PAS seems rather too late to have cottoned on that the 'Not-a-Nighthawk' argument is insufficient justification for promoting (so-called "responsible") artefact hunting as a kosher way to treat the archaeological heritage. Here's Wil Partridge on the subject:
PASWiltshire @PasWiltshire 27th September
A detectorist has made us aware of a Southwest Detectorist UK metal detecting rally at All Cannings, Wilts. this weekend. The rally puts an unscheduled, but nationally important, archaeological site at risk. /
Despite a request from myself and the County Archaeologist for Wiltshire to the landowner and organiser, the rally will be going ahead. The landowner has agreed to make a separate field available and we kindly request that those who will attend use this field instead. /
In the context of a commercial rally there can be no guarantee that this site will not be damaged and given our discussions, this now amounts to knowingly damaging an archaeological site. However, unless some treasure goes unreported, no laws will have been broken. /
Ultimately this highlights that meeting minimum legal obligations does not equate to detecting responsibly.
and what if the site was not a known site of national importance? Unsystematically rooting around in it with spades and detectors and pocketing random artefacts from it is still archaeological destruction. The significance of All Cannings is only known through the fact that it has been excavated - before that it was just a place where a couple of worked stones were turned up.
I hope the PAS notifies the local and national press and there are reporters on the site documenting the way Britain treats the archaeological heritage. Let us take the debate on so-called "responsible artefact hunting" out from behind the portland-stone portals of Bloomsbury and out in the informed public forum.
2 comments:
What a load of cobblers this is the event was cancelled soon as the club was aware of the situation will partridge from Wiltshire museum created this false Twitter post 24 hours after the event was cancelled so this was complete lies will partridge Wiltshire flo is completely anti detectorist and paints a bad picture of all detectorist due to personal hate for them I can prove with sceen shots that the event was cancelled 24 hours before Wiltshire museum even tweeted this false news want to see ?? All your doing is spreading lies and pushing detectorist away from working with Wiltshire flo not a smart move atall guys disgusted by the lies will partridge has spread thing is I can prove it all can he ?? No because it's all lies on his behalve disgusting behaviour
No, Will Partridge created this twitter post, I read it and went onto this group's Facebook Page where members were still discussing getting in their cars to go. I made screenshots. So, if a decision had been taken, the members were not informed of it and the 'dig' was still on. So, that's not very smart of you. So you send us yours to show that you are not the one spreading complete lies (or maybe weird fantasies). The fewer detectorists record, the more likely that Wiltshire will cut the funds for a FLO, and with the FLOs gone, its going to be very difficult to avoid making changes to the laws to bring the UK into line with the 1992 Valetta Convention. You have a PAS, you have a FLO at the moment, I'd say you' be better off making the best of it while you can. Because blocking one rally is only the beginning of what some of us would like to see coming.
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