UK Scratching its Head over Heritage Crime: The Looting of Rendlesham

British archaeologists have reluctantly admitted that treasure-hunting thieves with metal detectors have probably stripped a newly-discovered high-status (royal) Anglo-Saxon site of its most valuable artefacts (Bill Gardner, 'Newly-discovered Anglo-saxon village 'stripped of valuable artefacts by thieves', Telegraph, 12 Mar 2014). The scale of the activity led to a project, which began five years ago in secret, to try and salvage what wass left by the artefact hunters. Archaeologists leading the project (which includes a metal detector survey) have now been forced to announce their find early, because artefact hunters with metal detectors were looting the fields illegally by night. They were first alerted to the site in 2008 after people were spotted digging on the land, a plan has (only now?) "been put in place with Suffolk Police to protect what remains after the discovery was announced".

Sir Michael Bunbury, who owns the farmland, said he had contacted local council archaeologists after becoming concerned about illegal night-time activity. He said: "The sad thing is, it is impossible to know exactly what has been lost. "We will never know what it was, where it is and it can't contribute to our wider understanding of this site. "It is fair to speculate that some very valuable artefacts indeed have been removed and sold privately because of course that is exactly what night-hawkers are after. "[...]  The problem had escalated over three years with trails of foot prints and trenches appearing on Sir Michael's land, often soon after ploughing. "They seemed to know what was going on on our land," he added. "It seemed like quite an organised operation supported by a degree of local knowledge"

This was something that was highlighted in the 2009 Nighthawking report, these people are acting in organized criminal groups, just like they are in Bulgaria and Ukraine.

English Heritage has called for tougher action to deal with nighthawks. It says night patrols, thermal imaging, distracters, seismic detectors and image intensifiers have all been employed in attempts to stop the activity, but wants tougher punishments. A Suffolk police spokeswoman said: “Any site that may be of interest to criminals will be given extra attention by police and additional patrols will be made as appropriate.”

What about better policing of the international antiquities market where the bits that the landowner lost and the archaeologists "regret" will probably have ended up? It's not just the brown-skinned folk in far-off 'developing countries' who are unable to stop the looting, it's happening in the stockbroker belt of England too.

[Some particularly dumbass comments under this article].