auditable
procedures
Survey outputs integrated into
client reporting workflows.
Commercial Pricing Model
Simple, transparent, and easy to explain
Structured for straightforward pass-through into client bids
Your Project Requirements
Survey Area (hectares)
Programme (time to complete)
We Configure the Solution
Team size
Number of units
Transport capability
Output
Single fixed project price
£ per hectare per day
Transparent breakdown
What You Can Expect From Us
Scaleable Flexibility
We offer genuinely scaleable flexibility: from a single specialist to a multi-person team, built to fit your project. We can deploy operatives anywhere in the UK, rapidly spin up additional capacity, and adjust team size as your programme evolves, keeping projects moving without delays or compromise.
Professionalism
Our operatives are fully trained, certified at our skills-school, and work to strict SOPs. With thousands of hours across hundreds of hectares, every project runs under NDA, with clear briefings, discreet conduct, and a hard focus on context, data and documentation, producing high quality, defensible results.
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Seamless Integration
Our policy and process are built to plug straight into your way of working. We align with your project design, reporting structures and site protocols, acting as a light touch specialist consultancy, that adds expertise without friction, ensuring metal detecting becomes a reliable, well-managed component of your wider programme.
Finds Management
Using expert judgement and high-end equipment, we minimise time on ferrous & modern waste, prioritising topsoil artefacts. Finds are carefully extracted, bagged and flagged, with a deep respect for context, the data we are creating and the site's heritage. Supporting robust interpretation and reporting.
"GVMD Commercial is engaged where clients require additional metal detecting survey capacity, to meet programme demands or concurrent project delivery. You don't need to divert internal teams from existing work."
Contact Us
GVMD-Commercial
Meadow View Farm
Meadow Drive
Weston-in-Gordano
Bristol
BS20 8PS
coming soon
