Kentucky Treasure Hunters' Legislative Proposal Blocked

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Amendments to archaeological resource preservation laws (Kentucky bill HB352) were going through the Kentucky legal system. This would have allowed artefact hunters with metal detectors to hoover up buried relics from state parks and historical sites. Preservationists had raised concerns that allowing treasure hunters to comb public land with metal detectors could allow artefacts that belong to the people of Kentucky to fall into private collections or be sold for cash. It was reported on Thursday that the measure (which had initially seemed to be a longshot but initially squeaked through the Senate on a 20-16 vote) had hit a roadblock in the Kentucky legislature. Tourism Development Committee Chairwoman Leslie Combs refused to call for a vote, essentially quashing the measure with only days remaining in the legislative session.

Nancy Ross-Stallings, a professional archeologist, was among a growing chorus of critics who called on lawmakers to oppose the proposal to keep people with metal detectors from damaging historical sites. "It's kind of reprehensible," she said. "Nobody would dream of walking into a state museum and say, 'Can I have the artifact in that case,'" Ross-Stalling said. "But that's what they're doing in essence with the artifacts that are still in the ground. It's kind of reprehensible."

Yet that is exactly what some "collectors' rights" movements in the US are urging. They want the right to go onto state property and take away some of the 'property' which constitute its historical resources. Many of these parks were set up to protect the varied resources of this land from just such exploitation.

Kentucky Archeological Survey Director David Pollack said he's cautiously optimistic that the proposal won't resurface in the final days of the legislative session. Archeological sites are a non-renewable resource," Pollack said. "Once you've destroyed them, they can't be reconstructed. So, these sites are there to be preserved and protected." Pollack said he's aware that the popularity of metal detectors has grown in recent years and that hobbyists have been looking for additional places to use the devices. But they should not be allowed to search for artifacts on Civil War battlefields or other historically significant sites owned by the state. The state owns those artifacts," Pollack said. "So does an individual really have a right to go onto the state property and take artifacts, keep them as their own, and then, theoretically, put them on eBay and sell them?"

No doubt this latest event will have the more militant metal detector owners of the USA up in arms against these "archaeologists", but they should reflect whether or not the conservation-conscious public at large are not on the side of protecting the historical resources of state land. After all the 18600 signatures on the petition about the Spike TV "American Digger" show urging a more responsible attitude to the buried heritage are not all only of "archaeologists". Or are they?

Lex18.com, 'Treasure Hunters' Proposal Hits Road Block In Ky.', Mar 22, 2012