'Grave Finds: Mortuary-Derived Antiquities from England and Wales, by Adam Daubney

Adam Daubney, 'Grave Finds: Mortuary-Derived Antiquities from England and Wales'

Artefacts deriving from mortuary contexts form a unique group among the vast numbers of unstratified portable antiquities found every year in England and Wales. Such finds, usually discovered by hobbyist metal detectorists, have great potential to tell us about the character, state, and preservation of the mortuary environments from which they derive. Yet, unlike the situation regarding the discovery of human remains, the reporting of unstratified grave goods is not compulsory. This presents a strange paradox in view of contemporary theory in mortuary archaeology and practice in indigenous heritage overseas, where funerary objects are usually regarded as a fundamental aspect of the archaeological deceased, if not an inalienable part of it. At present, grave goods — whether found on the body or dislodged from it — are normally the property of the landowner and as such can be lawfully privately owned or traded on the antiquities market. This paper outlines the current ethical and legal status of unstratified grave goods sourced from England and Wales, and explores current trends in their discovery and subsequent sale on the antiquities market. Throughout the paper, consideration is given to the question as to whether mortuary-derived antiquities should be given some form of enhanced legal or ethical status; however, the discussion reveals a range of complexities that present significant challenges.

The text raises an interesting point. It suggests that artefacts deposited as grave goods have at present no form of protection. a lot of items on the antiquities market also come from graves - such as a lot of Pre-columbian ‘art’ and of course Egyptian (but then where do Red-Figure vases and complete Roman glass vessels come from?). There are huge inconsistencies that would be very good to thrash out and discuss. So of course in the USA being from a grave immediately initiates NAGPRA if its not a White man’s grave. In some countries there are religious sanctions on touching graves... In others – such as the UK – it’s not an issue, but should be.

 Another thing that might be worth discussing is the whole issue of hoards that could be analogous. Some are just dumped metalwork for salvaging later - like the Inchintuthil nail deposit. But many hoards can also be interpreted as votive deposits – buried with piety to remain buried– something even Detectorists season 3 got in... (!) So surely, this too can be argued to involve the same issues as removing grave goods.