PAS Treasure Show Comes to Florida

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Jennifer Edwards, 'Crews to dig up backyards for TV show, raising objections from city archaeologist' St Augustine Record January 6, 2012.

It's catching, the PAS were reportedly involved last year in the filming of a programme about "Britain's Hidden Treasures" (thankfully yet to be screened) now the same sort of escapade is being planned for the States. In St Augustine the announced arrival of a casting producer for a planned 13-episode reality TV series tentatively titled “The Recovery Project” has raised concerns. Reportedly she was seeking "property on which to dig for clues to the past". Film crews would also be going to 13 different cities, including Boston, Tombstone, Ariz., and Chicago. when made the show would probably find a market "on one of three major networks: The History Channel, Spike or the Discovery Channel".

Desiree Mandelbaum* says the digs are essentially treasure hunting, a search for objects like bullets or buttons that will tell a story of the past. [...] Mandelbaum said it’s a fun way to learn something about history and that producers would make sure “not to disrupt anything that’s been put into place in St. Augustine.” “We are definitely going to stay away from archaeological zones,” she said. “And the host of our show has been digging up artifacts for 20 years, so he’s not some random digger. I know they want to ... show that St. Augustine isn’t an area where you should just go dig.”

by doing just that? Eh? During the filming, hosts will dig into people’s yards, parking lots, basements — “anywhere objects might be buried,” the producer said, adding that "the show is a chance to learn more about the country". (“There’s so much American history that we don’t know,” Mandelbaum said.)

City of St. Augustine Archaeologist Carl Halbirt, quite apart from the fact that random digging disturbs archaeological deposits, says this sort of thing sends the wrong message to the residents of St. Augustine.

“As a resident, you are a steward to the city’s heritage. Digging for artifacts is not preserving the city’s heritage.”

Tell that to PAS supporters like Raimund Karl and Peter Tompa.

*"Mandelbaum’s other projects have included episodes of the reality TV shows “The Biggest Loser,” “Super Nanny,” and other TV series such as 2010’s “Parental Control” and 2009’s “Reality Hell,” according to the Internet Movie Database. “I’ve worked on a lot of different shows,” she said. “It’s really, really fun.”..."