50K for Dumped Grass Cuttings, Slap on the Wrist for Trashing the Past

Heritage Action visited the environs of the Staffordshire Hoard field yesterday, the initial idea was that it would not be good to park on the road by the field itself, somebody might think they were up to no good, but Google Earth showed a tempting side-road away from the site itself ideal for parking  Unfortunately, it turns out that others had found this secluded byway opposite the unprotected findspot of one of Britain's most important Anglo-Saxon finds in recent  years.

Not 200 metres away a nationally important archaeological site which is actively being looted, and most likely has for the past three years, is NOT under surveillance. And under Britain's archaeological resource protection legislation the maximum fine would be a slap on the wrist, a 200 quid fine and the miscreant told sternly "now don't do it again". By the way, as Heritage Action point out with some bitterness "a £50K fine for littering is more than you get for bulldozing a henge".

The difference between a few dumped bin bags of grass cuttings of domestic waste is that they can be cleared away, but its a nuisance. Trashing archaeological sites leaves scars that cannot just be carted off by the council men.

British archaeologists shrug their shoulders. It's not their problem.


[By the way, the detail has gone from the photo of the top of the notice, which has nota bene been vandalised anyway, a the top - oh irony ! - it says "don't turn a blind eye"]

As I said, British archaeologists shrug their shoulders. It's not their problem.