Wednesday 7 December 2016

"Saving Heritage" or Greedy Grabbing from an Archaeological Resource?


Artefact hunting for free? They
are taking away our heritage
The subeditor who wrote the headline has been listening to the tekkies, the reporter however gets it right, these people are not searching to 'save heritage' (the objects have been safe in the mud centuries), or even record information, most are doing it to get things to collect. When you look at how much the duplicate objects (the ones not needed for collection) fetch on eBay, you ask why the collector should expect to obtain them from the Crown Estate for free:
The Port of London Authority, which owns the river bank along with the Crown Estate, has ordered a clampdown as treasure hunting has soared in popularity. Previously anyone could look for fragments of the past, ranging from Roman coins to Delftware pottery, provided they did not scrape or dig the surface to retrieve them. Under the clampdown, any form of searching for objects washed up by the tides is prohibited unless the mudlarks hold a permit, which costs £32 for a day or £75 for three years. PLA spokesman Martin Garside said there was “worry within the archaeological community” that amateur treasure seekers were failing to report significant finds. “If you’re going down there with the intention of looking for something you need to have a permit,” he said. 
Susie Mesure, 'Mudlarks on Thames told to get £32 permits to save heritage' Evening Standard · Monday 5 December 2016 ·

Fortunately Rescue stepped in where PAS feared to tread:
Rescue_News ‏@rescue_news 6 godz.6 godzin temu
"Saving" heritage involves investigating it properly in controlled works by qualified practitioners. Not charging amateurs cash to dig it up
PAS are you going to step in and do some real archaeological outreach about this kind of thing? Maybe this decade (your third)?

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