Archaeology as Treasure Hunting

The Economist is worried about the future of British archaeology: 'Lighter planning laws and a slowdown in building could mean that fewer treasures are discovered'. This is entirely the legacy of the Portable Antiquities Scheme which presents to the public a picture of archaeology which is about "citizens' finding Treasures. Not surprisingly then journalists writing for the media from the Daily Mail to such as the Economist and other periodicals disseminate precisely such a picture of the discipline. Treasure hunting. But, no fear, eh, if the arkies cannot get out there to find the 'Treasures', citizens with metal detectors will step in and continue to find and find them, until they all run out. And then where will we be? Not doing any archaeology at any rate.

Vignette: archaeology - not just about Treasure.