A blog commenting on various aspects of the private collecting and trade in archaeological artefacts today and their effect on the archaeological record.
Will FID’s already awful code and finds agreement be retained [...] or will new,
worse standards be imposed? Who knows? Either way, it seems that after
16 years of expensive public outreach a major portion of “metal
detecting” has fallen prey to what some might see as kakistocracy – government by the most unqualified or unprincipled citizens.
It often happens in states which lack a comprehensive network of
governing laws and no-one could deny that metal detecting in Britain
with it’s reliance upon laissez faire and voluntary behaviour is akin to
a lawless state. It’s profound food for thought for The Establishment.
If Britain’s portable antiquities policy was working as originally
intended or currently claimed, Central Searchers would have withered
away long ago for lack of support.
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
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