Just This Week...

Go to EBay.uk ("monitored by the PAS", they claim), go to "British Antiquities (all listings)", select UK dealers only (5,063 items this week), select the material filter gold that gives you today 31 items, not all of which are "antiquities" (either because they mislisted, are not very old, but metal detecting finds, and others are fakes). But, this week, as every week, there are not a few there that if someone were actually properly monitoring eBay to "ensure (sic) that no illegal objects falling under the 1996 Treasure Act were being laundered there, would be questioned. Trouble is nobody is, nobody can be bovvered, and when even some of them are thrust into the face of the British archaeological authorities they wiggle and whine that its not fair, and "its not worth it". Really. Try it. See what British archaeologists are made of.

There are ten items there right now that I would say qualify, not one of them supported by citation of any documentation or due process, making the seller's title to them questionable. So that's one third of the listings for 'gold' today (there is no material filter for 'silver' on eBay.uk - but a simple search produces 32 items, including a similar proportion of ancient, potentially TA-reportable objects), that's before we even consider coin finds.

And detectorists, how amazing that despite a massive growth in metal detector use after 1970, ALL of these objects on sale were (the sellers assert) found eyes-only before that date, so - conveniently - do not fall under the Treasure legislation. Let's remind ourselves of current eBay.uk stated policy regarding such claims:  ebay policies prohibited restricted items/artefacts cultural heritage grave related items policy Stated of course, not, it seems, actually in any way enforced or upheld.

And UK archaeologists stay silent, not rocking the boat.