What is "nighthawking"

n. 1 The practice of being out late at night, for work or pleasure. 2 (context British English) The action of a nighthawker; the practice of metal-detecting late at night to illegally remove artifacts from restricted sites.

'Nighthawking' is a term used by Britain's metal detecting community to describe the theft of archaeological artifacts under the cover of darkness from protected archaeological sites and areas.