Friday, 27 September 2019

All Cannings Rally Cancelled?


The group that was launching a commercial artefact grabfest on a nationally-important archaeological site at All Cannings SouthwestDetectorists UK have blocked me from their 'members only' Facebook page where responsible detectorists discuss what they are doing to the archaeological heritage of us all. Whicjh makes you wionder why a responsible metal detecting group cannot have a transparent public web -presence. I cannot keep readers up to date on that, maybe another archaeologist would like keep us informed by joining (there are questions to answer first like "how long have you been uninterested in preventing avoidable damage to the archaeological heritage?")*

Anyhow, Wiltshire Museum 11 godz. have posted this on facebook:
IMPORTANT UPDATE: We have just heard that the rally has been cancelled. Thanks to all those involved.
Apparently, the British Museum press office had been involved and probably the prospect of a media circus looking for a good story (another opportunity to use an Andy-and-Lance still from the TV show detectorists) at a commercial rally on a sensitive site made the organisers a bit leery. Having their photos all over the newspapers would not have made good press for the hobby. And the way we are going to curb this destruction is by mobilising public opinion against the evidence-trashers and artefact-pocketers and calling out what they do for what it is.

For future reference, it would be good to know how and why the rally was called off 
- was it the landowner who withdrew permission,- or were the commercial rally organisers swayed by archaeological arguments,- or were they more worried about what would happen if the press started to take an interest in informing public opinion about what they were doing?
It would be good if there was an article in the local press about the rally being cancelled, and why.

* I jest, such a question would most likely just prompt an uncomprehending "eh?" from potential members. 
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6 comments:

  1. David Knell27 September 2019 at 23:58

    "... such a question would most likely just prompt an uncomprehending "eh?" from potential members."

    Along with at least a dozen emoticons. Mustn't forget those!

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  2. Muppet barford28 September 2019 at 16:11

    Idiot

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  3. Muppet barford28 September 2019 at 16:11

    Idiot

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  4. Paul Barford28 September 2019 at 23:36

    Nothing better to do on an autumn Saturday afternoon, Steve? Take the kids for a walk, get some fresh air.

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  5. Unknown29 September 2019 at 00:19

    The site was probibly found by a Metal Detectorist in the first place! People easliy forget the tresures that are found and recorded, surely metal detecting only goes to help the educated idiots find the sites in the first place.

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  6. Paul Barford29 September 2019 at 04:13

    All Cannings Cross?

    It "probibly" wassnt, Unnone 'cus it woz excavatid in 1927, and bakam a type syte fer the perid, an thas why is so importint, ya see?

    Praps ya shuld chec sum facts be4 you tries ta be kleva, cos you'only endup looking loik an idiit - an uneducated one.

    The main problem is not what is recorded as an x-marks-the-spot, it is what collection-driven exploitation of the archaeological record destroys and loses in the process. Current evidence suggests that it might be that one in seven potentially recordable items only have been recorded - and that is not considering the other archaeological evidence (metallic and non-metallic) that is simply disregarded by metal detectorists. So, really this is not the right place to be coming with trite misspelt crap about
    "the tresures that are found and recorded"...

    That's also ignoring the fact that here the pilferers are targeting a known site, not finding a new one.

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