Sunday, 12 January 2020

PAS Gives Bad Advice


Clueless hoiker
Grassroots conservationists are disappointed by the heavily-subsidised archaeology establishment 'outreach' project, the PAS: Heritage Action PAS gives catastrophic advice to hoard finders – AGAIN! (HJ 12/01/2020):
What if you find a hoard but the FLO is on holiday? PAS has just said this is OK:
“If the findspot is public and it is not safe to leave the find in the ground, you may feel that you have to lift it yourself.”
No! Even though there’s a danger some of a detectorist’s mates might come back at night and steal the hoard, that’s not an excuse for him to dig it up himself. Ever.
We’ve said so before (e.g. in November 2011 and in both July and November 2015) but PAS doesn’t listen to amateurs unless they’re detectorists. But we’ll repeat it here: if you want to be regarded as a history lover, a responsible detectorist, a potential reward recipient – or even just a half-decent citizen, you MUST take on the role of guardian on behalf of the State and spend sufficient time and money to ensure its security. What sort of entitlement-obsessed person wouldn’t? Here are some of the blindingly obvious ways it can be done:
I am not going to quote the blindingly obvious, my readers have brains bigger than pigeons and can come up with them for themselves. Metal detectorists however might need a bit of prompting, read the rest here.

How 'difficult' can that be? How 'difficult' can it be for PAS to stand firm on this (or on anything at all in fact)? 
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2 comments:

  1. Brian Mattick12 January 2020 at 01:46

    Hoikers aren't clueless Paul, just greedy and willing to destroy knowledge when they don't have to.

    Sometimes PAS helps them do it, and apes their excuses, as at the too-hasty excavation of the Lenborough Hoard where the FLO who helped them before it got dark and half of them came back to steal it said

    “Archaeological people have criticised me for digging it there and then but there was no way we could guard that hoard overnight. Would there have been anybody to come and help?”

    I would have. I'd have sent a security firm and paid for it myself. Disgusting oiks.

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  2. Paul Barford12 January 2020 at 02:14

    No need for you to pay, you 'pay' for the loss of your heritage anyway. The FLO should have suggested to the organisers that they have a whip-round of the rally participants to cover the cost of a security firm that night and the next few days (and it would be interesting to note which of them refused), and approaching the soon-to-get-a-Treasure-reward landowner for his help

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