Sunday 24 February 2013

Focus on UK Metal Detecting: Detectorists Present Their case, Where Did the Money go?

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Way back in the early history of this blog, I noted ("UK metal detector users get militant" Monday, 8 September 2008) efforts by UK tekkies organized in the FID to offset those evil folk with education in “the archaeological fraternity, their friends in museums, universities and even governments” to put out what they call “heritage propaganda” in their efforts “to either outlaw or control the hobby”. Anyway  “well known and respected author Edward (Ted) Fletcher" announces that he hopes to launch an internet site (apparently to be called "Heritage Fiction") "dedicated to countering the propaganda put out by Heritage Action; and ensuring that the media, politicians, tax payers, landowners, farmers and anyone thinking of taking up metal detecting as a hobby, have easy access to the true facts about the heritage industry". He was collecting money to cover the costs of the 'research'. He was canvassing people who were worried by the "propaganda put out by Heritage Action" to pledge at once money to help him:
Ted ............ I/We want to help you in this struggle to counter Heritage Action propaganda. I/We pledge £ .......... as a one-year contribution to the costs of getting Heritage Fiction up-and-running.
So how much money did he raise, and where did any money paid go? Where, three years on, is that "Heritage Fiction" website presenting those arguments? 

Of course, there is no question of these people admitting that there ARE problems with current policies, and damage IS being caused to the archaeological record and then (as the "responsible" folk they are supposed to be) discussing how to reduce the problem. Instead they just want to shout down the others who point that out, hoping the problem can be dismissed. 

 TAKE A GOOD LOOK at this, for these are precisely the sort of people the PAS wants to grab more and more millions of public quid to make into the "partners" of the British Museum, archaeological heritage professionals and to whom they want us all to entrust the exploitation of the archaeological record. Take a good look and decide what you think about that as a "policy". 
   

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ted should hurry up as we liars keep changing our story - The Erosion Counter now shows 1,360,000 more artefacts removed than it did when he first said it was nonsense.

Paul Barford said...

So, where did the money go, and where did all those finds go?

So how many of those 1,36 million finds were "shown to the PAS for recording"?

Mr Fletcher, have you those statistics for public consuption?

FID?

Paul Barford said...

Silence....

 
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