.
The media hoo-haa about the "Staffordshire Hoard" is accompanied by the usual stereotypical "aren't metal detectorists wonderful finding all this stuff for us to drool over?" mantra. OK, suppose this had been found by a tractor driver when he stopped to urinate behind a hedge in the course of ripping his way across the ancient landscape twenty centimetres deeper than usual. If they urinated more frequently and found more gold, would we then be praising the archaeological benefits of deep ploughing of sites with archaeological content? Would British archaeologists be lauding the benefits of collaboration with deep ploughing farmers?
Well, after what we've seen over the last week, I'm beginning to suspect the answer might even be "yes" if it brings more golden goodies up from below the ground.
Photo: Heritage hero? Deep ploughing.
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