Sunday, 27 January 2019

More signs that Treasure Rewards will soon be slashed?


A steady rise as 'metal detecting'
 becomes more and more popular
The ransoms being paid to UK Treasure Hunters to make sure they obey the law and report potential Treasure finds are discretionary. But as the numbers of people taking up hoovering the archaeological record for collectables increases, and as existing museums have more than enough 'treasures' to conserve, publish and display each year, and few new museums are being established, we must at some stage reach a tipping point. It seems that economic decline that is inevitable in the decade or so after the looming Brexit will further place Britain's system (I use the term loosely) for dealing with artefact hunting in an untenable position and will be soon breaking down leaving a vacuum (see: Heritage Action, 'More signs that treasure rewards will soon be slashed? 27/01/2019). Then what will happen? Will the black market become flooded with Anglo-Saxon brooches and hammered coins of medieval English kings from unreported hoards? 


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