Morons' Paradise (UK Tekkies Struggle to Understand)

"the treacherous shysters who dearly wanted

to see Britain’s Tekkies shackled to feudalism". 

Over in Boris's Bonkers Britain yesterday a tekkie proudly wrote the following ("Onwards and Upwards"):

At 11:00pm on 31st December 2020, is when Britain finally frees itself from the European Union’s dictatorial grip and becomes a self-governing sovereign state once more. The UK’s detecting community – for one – can wave good-bye to the EU’s heritage bureaucracy [...] Though the UK has finally slipped its bonds, we must not forget the plight of Europe’s Tekkies still languishing under EU oppression. Cyprus, Malta, Poland, and Germany for instance, are perfect examples of restrictive EU legislation. Tekkies in the UK truly well rid.

I really do not understand the logic here. Bri'in has "won it's sovrinty" and gained "freedom" from "orl that restrictive EU legislation". For the tekkie the "perfick example of that" is that (in terms of antiquities legislation one presumes) Cyprus, Malta, Poland, and Germany who are "still languishing under EU oppression". 

He starts the list with two former British colonies, that freed themselves from British oppression and created their own antiquities laws.  In the case of Malta, the Antiquities Act of 2002 replacing the old colonial laws of 1925 (the Brexit-loving-tekkie probably is ignorant of the fact that Malta has been an EU member country only since 1st May 2004). In the case of the antiquities laws of Cyprus, the basic legislation dates from 1964 four years after the nation gained independence from Britain (and well before the formation of the EU  - Cyprus too has been an EU member country only since 1st May 2004). The northern part of the island is under Turkish control, Turkey is not a member of the EU.

Germany, the tekkie should know, is a federation of lands, each of which has its own legislation on artefact hunting, Bavaria for example is very liberal, Hesse less so. Again, these are created by the local government of the Lands themselves, and neither Federal not EU regulations affect them unless we are discussing trafficking of dug up antiquities). 

Now, Poland... I wonder what this UK tekkie knows about Poland? As it happens yesterday I was putting the finishing touches to a draft book chapter on "Hobbyist Searching for the Past and Archaeological Damage in Poland" that of course talks about the legislation.The Polish legislation was created in 1918 after the country gained independence on the breakup of the partitioning powers as a result of WWI. As a sovereign state, it decided on a certain legislative path. This was maintained in the 1962 revision under the Communists, and basically (in terms of how it affects artefact hunting) the existing Act (2003) created in a sovereign country is as most Poles would have it. Anything that parallels EU recommendations connected with artefact hunting was in fact already present in that legislation - right back to the 1918 form. So really, the metal detectorist really has not the foggiest what he's talking about.

Just as one suspects he had not the foggiest what he was voting for in the Brexit referendum. 

What "EU’s heritage bureaucracy" does this idiot think Britain is ditching? He has possibly not really taken on board that the main reason why collection-driven exploitation of the archaeological record (i.e., looting) has the public support it does is because of the existence of the PAS. And that, dear reader, he should know was created in response to the recommendations of the Valletta Convention (full title 'Convention for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage of Europe (revised)', Council of Europe Treaty Series no. 143). Without that, it is very doubtful that the expensive PAS would have come into existence, and now Britain is out of the EU, there is no real political reason to maintain it. I bet the tekkies cannot give any real example of an EU law that "now-sovrin Bri'in" no longer has to honour. Like this bloke talking to LBC host James O'Brien:

 

Arguments for Brexit

But, actually, as far as Europe is concerned: 

Tekkies in the UK, truly well rid.