Lying, Thieving British Bâtards

"Can anybody help? I 
require a land search agreement in 
French. Is their (sic) a simple solution?"

("Snapper", artefact hunter) Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:12 pm

Some artefact thieving British bâtards are advised by a fellow so-called "responsible detectorist" (who is known to operate within the structure of the NCMD) to lie about their illegal activity if they want to get away with a bit of 'le night'awking en France'. None of us will be a bit surprised to know that this is exactly what they all do ('L’Angleterre, ah, la perfide Angleterre' Heritage Journal 5th March 2016).  

Bear in mind that such an attitude of personal entitlement can only have been fostered by the leniency and encouragement provided over here. The French have every right to complain do they not? Why should they suffer because of our lack of regulation? Some of them have. See this, a translation of a statement by a group of French archaeologists (not a bunch of ill-informed amateurs then!) If you haven’t seen it before it’s probably because the British Archaeological Establishment has forgotten to tell you!

No, not forgetfulness, but deliberate neglect, scandalous deliberate neglect.

UPDATE 8th March 2016
Said "Responsible detectorist" baulks at his characterisation as representing the NCMD by "the unmentionable duo" (sic) who now have:

"something to dribble over. Oh that law of unintended consequences at work again".

The consequences are that attention has been drawn to dishonesty, dodgy practices and an unconscionable degree of attitudes of entitlement among the metal detector using artefact hunting community of Great Britain.  The other consequence is that we all see that these people, having had a 'best practice' (sic) issue pointed out, refuse not only to discuss it, but even refuse to mention the discussion going on elsewhere outside the narrow focus of their self-satisfied little circle.

Mr Malony stresses that within the structure of the NCMD, he is a "willing volunteer", but "there is no accounting for perception". Our perception is that (and as the NCMD Code stresses) the advice about how to 'dodge the law' which Mr Malony gave to a forum member asking about artefact hunting in France represents detectorists and the NCMD in a very bad light. What reputable organization would employ such a person as even a "volunteer"? Will the NCMD demonstrably part company with such individuals in an attempt to distance themselves from those who advocate ignoring the law? Mr Malony boasts about his "searching for lost tractor keys" in France:

Enjoy.... I`ve only ever found 17th/18th Cent bits over there but the farmer was over the moon

And depending on what the farmer did with them, he too could be in breach of the law. But after the finding of the historical relics, the artefact hunter and compliant landowner "drank lots of eau de vie" together. Let's hope that English detectorists following this "example" remember that over here on the Continent we have laws about driving home after consumption of alcohol, even for Brits on holiday who apparently think they are above the law of any country where they are a guest.

Vignette: England: Die Geschichte Eines Raubstaates: Do British artefact collectors still think they have a licence to loot wherever they go abroad?