UK News: Pissing on the Past, Metal Theft Huge Threat to Heritage in Britain

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Metal theft of one kind or another figures as a major threat in the recent report on heritage crime in Britain in 2011. The report concluded that metal theft was the “biggest single threat” to the country’s landmarks, as gangs seeking scrap metal for sale only saw “the metal and not the heritage”. Official figures have shown more than 1,000 metal theft offences are occurring every week in Britain.

In recent months high-profile targets of criminals have included York Minster and the Bishop's Palace in Lincoln while the problem of metal theft was highlighted by the theft of a £500,000 Dame Barbara Hepworth bronze sculpture from Dulwich Park. Ancient covered walkways in Chester, known as the Rows, are being ruined by late-night revellers urinating on the 700 year-old woodwork, The study found nearly a fifth of the country’s 31,000 Grade I or II* buildings were subject to criminal acts while more than 63,000 Grade II buildings were targeted. The report, compiled by the Council for British Archaeology and Newcastle and Loughborough universities, found that crimes such as metal theft was more likely to occur in the North while at least 750 sites were hit by “devastating” arson attacks.

The report also found that in 2011 more than 15 per cent of scheduled monuments – defined as unoccupied “nationally important historic structure significant for its archaeological value” – were damaged by unlicensed metal detecting and other types of illegal access. There are about 20,000 scheduled monuments in England representing about 37,000 heritage assets ( "Scheduled Monuments". Department for Culture, Media and Sport. March 2010). So 15% of that is 3000 sites a year - that is one site damaged for every 3 metal detectorists in Britain.

The report does not consider the effects of metal detecting on archaeological sites as heritage crime, even though elsewhere in Europe (in almost every other country apart from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland in fact) this would be a heritage crime. How many metal artefacts are taken off archaeological sites annually by 10 000 metal detectorists as a whole? How many of those end up on eBay, and how many end up in the scrap bucket - and thus furnaces along with all that metal the gangs are stealing? What was it the man said about archaeological asset-stripping? "They see only the metal and not the heritage”. They dig stuff out willy-nilly with barely a thought for its archaeological context.

Dr Simon Thurley admitted that historic sites were “suffering a substantial rate of attrition", and he should be aware that this is not only from crime. Archaeological sites are susceptible to irreversible harm by people taking out of them a highly selective array of the evidence they contain. Dr Thurley says of listed buildings, scheduled monuments and archaeological sites that damage to them: "can often not be put right and centuries of history will be lost forever. These places have an obviously high value to society. Their particular vulnerability warrants every effort to ensure they are still around for future generations to enjoy just as much as we enjoy them now.” Yes, Dr Thurley, so when are you going to insist the government do something about irresponsible (not just illegal) metal detecting and collecting?

Andrew Hough, and Martin Beckford, '75,000 heritage crimes committed in a year', Telegraph March 19, 2012
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