Xenophobic Paranoia in the Ranks

On a metal detecting forum near you, suspicious member "Batz52" from Cambridgeshire is slightly concerned about foreign "nighthawks" (Wed Jan 27, 2016 11:30 pm)

I went to my permission today to visit the farmer and she told me that last week she had a visit from two eastern European men asking her for (as they called it) a day pass because they wanted to detect on her land, she said no and that she already has someone who detects on her land they got a little agitated and continued asking (demanding) for day pass they also said we do this for love not money. This worries me on several levels one being that all the finds I've had from there are on PAS have these people been looking on PAS to find sites to search and possibly night hawk? Although my finds are only recorded showing parish only I'm still concerned. Are these people looking for items to sell, what harm are these people doing to us good respectable detectorists reputations [?]. Or have they seen me in the feilds and are just simply trying their luck [?].

Or maybe they are just doing what all detectorists do, after "researching" the area, knocking on farmers' doors asking for search-and-take permissions. In what way is that "harmful"? In what way is that "nighthawking"?

Note this man's pride in announcing he's been canny enough to "only record to parish level" - so creating a record that in archaeological terms is no good to man nor beast and certainly no mitigation whatsoever of the erosion of the search sites' archaeological record. This is just self-centred vandalism of the archaeological record for personal entertainment and gain. He even wants to stop others doing it, suggesting that if they are from the other side of the Rhine, they must be "nighthawks" and "looking for items to sell". They could equally be responsible detectorists with GPSs who are reporting findspots with full site notes and a 10-figure NGR for each item reported. By the way, it is up to the landowner who he/she allows on their land and to whom they may or may not, give what they find there.

Here's "Die Wacht am Rhein" for all those xenophobic metal detectorists who probably vote for UKIP and worse and fear those easterners coming to England and raping their land.

  

Batz has a Minelab Etrac and a Minlab Pro Finder and has recently added to his own personal collection at least: 1 Celtic bronze unit115 Roman Coins2 Silver Denarius22 Hammered coins1 Saxon Pax penny4 Silver six Pence All reported ONLY to "parish level". It is people like this that get the hobby a deservedly bad name.