A blog commenting on various aspects of the private collecting and trade in archaeological artefacts today and their effect on the archaeological record.
Well, I'd already tipped off SDG Member privately that he'd get all sorts of bitter opposition if he tried to adopt an ethical stance. I didn't mention the Miss Whiplash imagery though. Amazingly, he is being told that being ethical = capitulation, humiliation and equivalent to having your face rubbed in excrement! I hope Ed Vaizey gets shown that!
"Rather than celebrating the knowledge that has come from these finds ..." (http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/metal-detectorists-10-archaeologists-0.html)
For a lawyer, Peter Tompa appears to have a worryingly fluffy idea of what "knowledge" is. The "knowledge" gained from a contextless object ripped out of the ground without even the basics of forensic examination, and in most cases even without bothering to record it at all, is good enough for him? I dread to think what evidence he would happily accept in a trial case.
British archaeologist living and working in Warsaw, Poland. Since the early 1990s (or even longer) a primary interest has been research on artefact hunting and collecting and the market in portable antiquities in the international context and their effect on the archaeological record.
"coiney" - a term I use for private collector of dug up ancient coins, particularly a member of the Moneta-L forum or the ACCG
"heap-of-artefacts-on-a-table-collecting" the term rather speaks for itself, an accumulation of loose artefacts with no attempt to link each item with documented origins. Most often used to refer to metal detectorists (ice-cream tubs-full) and ancient coin collectors (Roman coins sold in aggregated bulk lots)
"tekkie" - metal detectorist/metal detecting (a form of artefact hunting)
CDE - Collection-Driven Exploitation of archaeological sites
CPAC - Cultural Property Advisory Committee [US]
FLO - Finds Liaison Officer (post in the PAS)
HER - Historic Environment Record [UK]
IAPN - International Association of Professional Numismatists
MENA - Middle East and North Africa
PAS - Portable Antiquities Scheme
PNG - Professional Numismatists' Guild
UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNESCO 1970 Convention - Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property
3 comments:
Well, I'd already tipped off SDG Member privately that he'd get all sorts of bitter opposition if he tried to adopt an ethical stance. I didn't mention the Miss Whiplash imagery though. Amazingly, he is being told that being ethical = capitulation, humiliation and equivalent to having your face rubbed in excrement! I hope Ed Vaizey gets shown that!
well, it certainly makes you wonder where some of these metal detectorists get their ideas from.
"Rather than celebrating the knowledge that has come from these finds ..." (http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/metal-detectorists-10-archaeologists-0.html)
For a lawyer, Peter Tompa appears to have a worryingly fluffy idea of what "knowledge" is. The "knowledge" gained from a contextless object ripped out of the ground without even the basics of forensic examination, and in most cases even without bothering to record it at all, is good enough for him? I dread to think what evidence he would happily accept in a trial case.
(The REAL David Knell)
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