Thursday 5 March 2015

"We All Want a Reward"


Body in the woods, only reported if there is a reward?
Over on a metal detecting forum near you, in a thread called "Treasure Act", perhaps in some way connected with Mr Lucking and the fantasy that there is a "new bred orf archaeologist about". Member "Owain 1405" Rhuddlan, Denbighshire perhaps knows some metal detectorist who have been taking part with their metal detectors working alongside archaeologists (Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:59 am) writes:
According to PAS, Archaeologists or volunteers working on digs cannot claim rewards on any treasure found? Had a look at the Treasure Act and I cant find anywhere in which it says that this is the case, can anyone confirm this. The only reason I ask is because to me, if true, it seems a little unfair [emoticon]
Fellow detectorist "jcmaloney" (Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:32 pm) agrees:
A myth perpetuated by the PAS website..... https://finds.org.uk/treasure/advice/forarchaeologists I would love to see where it says (in the legal act) that archaeologists aren`t entitled to reward. Its holding up an article I`m scribbling!! [emoticon]
Well, indeed the Portable Antiquities Scheme gets it wrong when it says explicitly, but falsely, on its website....
With regards to the payment of rewards the Treasure Act says states [sic] that: "rewards will not be payable when the find is made by an archaeologist or anyone engaged on an archaeological excavation or investigation". This then applies to all archaeologists and volunteers working on any project.
The Treasure Act says no such thing, it is the associated Code of Practice which says that (para 81), you'd think the PAS could get that right when addressing archaeologists - but then, many of them don't bother reading the stuff PAS put on their website anyway. This (undated) text has been up quite a while with nobody noticing.

As for whether archaeologists are entitled to a reward, the truth is, as an ex gratia payment - watch the lips, chaps - nobody is entitled to anything. The law is the law, you are to report it and that is that. If you find a dead body in the woods, you are supposed to report that too, and not ask for a reward for doing your duty.

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