faux metal

A blog follower has drawn my attention to another link between coin dealer Dei Gratia and a metal detecting organization. Except the latter tries very hard to pretend it is something else. “Phoenix MM Archaeology and Historic Research” is run by Phil Critchley from Banbury in Oxfordshire. They try very hard to pretend to be an “archaeology” society doing “historic (sic) research”. Their website reads:

Welcome to the Phoenix Archaeology Website. We are an amateur group who wish to investigate as much land as possible in the area around Banbury (Oxon) in order to map out the land usage and settlement from prehistoric times to the present day. We do this by document (sic) research, field walking to recover items such as flint or pottery and, wherever possible, we use Metal Detectors to recover buckles, buttons and coins ets (sic) which are dateable evidence. The items that are recovered are carefully cleaned, conserved and recorded. Objects of importance are then recorded with the Find's (sic) Liaison Officer for the area. This is all carried out in accordance with the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Finds are then preserved by members of the society or placed in a museum in accordance with the landowners wishes. All information is recorded by area or farm and a copy of the file passed to the landowner.

It is not too hard to see what lies behind the notion "preserved by members of the society". One wonders by what criterion an archaeological group would distinguish settlement finds "of importance" from other archaeological evidence for settlement and rural activity in the past. The webstuff then goes on to say how they abide by some kind of a “constitution rules” and the group‘s “health and safety policy” (“copies of which are available”). The society is affiliated with the Federation of Independent Detectorists, and meets:

every first Tuesday of the month at the Flowing Well Pub, Broughton Road, Banbury, Oxon (7.30pm) and this includes talks and a chance to share information and discussion of finds. We also have Dei Gratia who kindly bring Coins and Artefacts for sale.

What we find no mention of is the Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting in England and Wales, or any form of archives or publications resulting from this research, nor what the society (founded in 2000) has found out (or mapped) about "land usage and settlement patterns" from prehistory to the present day. But I bet the members have a lot of artefacts stashed away in their "grot pots" somewhere. Above all, if this group is doing genuine historical research of a region, why on earth do they need to buy coins from a coin dealer at their research meetings? To add insult to injury the group claims to be a “Member of the Council for British Archaeology.

This is a typical example of a common ploy of these people. In England, Wales and Scotland, the sucess of the hobbyist depends on getting a landowner to let them search their land and take away the archaeological and other artefacts it contains. Landowners are not stupid, they read the newspapers and know that treasure hunting is a contentious issue (well, they would if the British media were not dominated by PAS-generated good news stories calling them all "heritage heroes") . They might have heard views that artefact hunting damages archaeological sites. If the various countryside conservation organizations in the UK are doing their job properly, landowners should be becoming more aware of the fragility of the archaeological record and their responsibilities to help preserve it. So of course if one wants the frredom to rip "pieces of the past" out of the ground for entertainment, it's necessary to distance oneself from the "treasure hunter" image (so that's why they insist on being called now "metal detectorists", and heaven forbid somebody sould call them "artefact hunters"). Even better to pretend to be archaeologists. At a farmer's door:

"Hello, I am a member of the Phoenix MM Archaeology and Historic Research Society and I am engaged in doing historical research and request access to your land, kind Sir, to further my research"

probably works better than:

"Hallo Mate, I'm a trezure 'unter wanting t' find luvverly loot on yer land, gis a go willya?".

Now the PAS, who is proclaimed to be in partnership with these artefact hunters, is probably not very much concerned how these partners present themselves to the public. The CBA has in the recent past not excluded Britain's metal detectorists (after all they are only interested in the past like us") so there is nothing inherently improbable in the claim of this group to be affiliated with the CBA. [though see update below]

Personally I find it disturbing that two organizations which should be doing their utmost in these recession-hit days to conduct outreach to the wider public showing what archaeology is about are lassooed into supporting artefact hunting like this. OK, I understand and support the slogan "archaeology for all", but then when is portable antiquity collecting "arcaeology for all" and when is it not? This is a question which until now has not received an unequivocal answer. Neither from the PAS nor the CBA. let alone the IFA or any other archaeological body in the UK. Perhaps it is time this question was addressed?”

(UPDATE 15/9/09: I wrote they claimed to be members of the CBA, which is what their website says. I have since been informed by the CBA that they are not in fact CBA members, though they could be an organisational member of one of the CBA regional groups in England, which are separate legal entities and the CBA itself has no control over their membership policies, nevertheless the point I made still seems a valid one).