"Treasure Seekers Head for Wiltshire: Welcome!"

Josh Layton ('Treasure seekers head for Wiltshire', Swindon Advertiser 28th August 2012) had been reading the PAS press releases  and described the "many finds in Wiltshire which have been declared ‘treasure trove’ to the county coroner"... ummm, well, no - that's not exactly what the press releases said, but Mr Layton is apparently not the sharpest knife in the drawer. he thinks its wonderful that the tekkies are hoiking away indiscriminately at the archaeological record of Wiltshire. he obviously is very taken with the PAS:

Katie Hinds, finds liaison officer for Wiltshire, has the job of meeting up with metal detecting clubs to analyse objects.  [...]  Miss Hinds records objects discovered by the public on a database but major hauls are rare, the last two having been handed in before she took up her role in 2003. “There’s a misconception out there that every time you go out detecting you will find something,” she said. “Anyone who goes out metal detecting will tell you they can spend hours sifting through ring pulls and other junk before they get something interesting. “They certainly put a lot of hours and dedication into finding stuff".

Katie Hinds, Finds Liaison Officer has her head examined as she contemplates egg-shaped stone (Swindon Advertiser).

And keeping Ms Hinds, finding and keeping (unless they flog it off that is). Katie Hinds' job was not " meeting up with metal detecting clubs" but archaeological outreach top the public as a whole, going along to every MD club meeting that can be reached may well boost "finds in database" figures, it does not do anything for "archaeological outreach in the head of the general public as a whole" statistics, which is probably why the PAS rarely try to present their work in that manner any more. Anyway, nice to see that word "hauls" used again in UK journalism to describe the loot Treasure hunters hoik out.

Just to help metal detector sales along, journalist Layton thought it would be a jolly good idea to publish a (somewhat selective) "List of finds in Wiltshire". But he's not very good at reading his (or Katie Hinds') notes:

[...] Ebbesborne Wake, Post-Medieval: Silver hooked tage consisting of a heart-shaped plate wit a scalloped outer edge.   [...] Salisbury, Bronze Age: Hoard of coins made of copper and lead. [...] Pewsey, Roman: Silver siliquae coins  [...] Alvediston, Medieval: Silver gilt finger ring with D shaped hoop, flat on the inner side, convex on the outer. [...]  Hullavington, Post Medieval: Silver dress fastener of unknown function [...] 

Anyway, "Partnership in Action", here's the Wilts SMR website . Note the superb Search function, it tells you for instance the precise location of every bit of gold ever found in Wiltshire in excellent detail. Now admittedly they say (not terribly grammatically): "any information obtained from the SMR must not be used to the detriment of the historic environment” and threatening to withdraw it from the public  as a whole who paid for it if - for example - a few artefact hunters abuse the system. And here (until the forum moderators delete it) is member Jason5223 posting a link to it for his mates. Now that information, it seems, is relevant because there's yet another Rotary Club of Royal Wootton Bassett commercial artefact hunting rally this Saturday and people will be coming from all over to do a spot of artefact hunting in Wiltshire. That area of Wilts must have been laid waste already, as this is about the sixteenth rally they've held.  This upcoming one is an artefact grabfest "for Metal Detectorists orgainised by the members of the Rotary Club of Royal Wootton Bassett and District” - in other words, they have some artefact-hoiking members who have told the other members that this is OK, and PAS hasn't told them otherwise. Was it not this same lot that staged the notorious 400 strong Near Avebury rally all those years ago? Shame, scandal and shame on artefact grabbing Rotarians.