Mona Chalabi ('Gold rush: how much hidden treasure is found each year?', The Guardian Thursday 31 October 2013) demonstrates the extent and nature of the message given out by PAS "outreach" to the public and media: this post will explain all and tell you how much is found where" [...]["You're"? Metal detectorese in the Grauniad?]. I think if "serious" papers like the Guardian can publish such things, the British archaeological establishment and heritage professionals have got their message entirely wrong, and there is certainly a case for claiming that the interests of the public - both present and future generations - are being ill-served by those currently responsible for outreach on "portable antiquity issues".
Metal detecting beats archaeology
92.7% of treasure was uncovered using a metal detector, compared to a mere 3.4% from archeological digs. Whatever you do, don't leave it to chance though - only 1.7% of finds were stumbled upon by chance. Another inaccurate romanticism is about woods and water - just 0.3% of treasure is found in woodland and 1.1% in open waters. You're best bet is to head to some good old cultivated land where 82.5% of treasure is found.
Vignette: The PAS lures people to its fold by tales of Treasure.
2 comments:
Breathtakingly irresponsible! The heading "Metal detecting beats archaeology" just turns my stomach. One wonders when WILL the general public get it through their skulls that preserving our heritage is NOT about digging up every goody we can find as fast as possible like an insane grabfest on a Sale Day in a supermarket.
But then, left-wing blather never was any more responsible than right-wing blather. Sanity and common sense tend to reside in the middle ground.
this article,in a well respected newspaper like the guardian speaks volumes for the so called "outreach" of the PAS and sums up very well what you have been saying for years that this "outreach" which the PAS is getting paid millions of tax payers money to do,is not fit for purpose.
kyri.
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