Thursday, 5 June 2014

Meanwhile Among the Welsh Yokels


Would the bulldozer drivers
recognize this as archaeological?
Danny the Nighthawk will not face prosecution for metal detecting on an ancient monument because he is an ignorant oik who did not know there was anything there. North Wales Police spokesman Kevin Evans said:
"An investigation by Wrexham CID commenced resulting in a local man being interviewed under caution in connection with the matter. "As a result of the investigation there was insufficient evidence to prove any criminal offence and the matter is no longer being investigated by North Wales Police." He added: "You have to prove not just the act but whether there was criminal intent and knowledge that it would be a criminal act."
Ooo arrh!  It seems Britain's archaeological outreach to the public has concentrated too much recently on the portable antiquities (and what they are worth) rather than the broader archaeological heritage and what it is worth.

Source:
'Allowed to bulldoze Offa's Dyke... because he claimed didn't know it was there!', WalesOnline Jun 04, 2014. 
at

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous5 June 2014 at 05:47

    We need to keep Offa's Dyke in perspective Paul (assuming that's what's in the back of your mind.)

    Someone flattens 50 yards of the largest monument in Britain and everyone goes barmy because he doesn't get punished. But then ten thousand people help themselves to bits of the largest archaeological resource in Britain for fun or profit daily for 40 years and mostly don't report what they find and almost no-one goes barmy.

    Barmy Britain, see?

    ReplyDelete
  2. P2Pinvested5 June 2014 at 09:43

    Have I read the article wrong ? Where does it say about Danny being a nighthawk or metal detecting? Still horrendous though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Paul Barford5 June 2014 at 12:11

    ummm... Read section 28 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 which is a mad Bonkers Britain legal loophole.

    ReplyDelete