tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81747565735703349522024-03-18T20:10:14.698-07:00Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage IssuesA blog commenting on various aspects of the private collecting and trade in archaeological artefacts today and their effect on the archaeological record.Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.comBlogger12816125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-57560037414434803542024-03-17T12:40:00.000-07:002024-03-17T12:57:18.422-07:00Dumbest Journalist Award 2024 Goes to Tracy<p> Tracy is a Liz Truss lookalike and fancies herself as a journalist. So she wrote this: "<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/16/detectorists-beating-archaeologists-at-their-own-game/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How detectorists thrashed archaeologists at their own game</a>" (Telegraph 16.03.2024)*. Dumb reporters in the UK are now unable to distinguish between archaeology and metal detecting. They seem to consider both are about finding things, not understanding things. So she talked to two tekkies, Julian and Sophie, did not bother with the archaeologists and wrote... a load of crap. Of course she starts off with the fictional "Detectorists" series... </p><blockquote>On a wider cultural level, TV shows such as BBC’s Detectorists; the Michaela Strachan-fronted Digging for Treasure and new Channel 5 drama Finders Keepers (starring Neil Morrissey, James Buckley and Fay Ripley), are driving the trend.</blockquote>So it is not about greed at all, its "British kulcha" you see. But once she gets away from "wots on the telly", she flounders: <blockquote>So popular has public metal-detecting become that every year<b> 96 per cent of all metallic archaeological objects are found by a detectorist compared to 2 per cent from archaeological digs</b>. </blockquote>Tell that to any collections manager in a county museum. Where did she get that idea from, well, the metal detectrists of course. Innit, Trace? Then its the bit about how much money you too could make if youget a detector and "have-a-go". Cue: so-called Crosby Garrett helmet, Staffordshire Hoard ... but then a novelty, fake-find-Jonesy, the site-seeding tekkie from Wales who "just wanted to grab some glory and tried to pull some mild perception” (sic).<div> <br />Then the de rigeur "it's better for mental health than walking the countrydide with: your wife/kids/ Suzie from the off-licence/ her sister/ birdwatching binoculars/ or dog" which is what they all say now... totally omitting the fact that digging holes into the archaeoogical record and pocketing bits of it, reported or not, is NOT good for the health of the archaeological record or cultural landscape. And THIS is what PAS should be telling them and every journalist in hearing distance. <br /><br />Another tripup: <blockquote>
Last year, a law change meant that seeking <b>lucrative bragging rights </b>to a find (one coin or artefact) or a hoard (multiple finds in one concentrated area) <b>is becoming more difficult for rogue detectorists</b>. Previously, the UK definition of Treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act was any metallic object with at least 10% of its weight being gold or silver, that is at least 300 years old when found.
In 2023, the definition was updated and now<b> any object </b>found after July 30 2023 that doesn’t meet that criteria but is made at least partially of metal, is at least 200 years old and provides insight into an aspect of national or regional history, archaeology or culture by its rarity, the location in which it was found or its connection with a particular person or event.</blockquote>Where is the end of that sentence? And what does it have to do with "lucrative bragging rights"? And it just gets worse: <blockquote>"<b>Etiquette</b> dictates that public detectorists should always seek the landowners’ permission before setting off [...] </blockquote>That brings us to PC Plod's "nighthawking down". Duh. It's the law, Tracy, the law. <blockquote>anything found of possible historical or regional interest should be reported immediately to your local council’s Find Liaison Officer for <b>verification</b> and cataloguing. Depending on rarity and condition, <b>most finds</b> [...] <b>will be passed on to museums</b>. </blockquote>Ummm- NO. <br /><br />In my view, this is the DAMAGE the activity of PAS and the head-in-the-sand lethargic inactivity of other British archaeological bodeies are doing. A lot of people have got it into their heads that archaelogy is just about digging up old stuff, its nothing verey difficult, anyone can do it, there is no secret to doing it, just having a nack, archaeology is not really a discipline that you need to actually study to get to grips with. That's why you get some blonde "brand consultant/ event and content producer" who imagies she can just dash off an ill-researched text full of basic gaffes and it'll be just what the Torygraph and the Great British Public need. What was she thinking? <br /><br />
<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/how-detectorists-thrashed-archaeologists-at-their-own-gme/ar-BB1k0gsd?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=e6a8eebeea3a4b23b660afd4150b02ea&ei=33" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read it here</a>.
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<p></p></div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-10177134352651738632024-03-14T08:02:00.000-07:002024-03-16T11:48:07.864-07:00"Illegal Artefact Hunting Down", What are the facts? <div><br /></div>The PAS estimates that there are 40000 metal detectorists in the UK, and Statista estimates the number of farmers in the UK 2021-2023 as <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/319325/number-of-farmers-in-the-uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">approximately 104,700 (in the third quarter of 2023, compared with 103,900 in the previous quarter)</a>. Of these, in England the latest figures show that 54% of farms are owner occupied, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6331b071e90e0711d5d595df/AUK_Evidence_Pack_2021_Sept22.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">but 31% mixed tenure and 14% wholly tenanted</a>. Only the landowner can give metal detecting permissions. <div><br /></div><div>The metal detectorist can approach the landowner for a search-and-take permssion for a particular property - this may be a company or a member of Britain's nobility, but whoever they are, they will probably not be as easy to convince to let a stranger on the land however well they say they will behave there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are some issues for them to sort out:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Strutt and Parker: '<a href="https://rural.struttandparker.com/article/key-considerations-for-landowners-approached-for-permission-to-go-metal-detecting/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Key considerations for landowners approached for permission to go metal detecting</a>',</b></div><div><b>Crombie Wilkinson '<a href="https://www.crombiewilkinson.co.uk/site/blog/news/permission-for-metal-detecting-on-your-land" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Permission for metal detecting on your land</a>'<br />Farmers' World: '<a href="https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/metal-detectorists-land-farmers-need-know" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Metal detectorists on your land – what farmers need to know</a>'</b><br /><br />Apart from property rights, there are insurance and liability issues, the possiblity that unknown intruders will cause unforseen damage etc. <br /><br /><div>There are other landowners. Apart from private ownership, every single other piece of land is owned either by the Crown, Local Authorities, City Councils, or Town Councils. There is no such thing as public land in the UK there’s public access but that does not mean that it is public land. Many local authorities etc, and bodies such as the National Trust refuse to issue metal detecting permits for hobbyists. There is no list of such bodies. </div><div><br />Most metal detectorists will want three or four 'permissions' in order to give their searching some elsticity and variety. For 40k detectorists that is between 120k to 160k search sites with permissions. <br /><br />If however there are only 100k farmers, and only 54k of them can issue ther own search-and-take permissions, and an unknown number of them will refuse outright, where is a metal detectorist to search legally?</div><div><br /></div><div>The forums are full of people bemoaning the fact that they can't get 'permissions', there are webpages (<a href="https://www.uk-metal-detectors.co.uk/metal-detecting-gaining-permission/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://joanallen.co.uk/blog/permissions-where-to-start" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>, for example) and You Tube videos devoted to helping tekkies sort this out, there is also at least one book: David Villanueva, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Permission-Impossible-Metal-Detecting-Search/dp/0955032539" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">'Permission Impossible: Metal Detecting Search Permission Made Easy</a>' 2007. The frequency this issue comes up shows it is a real problem in the UK.</div><div><br /></div><div>Added to this is the fact that there are now commercial firms that offer landowners hundreds of pounds for a weekend's access to organize pay-to-dig events from which the organizers make a living. This is great for the many metal detectorist members who do not have to learn "how to get permissions" as they just pay the admission fee and get access to the land for a fixed period of time. As more and more landowners hear of this "business opportunity", even fewer wiill be willing to let individual hobbyists on their land for free. </div><div><br /></div><div>Also how many of these former participants, having scouted out the land, and its potential, cannot resist the temptation privately and clandestinely to revisit the site again in conditions of lesser visibility to have another go at an area they found 'productive' during the rally? This should not happen of course, but can anyone say that it does not? </div><div><br /></div><div>Likewise, the hobbyist who travels with a detector in his car boot out on a drive through the countryside and finding himself in a layby by a tall hedge on a quiet road with no traffic... and right by the road sign "Silver End", or "Old Hall Road", or "Viking Howe"... how many are not going to go through the hedge with their machine "just to see"?</div><div> </div><div>I simply do not believe that real life actual circumstances support the glib assertion that "only a minimum of metal detectorists use their machine in situations that are not in accord with the law". It beggars belief. </div><div><br /></div><div>Where is the report? </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><div><br /><br /></div></div><br /><br /></div></div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-645580744121328082024-03-14T06:04:00.000-07:002024-03-14T06:04:57.070-07:00"Nighthawking Down", Right to Roam ?<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOyd8hmN-tuX0Joe5RDLRTUa1tS0PVu7DFdtVxEw8PMUCupkT0udKHCXEXfDJ-XGmDlK7QBBmwOkoZaLLBMsEkBGyDrSxicDc6FYi8AKs8QgdJyIXhfX-w7-ahyphenhyphen-5J7wSIzXtDa1yuYcqs332SQAlV_gE3tRa0MJ_B4HEMXZC8csX304wjC4M7guJ0YxP/s640/WUbwrICS.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="640" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOyd8hmN-tuX0Joe5RDLRTUa1tS0PVu7DFdtVxEw8PMUCupkT0udKHCXEXfDJ-XGmDlK7QBBmwOkoZaLLBMsEkBGyDrSxicDc6FYi8AKs8QgdJyIXhfX-w7-ahyphenhyphen-5J7wSIzXtDa1yuYcqs332SQAlV_gE3tRa0MJ_B4HEMXZC8csX304wjC4M7guJ0YxP/w153-h113/WUbwrICS.jpg" width="153" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/WUbwrICS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">One approach to the problem</a> </td></tr></tbody></table>Highflyer Sunday 24th January 2016quotequote all<blockquote>
Caught two guys walking around my field today early afternoon with metal detectors, when I asked them if they had found anything the reply was no. I politely asked them who had given permission to just enter my field and walk around with metal detectors, the reply was, <a href="https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=10&t=1569155" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"we have the right to roam"</a>, at this point I completely lost the plot and basically made a few suggestions that if they didn't leave immediately I would take matters into my own hands[...]</blockquote><br />Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-81839184539221395982024-03-13T10:43:00.000-07:002024-03-13T10:43:33.884-07:00Artefact Smugglers Arrested (Coins Involved too)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The French Customs Intelligence Service (DNRED) announced the recovery of 8,597 ancient coins of Anatolian origin following a sting operation resulting from a three-year investigation. The coins are set to be repatriated to Türkiye. </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tlA4vwN1R3Lopwk5PHyEF9FmFoVaVLM4-8NwY2ivPmeaCD39IHYlJik7xaOJ9BPbzOufYh5CSKL7vKZRYfcKSKglt6lSkg3x0agraJe4sTfHq2u7nspXfszrpuARuDRB93c0X9uPZIGNwLqFeug99uYwBadt4uIAepcbq7krw4Lk03802VogHTrczNDl/s1280/sikke-aa-1891927.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tlA4vwN1R3Lopwk5PHyEF9FmFoVaVLM4-8NwY2ivPmeaCD39IHYlJik7xaOJ9BPbzOufYh5CSKL7vKZRYfcKSKglt6lSkg3x0agraJe4sTfHq2u7nspXfszrpuARuDRB93c0X9uPZIGNwLqFeug99uYwBadt4uIAepcbq7krw4Lk03802VogHTrczNDl/s320/sikke-aa-1891927.webp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The coins were found hidden in boxes, television cabinets and refrigerator bags in a house raided in 2022.
The organizers of a smuggling network were arrested in Türkiye and the authorities are preparing to try the individuals who resided in the house where the smuggled artifacts were found.
The residents are accused of illegally selling more than 7,000 of the 15,000 recovered antiquities.</div></div><br /><p></p>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-39824909596737401932024-03-13T10:22:00.000-07:002024-03-13T11:07:50.815-07:00It's not just Metal Detecting, Britain Failing to Protect Heritage from Theft and Vandalism<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxpg-SiA53dsaWwLOOldgDGwTjPxnptEu_CEeBeX8a4Ii001N8Yyotjub01W6yEmaRPOCkgcvfAn6xz9ZIB4NsSgXxAnlyABY7Po5ORe6UkH8gQyKAo95if1YqdBk24jaDSDMkAFBIomTB_0770YN0ioPSX9PDb0BUWZYZ6uqqOaF4zKh_PQ8Na6WD-sl/s900/GH-wQGtWAAANBz-.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="675" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxpg-SiA53dsaWwLOOldgDGwTjPxnptEu_CEeBeX8a4Ii001N8Yyotjub01W6yEmaRPOCkgcvfAn6xz9ZIB4NsSgXxAnlyABY7Po5ORe6UkH8gQyKAo95if1YqdBk24jaDSDMkAFBIomTB_0770YN0ioPSX9PDb0BUWZYZ6uqqOaF4zKh_PQ8Na6WD-sl/w126-h168/GH-wQGtWAAANBz-.jpg" width="126" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> .<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://twitter.com/cleanupbritain/status/1765323391601430618" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">You don't know what</a> <br /><a href="https://twitter.com/cleanupbritain/status/1765323391601430618" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">you had till you lose it</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Britain really is going to the dogs, it seems as thefts of historic stone and metal across England are increasing:</div><blockquote>Thefts of historic stone and metal are on the rise, according to a new report by Historic England and the National Police Chiefs' Council.
It sets out how walls and paving slabs were stolen in Yorkshire and Cheshire, while granite troughs and fountains were taken in Kent and London.
Meanwhile, metal thefts from church roofs were particularly common during the Covid lockdowns, the report added. <br /></blockquote><br />
BBC News, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-68544864" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thefts of historic stone and metal on the up across England - report</a> <br /><br />
The Guardian, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/mar/13/vandalism-rise-historic-english-sites-cost-of-living-crisis-report" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vandalism on rise at historic English sites amid cost of living crisis – report</a>.
Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-35511351450128764462024-03-13T06:46:00.000-07:002024-03-13T10:52:45.526-07:00I am Calling this BS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrdls4Hd-jb7QQtBIUmycLm4SW09Z6YOzIBycHkGgX9YTn1taOAjQLldQN49DzASiY1ca9-84NTKqXOzYdTYs0m8OztiVuq-llcYpssuarsX6T8FwgHE7am6jM9Z8CgQp7oSQGKzVQ5cqGFCjp1zY73jX2Zw3aWHvGwxUa0qRHSbtbxSudRMZPDYHuX6_6/s262/images%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="262" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrdls4Hd-jb7QQtBIUmycLm4SW09Z6YOzIBycHkGgX9YTn1taOAjQLldQN49DzASiY1ca9-84NTKqXOzYdTYs0m8OztiVuq-llcYpssuarsX6T8FwgHE7am6jM9Z8CgQp7oSQGKzVQ5cqGFCjp1zY73jX2Zw3aWHvGwxUa0qRHSbtbxSudRMZPDYHuX6_6/w145-h112/images%20(2).jpg" width="145" /></a></div> In the UK, the police are as useless at stopping archaeological looting as everywhere else, except they won't admit it. Seen by a reader in the "Police professional" magazine (" <a href="https://policeprofessional.com/news/more-accurate-police-recording-of-heritage-crime-needed-says-research/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">More accurate police recording of heritage crime needed, says research </a>" 13 March 2024) is this little gem:<br /><p></p><blockquote>A reduction in
unlawful metal detecting (also known as nighthawking) has been achieved with
the support of landowners and the metal detecting community, with offenders
being identified and brought to justice;</blockquote><p></p><p>Last thing I heard, in Britain landowners were advised, by the police no less, to avoid approaching illegal metal detectorists because there was a danger of physical harm. So what does "support of landowners" mean in actual terms? That landownersd phone them up and report any illegal activity spotted? If that is increasing, it only means they are being spotted more frequently. </p><p>More to the point, what does it mean saying illegal artefact hunting has been reduced because of the "support of the metal detecting community"? What is meant by that, that metal detectorists are "shopping" other members of the community? Certainly if you look at the metal detecting forums, you will see that until now, there has been the opposite tendency - of detectoriusts sticking together and refusing to speak out directly about individusals they know are involved. There was only one <span style="font-family: inherit;">circumstance when they would - in revenge for something. So what has changed? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">What we do know is that the number of artefact hunters with metal detectors has risen in teh past few years, quite massively. Yet the number of accessible sites has not increased. As for frequency of "permissions", this too is unlikely to have gone up as more and more commercial metal detecting firms offer increasing numbers of landowners cash-for-access to undetected land. What farmer would let some blokes on his land for free when he could et a pocketful of money by saving it for those who pay? So is this not a reason why some will go to secluded parts of such land in the failing light of evening without asking first? Is the number of people that do this the same as it was a decade ago, smaller or bigger? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">It'd be interesting to see the methodology of
assessing the number of episodes of illegal artefact hunting in Britain, and how they've established this factoid that
there has been a reduction. "It has a familiar smell of the countryside about
it" as a correspondent wrote.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p><br /></p>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-2684162039443411802024-03-12T23:36:00.000-07:002024-03-13T22:00:08.356-07:00Sword "Pulled" but What is the Context?<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqszIyLpJyAD3BJmtCQ34ur2XiEZz2dmax8-ElX6__I3LC9yWbdfdczjBOUcjYVqdQw9Ho8dDpK3Zw_VyiZciNp9_wvKQyqpzYBrv8twovDfM7aHZyjdDLJvougvyTAh87V8ooW_eOZnE64ZsiFxvhOsXJxK9-XQNVB33UYS5E81raRFhtWBIdbYViC2F/s1381/BB1jLyKa.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="768" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqszIyLpJyAD3BJmtCQ34ur2XiEZz2dmax8-ElX6__I3LC9yWbdfdczjBOUcjYVqdQw9Ho8dDpK3Zw_VyiZciNp9_wvKQyqpzYBrv8twovDfM7aHZyjdDLJvougvyTAh87V8ooW_eOZnE64ZsiFxvhOsXJxK9-XQNVB33UYS5E81raRFhtWBIdbYViC2F/w91-h164/BB1jLyKa.jpg" width="91" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #d9ead3;">,</span> </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>Alexander Butler, "<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/rare-1-100-year-old-viking-sword-pulled-from-oxfordshire-river/ar-BB1jLDGA?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=5356a2e5330441539749a99ba854502c&ei=15" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rare 1,100-year-old Viking sword pulled from Oxfordshire river</a>" Independent 12.032024.
<blockquote>A 1,100-year-old Viking sword has been pulled from an Oxfordshire river in a rare discovery unearthed by a magnet fisherman.
The weapon was found in the River Cherwell last year and has now been confirmed to date back to between AD 850 and 975.
Despite the nearby landowner not allowing magnet fishing, he agreed no legal action would be taken and it is now in the care of the Oxford Museum.</blockquote>More fool him. Apparently the findspot was by a bridge, possibly itself on an earlier crossing. But instead of talking about lost context by the brutal blind amateur hoiking, the dozy journalist who knows no better (and probably forgot the bit he had at school about magnetism) tried to link it with a lead sling bullet from Spain. <div><br /></div><div><u><b>Note for journalists lost for a story about magnet fishing for artefacts</b>:</u><br /><br />Craig Simpson, '<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/23/dont-use-magnets-treasure-experts-warn-viking-sword-damaged/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Don’t use magnets to seek treasure, experts warn after technique damages Viking sword found in river</a>' (Telegraph
23 January 2024) <blockquote>
The British Museum has urged detectorists not to go “magnet fishing” to retrieve treasure after a Viking sword was damaged while being dredged from a river.[...] experts are determined to persuade those seeking treasure to stop using the increasingly popular technique of “fishing” for artefacts in waterways using powerful magnets. [...]
The warning from the PAS comes after a Viking sword was damaged while being pulled out of the River Wallers Haven in Suffolk. The remains of the hilt fell off and were lost in the river.[...]
“There is also the risk of damage to the object and its archaeological context, particularly at sites of ritual deposition. The PAS advises against this activity, which is banned by the Canal and River Trust on its waterways.”</blockquote>This is a quote from the <a href="https://finds.org.uk/documents/annualreports/2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">2022 PAS annual report (p. 13)</a>, fully abvailable online. In the case of the damaged
sword, the artefact hunter stood there gawping helplessly as the preserved organic remains of the hilt - an extremely rare survival - were washed off, disintegrated and dropped back into the river due to the method used to remove it from the undisturbed context in which it had lain more than a millennium. <br><br>
</div><div>It really could not be clearer. <br /><p></p><div style="text-align: right;">Hat tip Dave Coward<br /><br /></div></div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-83282246379777273012024-03-12T22:53:00.000-07:002024-03-13T10:24:28.354-07:00UK Metal detectorist Acted "Dishonestly", but Why?<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7I6vOiDvaK1Lg1WhPwgUAt2StPPjwUJgB2y4mVaEK3MNCmSMsANqE7S4a6VzMXQNxJBQtrDUJKG5D8EYhGczPIJ2Ch_KeI65tn7T0vCo3kxtiiWBS-k96clUaxupnMd4k82hBLP3RQ5ksnWVVleoX71tAnnjOlcwyCwXQFghrdJlvDz04myAdI06IjGQ/s1024/Michael-Jones-1024x695.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1024" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7I6vOiDvaK1Lg1WhPwgUAt2StPPjwUJgB2y4mVaEK3MNCmSMsANqE7S4a6VzMXQNxJBQtrDUJKG5D8EYhGczPIJ2Ch_KeI65tn7T0vCo3kxtiiWBS-k96clUaxupnMd4k82hBLP3RQ5ksnWVVleoX71tAnnjOlcwyCwXQFghrdJlvDz04myAdI06IjGQ/w143-h97/Michael-Jones-1024x695.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jones (<a href="https://treasurehuntingworld.com/2024/03/12/detectorist-faked-rare-coins-find/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Treasure hunting</a><br /><a href="https://treasurehuntingworld.com/2024/03/12/detectorist-faked-rare-coins-find/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">World</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table>ThePipeline blog has a heritage crime story about the results of a hearing at Hereford Justice Centre that reveals more aboutBritish metal detectorists than they appear to recognise (ThePipeLine, '<a href="https://thepipeline.info/blog/2024/03/12/metal-detectorist-cleared-of-fraud-but-did-act-dishonestly/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Metal Deetectorist Cleared of Fraud but did Act Dishonestly</a>' March 12, 2024 [see also Saul Hudson in <a href="https://treasurehuntingworld.com/2024/03/12/detectorist-faked-rare-coins-find/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Treasure Hunting World</a>]). The blog's author Andy Brockman notes that this case "appears to have offered proof of a practice long rumoured to be the case on metal detecting forums, that is that some metal detectorists salt fields and rally sites with coins and artefacts from elsewhere and then dishonestly report them as being found at the location". [I would say that is more than a rumour, there is a lot of evidence that it is what has been happening]. But it also reveals something else too. But first, here is what had happened:
<blockquote>The case relates to sixty four year old Michael Jones of Rees Street, Port Talbot who appeared before Hereford Magistrates on March 11 accused on a single count of fraud by false representation.
Mr Jones entered a plea of not guilty at an earlier hearing.
The magistrates heard that Mr Jones had purchased<b> silver denier coins, minted by the Crusader kingdom of Antioch between 1163 and 1201,</b> from auction site E-bay for £200.
He was then alleged to have buried the coins in a field at Oatcroft Farm in Titley, Herefordshire where one of the many un-regulated and unmonitored metal detecting rallies which take place almost daily in the UK was due to take place.
Mr Jones is then alleged to have “discovered” the coins during the rally which was held by the K C Rallys club in July 2021.
The find was then reported as possible “treasure” to the Portable Antiquities Scheme [...]</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduqyMy1T44nxjSd3cPTb6bW-MWf7jkXtAfxi5G_a2ixdphsRtxQYaDWsrUZu14la3HIRbNG6kXMZwmgMONF3eMLzQCMTpXwUQvAVnDfuu1PiQH1VUEPz-nmrUFJ7IX-We5pd-ioTWvK6InHIIoKCwx93Fi5NlJRWDPY3JZtT_0dcSh9AKGHyaGSXt47Xr/s324/Bohemond%20III.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="324" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduqyMy1T44nxjSd3cPTb6bW-MWf7jkXtAfxi5G_a2ixdphsRtxQYaDWsrUZu14la3HIRbNG6kXMZwmgMONF3eMLzQCMTpXwUQvAVnDfuu1PiQH1VUEPz-nmrUFJ7IX-We5pd-ioTWvK6InHIIoKCwx93Fi5NlJRWDPY3JZtT_0dcSh9AKGHyaGSXt47Xr/w228-h155/Bohemond%20III.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> . </td></tr></tbody></table>Hmmm. I do not know how many readers have in their heads a picture of what these coins <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemond_III_of_Antioch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">of Bohemond III of Antioch</a> look like, they are relatively common on the global antiquities market and quite eagerly collected (and so also faked). There are <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2499334.m570.l1313&_nkw=Bohemond+III+&_sacat=58520" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">25 real and fake ones on eBay</a> at the time, of writing, astoundingly <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/bn_2316392" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">24 of them listed under "British" finds</a> with the eappropriate misspellings to accompany the affirmation. Well, actually they were not in circulation in Briatain at the time (the reigns of Henry II and Richard I) and with the loopy design of the commonest form enountered on the market (<a href="https://www.coinarchives.com/w/results.php?search=bohemond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">vignette</a>), probably would not have passed for British coin at the time. We ae not told how many coins he got for 200 quid, but looking at the prices they go for, there were either in very bad condition, or he was lucky. <br /><br />Here however is another aspect. The (recte) Principality of Antioch was where now is most of Hatay province of Turkey and bits of the Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Latakia governates of Syria. The latter are partly still rebel-held territories in teh (still) ongoing civil war and looting is going on there (and in Hatay as is shown by the constant flow onto the market of fresh coins from the economic hinterland of the four Greek cities of the Syrian tetrapolis, Antioch, Seleucia Pieria, Apamea, and Laodicea). Yet, this aspect of whether Mr Jones could show that the coins he was handling had been excavated and legally removed from the source country seems not to have come up in court. But then British law preventing smuggled coins coming into the UK are complete crap. To get back to the story:
<blockquote>Mr Jones told the court he undertook the dishonest activity
“for the fame and bravado that goes with it”.[eh? Does Mr Jones understand the meaning of that word? PMB]
Mr Jones added,
“It was stupid, I know. It was a feel-good thing, I just wanted to make myself look good,”
“It was a moment of insanity, I just didn’t think.”</blockquote>Possibly he was saying what his lawyers told him to testify. He got off from the potential charge of fraud because the Crown was not able to prove that Mr Jones had made the false report for financial gain for himself and the landowner. <br /><br />I am more intrigued by teh connections between this discovery and the <a href="https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/23355849.latest-spot-herefordshire-solar-farm-planned/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">plans to build a solar farm here</a>, in connection with the third series of the popular British TV show "Detectorists' series.<br /><br /> Former FLO Peter Reavill also testified that<blockquote> “Such coins have never been found in the region before"[not surprisingly -PMB] ”they would have potentially altered the history of Herefordshire [...] “They are very rare and very important, especially if they could be linked to the Knight’s Templar”</blockquote>Uh-oh. And why would somebody be doing that? this is the usual PAS dumbdown claptrap inventing trite narratives and finding "connections" instead of working within the bounds of the archaeological evidence.These coins are not "very rare"| pr - as loose objects off the no-questions-asked anytiquities market now of any "importance". Brockman adds: "While there is no evidence that Mr Jones himself has far right views or connections, the mention of the Knights Templar is interesting as the mythology surrounding the famous order of military monks is a popular theme among Far Right activists" as indeed it is. <br /><br />Brockman also adds, tongue-in-cheek, I ssuspct: "officials of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and the numerous researchers who use its data, will also be concerned, wondering how many other dishonest reports of finds have found their way into the archaeological record without being discovered". The answer to that is obvious. The PAS do not in fact carefully vety the find circumstances of more than a handful of the items they include in their database, they just trust their "partners' to tell the truth. Personally, my earliests dealings with a metal detectorist involved him not telling me the truth about a findspot, which has somewhat affected my trust in these people from the beginning. The PAS is less sceptical. So I am engaged in a project of listing out-of-place artefacts in the PAS database. There are a disturbing number of them. <br /><br />For me however this whole affair illustrates something else. How thick do you have to be to imagine that buying Middle Eastern artefacts online and trying to pass them off, not to equally thick collectors and dealers, but professional archaeologists fully familiar with thousands of British finds assemblageds, as British finds? Mega-thick I would day. But also how "responsible" is this? What is the purpose, do detectorists think, of "reporting objects to the Portale Antiquities Scheme"? If it was not for financial gain, what was Mr Jones' intent reporting these finds to teh PAS? “For the fame and bravado that goes with it, a feel-good thing, I just wanted to make myself look good”, in whose eyes and why did that involve the PAS? What actually is the real social role of the PAS in the British detecting community? He wasn't actually trying to pull a fast one over on the PAS was he? "Confound the experts, make them look like fools"? How many more? <br /><br /><br /> Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-63698684067102602382024-03-03T03:55:00.000-08:002024-03-06T03:55:20.704-08:00Metal Detecting Gang of Four Sentenced<p><br>BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-68445207" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Gang of metal detectorists sentenced for nighthawking in Hayton</a> Four men from near Sunderland, were found at night scouring private farmland near Hayton in East Yorkshire using metal detectors without permission on 18 March 2022. They been sentenced for nighthawking.
<blockquote>Scott Turton, 43, Andrew Richardson, 43, Marc Scantlebury, 40, and Robert Armstrong, 42, were all given depravation orders for their metal detecting equipment when they were sentenced on 23 February.
Armstrong, of Hedworth Terrace, Houghton-Le-Spring, was also handed a 21-week jail term, while Richardson, 43, of Blind Lane, Houghton-Le-Spring, was fined £120.
Both Turton, of Bernard Street, Houghton Le Spring, and Scantlebury, of Railway Terrace, Houghton-Le-Spring, were each given a 17-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months and fined £350.
They all pleaded guilty to criminal damage and going equipped for theft during a court hearing on 21 January.</blockquote>But, dear oh dear, the BBC forgot to ask an archaeologists to come along and say the ritual "most mewtal detectorists ... and it is only a miniscule minority... and they're all good blokes really", you know, like all archaeologists think. <br><br>
Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-74328017632076390462024-02-27T03:28:00.000-08:002024-02-27T03:57:22.277-08:00Lost Somewhere Along the Silk Roads
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ORl8MhxXHIEbLvdGBiFfm277zEJ8Lk6tehejFgRlWQHQmeGSGrX_NAvawraJ7oDbBq8BZM5cT-7X1B918o1PCuH9Hi84D_LbM-BHlC8laZN3PxtceHNGggGseZECyARdyPwcEn79WlBrezOQkuWW34eCYGjTpyHSY9NMNr9r1_ee-x5rBUn5HyMkO4qP/s518/9ntitled.png" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="518" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ORl8MhxXHIEbLvdGBiFfm277zEJ8Lk6tehejFgRlWQHQmeGSGrX_NAvawraJ7oDbBq8BZM5cT-7X1B918o1PCuH9Hi84D_LbM-BHlC8laZN3PxtceHNGggGseZECyARdyPwcEn79WlBrezOQkuWW34eCYGjTpyHSY9NMNr9r1_ee-x5rBUn5HyMkO4qP/w77-h67/9ntitled.png" width="77" /></a></div><p><a href="https://twitter.com/I_Idanthyrsus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Idanthyrsus</a> is the name of somebody writing on social media on cultural property protection ("Late Antiquity and Silk Road art history obsessive, Cultural heritage law"). The name is that of a Scythian king who (according to Herodotus IV, 127) threatened the Persian king that if he interefered with the ancestors;' graves, he would face retribution. So I was a bit puzzled by a reference they made on Twitter </p><blockquote>Reminder that the US gov't renewed a MOU on cultural heritage with the Chinese gov't last month <a href="https://twitter.com/I_Idanthyrsus/status/1761995604065136658" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">in blatant contradiction to the statutory requirements of the CCPIA</a>. @HeritageAtState, #CPACommittee and organizations like @CombatLooting that supported the renewal should be ashamed. </blockquote>As far as I know, there were no procedural irregularities in that renewal under the US's wobbly old 1980s <a href="https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/97-446.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CCPIA)</a>. So I asked in what way renewal of existing measures had been "in blatant contradiction to the statutory requirements of the CCPIA". I really should not have. <a href="https://twitter.com/I_Idanthyrsus/status/1762173780523421774" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I get lectured</a>:
<blockquote>A State Party engaged in the intentional destruction of cultural heritage (a crime against humanity), in this case Uyghur heritage (as recognized by the very same State Dept. as part of a genocide) can in no way be found to have met the requirement under Section 303(a)(1)(B). <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5ekHKZNmtb_g0eekCH958hfiSZ-twEoLsSPCO8-EmvIG0osu3KxiGs9uB__fZ98w0DPdTDl77XEzPwbM9ac9xjS2WIXULAQJdB7wXlnPJ_iSTy6mZv1FZ3k-SYXBvzUWfbjeY6WuVh34HG8SfbBP45TKTeaH3A2u3g65Yvd2iKTXkZUIAQ5X3YFhaLmE/s1440/GHR-WQ8bgAAVxvS.png" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5ekHKZNmtb_g0eekCH958hfiSZ-twEoLsSPCO8-EmvIG0osu3KxiGs9uB__fZ98w0DPdTDl77XEzPwbM9ac9xjS2WIXULAQJdB7wXlnPJ_iSTy6mZv1FZ3k-SYXBvzUWfbjeY6WuVh34HG8SfbBP45TKTeaH3A2u3g65Yvd2iKTXkZUIAQ5X3YFhaLmE/s600/GHR-WQ8bgAAVxvS.png" width="600" /></a></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>From the inadequacies of the Act's wording, it seems the CCPIA was written by a team that possibly included several typing chimpanzees, but that is no excuse for Idanthyrsus not knowing what is what.<br /><br />What does CCPIA "implement"? Well, despite its name, it <u><b>does NOT</b></u> implement the whole 1970 <a href="https://en.unesco.org/about-us/legal-affairs/convention-means-prohibiting-and-preventing-illicit-import-export-and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property</a>. It implements ONLY its Article 9 (see CCPIA section 303). Article nine of what? Article nine of a Convention that ONLY covers "<i><b>the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property</b></i>" (and that's the preventing of it). This is NOT the World Heritage Covention, Venice Charter, Intangible Heritage or any of the others that cover all that whatnot. It is a convention that regulates the movement of PORTABLE antiquities and the like. ONLY. So Article nine refers to the prevention of the removal of portable objects.<br /><br />By the same token, the US instrument that imnplements article nine of this Convention is obviously also restricted to portable antiquities. But only within the framework of the 1970 Convention. It is worth reminding colleagues, many of whom it seems rarely read the entire document, that the 1970 Convention above all upholds (Art. 1) the right of each state party to define for itself what is and what is not its cultural property ("<span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">property which [...] is specifically designated by each State as being of importance for [....] and which belongs to the following categories"</span>). It <a href="https://en.unesco.org/about-us/legal-affairs/convention-means-prohibiting-and-preventing-illicit-import-export-and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DOES NOT have any measure</a> for somebody outside to do that for them, impose their own ideas, or to choose to ignore what the sovereign state has established. That is <u>the whole point of the documen</u>t! (What else could it be?)<br /><br />So, despite the typing chimpanzees not spelling it out for a later dumbdown generation in the 2020s the "measures consistent with the Convention to protect its cultural heritage" are not referring to Uighur and Tibetan or whatever built heritage, intangible heritage or any such thing. The CCPIA asks whether the state party has taken steps to avoid the "the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property" or reduce "jeopardy from pillage of archaeological or ethnological materials" (well, yes, rather drastic ones are already in place in China - includiung the death penalty). And that is <u>the entire scope</u> of any mandate created by the US CCPIA for the US as an outside partner to enquire into the circumstances. It does not, and cannot, challenge Art. 1 - which the US agreed to becoming a state party to the Convention. <br /><br />We've come across this US "policemean of the World" overeach before. This is the position of the dreadful "<a href="https://culturalpropertynews.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Committee for Cultural Policy</a>" which I have called the "<a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/search?q=Witschonke+Premise&max-results=20&by-date=true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Witschonke Premise</a>" after one of the more strident advocates of the position that in cultural heritage management we should all submit to the will and arbitration of an all-powerful USA.<div><br /></div><div>So, pseudonymous Idanthyrsus, the renewal of the China MOU was not (apart from your imagination) "in blatant contradiction to the statutory requirements of the CCPIA". The only thing @HeritageAtState, #CPACommittee and organizations like @CombatLooting "should be ashamed" is that the restrictive CCPIA is still being applied in the US to an issue that for long has requirted the US (one of the biggest markets for antiquities in the world) not applying the 1970 UNESCO Convention in the current fragmentary and partial form, but as a whole. Shame on you, USA.<br /><br />
</div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-12231010969859028312024-02-26T22:51:00.000-08:002024-02-27T02:53:07.222-08:00A bit of Honesty and a Comfortable Assumption<p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2paT2pkgYEJkcX0mylRB0te3CgG8N7J4m3X3UGC_QNTAWtPqs4KhteXkKHUB29piPpWhvHy2SvkZBu-94l4tzybQ3kvBV21RnqrPEBkL-Rrx7KYs6HAEsZKJuz-YRpIK8gu8Qp58A_p5Ukw4o8ggYdDEaA8e-kCgpUqV1lLe5nD3QuFRIZeZUtglZ0BQh/s1200/GHF8_cPXUAEEhnU.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1200" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2paT2pkgYEJkcX0mylRB0te3CgG8N7J4m3X3UGC_QNTAWtPqs4KhteXkKHUB29piPpWhvHy2SvkZBu-94l4tzybQ3kvBV21RnqrPEBkL-Rrx7KYs6HAEsZKJuz-YRpIK8gu8Qp58A_p5Ukw4o8ggYdDEaA8e-kCgpUqV1lLe5nD3QuFRIZeZUtglZ0BQh/w395-h237/GHF8_cPXUAEEhnU.jpg" width="395" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;"> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2024/feb/24/road-to-ruins-how-i-discovered-the-magic-of-archaeology" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bronze age hut circles at Shapley common, Dartmoor (Photograph: ASC Photography/Alamy)</a><br /> <br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>This ended interestingly. British archaeologist Mary-Anne Ochota wrote an interesting Guardian article '<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2024/feb/24/road-to-ruins-how-i-discovered-the-magic-of-archaeology" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Road to ruins: how I discovered the magic of archaeology</a>' with the byline: <blockquote>"With millennia of history hidden beneath our feet, connecting with the ancient past offers endless fascination, and many ways to get involved".</blockquote> Readers of this blog will know that if it is British archaeology, that "getting involved" will probably mean.... So <i>quelle surprise</i> as we read on down, we get to the red flag: <blockquote>"<i>The Portable Antiquities Scheme has a database of more than 1.7m finds made in England and Wales, mostly by metal detectorists. You can see what items have been found in your county, read guides to help identify particular types of artefacts or coins,<u><b> and get advice on how to metal detect responsibly, and what to do if you find something </b></u></i>[<i><b>but nothing else on the subject of exploiting the archaeological record as a source of private collectables</b></i>]". </blockquote><p></p><p></p>There is a very nice photo of Bronze age hut circles at Shapley common, Dartmoor (Photograph: ASC Photography/Alamy) in the article. I am very well aware that the author of the text will think that this oh-so-remote site is safe because it is protected by scheduling and under permanent pasture (and of course, since that is the mantra all British archaeologists absorb with their breakfast cereal, that "the majority of metal detectorists are responsible and law-abiding" - yeah yeah...), but the evocative photo invites us all to reflect on how vulnerable archaeological sites and the information they contain are to just one <a href="https://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/2016/03/17/grim_mystery/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">self-centred bloke with a metal detector</a>, a spade, a few spare hours and deep pockets. And a site like this will have only a few diagnostic metal artefacts and the majority of them just below the surface. <div><br /><div>I could not help the kneejerk reaction, thinking that (like most British archaeologists encountering uncomfortable comments on metal detecting) the author of the text would block me:</div><div><blockquote><a href="https://twitter.com/PortantIssues/status/1762170187942449631" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Paul Barford
·
3h </a><br />
"<i>Get involved</i> [...] <i>read guides to help identify particular types of artefacts or coins, and get advice on how to metal detect responsibly, and what to do if you find something</i>".
That's not archaeology, but object-centred Treasure hunting. Archaeology's not just about "finding old things".
</blockquote>Instead of a ban, this got a response (<a href="https://twitter.com/MaryAnnOchota/status/1762185175679611169" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mary-Ann Ochota</a>): "
No indeed. But clear information on responsible detecting behaviour, and what to do if you *do* find something (however you find it) is key. like the people digging a pond and finding gold coins. or the kid on a school trip. or the farmer spotting a shiny thing in the pigpen". So, really, though she had just agreed that archaeology is not about finding things, she still insists that finding things and telling the arkies about them is "getting involved in archaeology". I decided not to leave it there: <blockquote><a href="https://twitter.com/PortantIssues/status/1762217435258589198%20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://twitter.com/PortantIssues/status/1762217435258589198%20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div><a href="https://twitter.com/PortantIssues/status/1762217435258589198" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Paul Barford</a>:
·
So then, if all "done responsibly", is this <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=226007270285&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l2562&_ssn=illnevergetananswernow" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> [link, https://ebay.co.uk/...</a>] "getting involved in Archaeology"? (Labelling of individual artefacts and not flogging it off on eBay are among the things NOT in the PAS "Code of Best Practice...)</blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQeAFz-b4JqjwVVTp70LN9Eg7AQ8NTnqMH97y0R6Be4-u7cCO1zaqiTUudo6KchbBQUdIfKZUrMUIDQcgFIAF-ddg7jo_CQU6I3cNIAytjPSd1hmK9rg0tOWBcnARKUiNN3YCBNj4EGDE76bfRoTNOkR6G65ggeGemlv_E2iHR4W1ExXV3KfQgGo_xEVC/s1600/s-l1600%20%281%29.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQeAFz-b4JqjwVVTp70LN9Eg7AQ8NTnqMH97y0R6Be4-u7cCO1zaqiTUudo6KchbBQUdIfKZUrMUIDQcgFIAF-ddg7jo_CQU6I3cNIAytjPSd1hmK9rg0tOWBcnARKUiNN3YCBNj4EGDE76bfRoTNOkR6G65ggeGemlv_E2iHR4W1ExXV3KfQgGo_xEVC/s320/s-l1600%20%281%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></blockquote> I linked to a random eBay-seling metal detectorist ("illnevergetananswernow") who caught my eye due to at least two bits of Anglo-Saxon metalwork - one probably from a cemetery (and the irony of the choice of name for an artefact hunter hoiking stuff out of the archaeological record preventing us from getting any information from it afterwards). I have no idea how "responsibly" he was taking stuff from the record in realtion to British archaeology's piss-poor Code of so-called "<a href="https://finds.org.uk/getinvolved/guides/codeofpractice" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Best Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting in England and Wales</a>". </div><div><br /></div><div>In my opinion, merely following this code with their metal detector does not make the ("responsible") artefact hunter a participant in archaeology. In no way. I was interested to hear what Mary-Anne Ochota thought of that. I was surprised but not surprised:</div><div><blockquote><a href="https://twitter.com/MaryAnnOchota/status/1762244963675394334" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mary-Ann Ochota 6hReplying to @PortantIssues and @guardian</a><br />
In absolute honesty, I'm not sure what I think of this. Left in for example plough soil, they'd be lost. so where do they go? I don't think an overwhelmed and poorly indexed archive is necessarily better than ebay. (of course I absolutely appreciate that lots of finds aren't from disturbed contexts).</blockquote>I'll wager this is the first text by a British archaeologists about the issues surrounding artefact hunting that starts by professing "In absolute honesty". I was also surprised to find a British archaeologist saying outright that the quality of the mitigating record-by-preservation is important, rarely do you hear that from her colleagues, the PAS is there, and that allegedly solves any problems "as long as items are recorded".That of course is totally not true. But most British archaeologists don't think, or don't care to think, these things through. Mary-Ann Ochota seems here to be a refreshing exception. <br /><br />Not entirely, though. The old trope gets trotted out: "<i>left in for example plough soil, they'd be lost</i>". So artefact hunting is a form of "rescue", yeah yeah, we've heard it all before. Many times. Even from the PAS.</div><div><br /></div><div>But what is rescued are "things" and if the recording is not done properly, loose things. They may have an "x-marks the spot" findspot accurate to the zillionth of a metre, but that, by itself [as all PAS "x-marks the spot" findspots are], is archaeologically virtually meaningless (except as a dot on a Kossinnist distribution map). <u><b>It does not record where the object was removed from in relation to other types of evidence visible on the site surfgace or in its structure (even if it is a disturbed-surface site)</b></u>. Archaeology is the recovery and methodological interpretation of information, information in context. Again, we come back to the point that merely pulling loose items out of the ground is not "doing archaeolgy". It is actually destroying and discarding the information that is needed to do archaeology. Artefacts lying in situ, in cntext of other information are not "lost", that is the view of a "gimme-gimme" artefact collector. It is not an archaeological concept.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think she also meant that "left in the soil, the object will disintegrate" - that is the usual argument. Often we get "power harrows: and "artificial fertilisers" added to that... ("common sense, innit?"). I've addressed this a number of times (see below). I'm not denying that there is anecdotal evidence (and a couple of case studies) that do show damage is occurring in ploughsoil, I would suggest that it is not as general a phonomenon that is commonly claimed and would like to see better evidence for this justification of supporting artefact hunters. I'll just say that in my view this is just a comfortable assumption to avoid taking any action.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Reading List on "Artefact Loss"</u></b></div><br /><blockquote><div><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: inherit;">Sunday 28 January 2018, '</span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2018/01/uk-detectorist-boasts-of-saving.html" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -1px;">UK Detectorist Boasts of 'Saving' an Artefact from 'Nuclear Nitrates'</a><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: inherit;">,</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;">Wednesday 14 October 2020, '</span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2020/10/tasting-history-not-just-one-way-to.html" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; letter-spacing: -1px;">Tasting History, Not just one way to "Access the PASt"</a>..',</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">M<span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;">onday 16 December 2013, '</span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; letter-spacing: -1px;"><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2013/12/focus-on-uk-metal-detectying-what-pas.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Focus on UK Metal Detecting: What the PAS Say and What the two Hobby Magazines Tell us</a>'.</span></span></div><div><h2 class="date-header" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 10px 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Wednesday 28 October 2015, '<a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2015/10/artefact-hunting-lesser-of-two-evils_28.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Artefact Hunting, the "Lesser of Two Evils"? More on "Fragmentation"</a>...'</span></h2><div class="date-posts" style="background-color: #f6f6f6;"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><div><h2 class="date-header" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 10px 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Thursday 29 October 2015, <a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2015/10/tw-warsaw-chambers-of-numismodeath.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Two Warsaw Chambers of Numismodeath</a></span></h2><div class="date-posts"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span>(while the experiment did disprove the tekkie assertions, the documentation was lost </span>Friday 27 November 2015, </span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2015/11/artificial-fertliser-1.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Artificial Fertiliser (1)</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">; </span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2015/11/artificial-fertiliser-2.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Artificial fertiliser (2)</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">; </span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-artificial-fertiliser-experiment-3.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">The Artificial Fertiliser Experiment (3)</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">; </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Thursday 6 April 2017, </span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-chambers-of-numismodeath.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">'The Chambers of Numismodeath'</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">, </span></h3></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div><div class="date-posts" style="background-color: #f6f6f6;"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><div><div class="date-posts"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Sunday 17 March 2019, '<a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2019/03/what-do-they-put-on-soil-in-washington.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">What do they Put on the Soil in Washington DC?</a><span>', </span></span></h3></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;">Wednesday 14 October 2020, '</span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-broken-brooch-fallacy.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Broken Brooch Fallacy</a><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;">', </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;">Friday 16 October 2020, '</span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2020/10/friday-retrospect-finds-rescue-by.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Friday Retrospect: Finds Rescue by Hoiking</a><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;"> (a repost with brief introduction relevant here, of a text from a decade ago: Sunday, 24 August 2014, '</span><a href="http://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-tekkie-myth-of-finds-rescue.html" rel="nofollow" style="letter-spacing: -1px;" target="_blank">The Tekkie Myth of Finds 'Rescue'</a><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;">..'). </span></span></div><div><div class="date-posts" style="background-color: #f6f6f6;"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><div class="post-header"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5340025919056216632" itemprop="description articleBody"></div></div></div></div></div><div><h2 class="date-header" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 10px 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Wednesday 2 June 2010, '<a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2010/06/roman-coin-tenner-freshly-taken-from.html" rel="nofollow" style="letter-spacing: -1px;" target="_blank">Roman Coin, a Tenner (Freshly Taken From Corrosive Artificial Fertiliser Soaking)</a>',</span></h2><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">M<span style="background-color: #f6f6f6;">onday 31 May 2010, '</span><a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2010/05/scale-of-damage-much-greater-uk.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; letter-spacing: -1px;" target="_blank">"Scale of Damage Much Greater": UK Detectorist</a>'. <br /></span></div></div><div></div></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div> </div>*<p>
</p></div></div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-8525544385096962782024-02-24T12:03:00.000-08:002024-02-24T12:03:55.950-08:00Dodgy Dealings in Antiquities in Iraq Tackled<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BwMXlyn_bcKNPDeCeu4-9m0YjNR0rLWTIOlYgRjXH2Ogds8hNTzGix3bUQbhR7ZDjsZzx-5oVaVuOovzaIqezgTyfvlrcmWciLuCOWHi9ocx_zc0hYPU6i6sgWeZ9JPHjOzN2QWSRueyvRuq3gqJrDWhsfGfLOMiSFua9dEzVTZkxIxezKqDsT9lDIuB/s500/upload_1708790818_735248203.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="500" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BwMXlyn_bcKNPDeCeu4-9m0YjNR0rLWTIOlYgRjXH2Ogds8hNTzGix3bUQbhR7ZDjsZzx-5oVaVuOovzaIqezgTyfvlrcmWciLuCOWHi9ocx_zc0hYPU6i6sgWeZ9JPHjOzN2QWSRueyvRuq3gqJrDWhsfGfLOMiSFua9dEzVTZkxIxezKqDsT9lDIuB/w191-h112/upload_1708790818_735248203.jpg" width="191" /></a></div> <br />Dealers and auction houses in the UK and US still sell apparently freshly-surfaced antiquities from Mesopotamia and the Middle East generally, with zero mention of any paperwork. Meanwhile in Iraq two antiquities smuggling networks are broken up in Saladin and Karbala. Is there a connection? Who did you say you got those cunies and cylinder seals from? (Iraqi News Agency, '<a href="https://ina.iq/eng/31553-2-antiquities-smuggling-networks-arrested-in-saladin-and-karbala.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">two antiquities smuggling networks arrested in Saladin and Karbala</a>' 24.02.2024): <blockquote>The Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency announced today [...] that “detachments of the intelligence agency specialized in combating terrorism in Salah al-Din, and through its intelligence deployment, monitored information indicating the existence of a network for trading and smuggling antiquities”.
The statement added, "Immediately, an intelligence work team was formed to verify the information and determine their whereabouts. After obtaining proper judicial approvals, the network was raided and one of the accused was arrested in possession of various antiquities".<br /><br />
He continued, “In another separate operation carried out by the detachments of the agency responsible for combating organized crime in Karbala, based on accurate intelligence information, during which it resulted in the arrest of five defendants [who] [...] frankly admitted to smuggling and trading in antiquities</blockquote>The accused were referred to the competent authorities to receive just punishment. Note the implied connection with terrorism and organised crime here. Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-23385117851176762262024-02-23T21:15:00.000-08:002024-02-24T23:38:13.440-08:00Olbia Dolphins Seized on Moldavian Frontier Crossing<p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiuojgJ9WIc6NBO86vBHNL3vjHGRQKMnVnQq11Rti1tqlFD4Uegp46SV10fSSwsRZL7uEpGPe06E7gu9X7h_OVI6fRqQZDqUdz5TX4PktDIBCH6B3ZuDBp3tpN-e4azhriRErXCyFb-z4-3kBvxsnN_Rzy5sYFR_qVu_Mvwh3Jxjoppew7ymIys6p4QKFq/s850/12997.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="850" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiuojgJ9WIc6NBO86vBHNL3vjHGRQKMnVnQq11Rti1tqlFD4Uegp46SV10fSSwsRZL7uEpGPe06E7gu9X7h_OVI6fRqQZDqUdz5TX4PktDIBCH6B3ZuDBp3tpN-e4azhriRErXCyFb-z4-3kBvxsnN_Rzy5sYFR_qVu_Mvwh3Jxjoppew7ymIys6p4QKFq/w205-h135/12997.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Cute, eh? Dolphin shaped coin <a href="https://odessa-journal.com/the-odessa-archaeological-museum-received-treasures-that-were-tried-to-be-illegally-exported-abroad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">(Odesa Journal</a>) </span> </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>An attempt to smuggle abroad numismatic material looted in Ukraine abroad was thwarted and the items have been deposited in the local museum (<a href="https://odessa-journal.com/public/the-odessa-archaeological-museum-received-treasures-that-were-tried-to-be-illegally-exported-abroad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Odessa Archaeological Museum received treasures that were tried to be illegally exported abroad</a> Odesa Journal
18 Jan, 2023)<blockquote>Twenty seven dolphin coins of the V-I V centuries. BC will remain in the Odesa Archaeological Museum. They were transferred there for safekeeping, according to the court's decision. The coins were found in a parcel that was being taken to Moldova.[...]
The ancient cargo was discovered on the border with Moldova back in 2019. Thirty-three ancient coins, arrowheads, and a patch were found in the package. It turned out that a collector mailed the artifacts. [...]
The man admitted his guilt in court. The examination results showed that he tried to take three-bladed Scythian arrowheads, cast coins with the image of dolphins, and other coins from Olbia out of the country. Another coin is a bronze coin from the ancient city of Amis (the modern city of Samsun, Turkey)[...]
According to the court's decision, the collector received a one-year suspended sentence. [...]
Also, the man has to pay more than UAH 33,000 for examinations.</blockquote>I am currently writing an article on the dolphin coinage on the antiquities market - it turns out that in the coin assemblage of the site, late coins of Amisos are quite common in the later levels of the site. The dolphin coins are interesting, they are found in large quantities, do seem to have been used as money, but .... we do not understand how. The fat that so many of the extant ones are loose looted finds of unknown grounding does not help much. Collectors have their lore about them, they are popular in collections because 'cute' or 'cool', but when you get them in closed contexts, it tiu=urns out that all the elaborate typologies that antiquitists like to make from their heaps of coins on a table collections are meaningless. The paper is shaping up nicely. <div><br /></div><i>By the way, the place's name is Odesa, one 's', it's Russians and the supporters of their attempted colonisation of Ukrainian territory that call it "Odessa" in English. And in the time of this War, we should do all we can to avoid normalisation of Russification and colonisation. <br /></i><br /> <br /><br />
Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-58286385032336757852024-02-23T20:30:00.000-08:002024-02-27T02:30:00.966-08:00Unesco Releases Gaza Strip Cultural Property Damage Assessment Report<p><br />
<a href="https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2024/02/16/unesco-releases-gaza-strip-damage-assessment-report/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHzhTYDl4crdR9PE4pvaD0FeorFmxtf8dCFg38LlyDma5j1557mlnjrVI2nBot-9m3jkNkxnyFRypDynweonPo5RrTfySToJplNda945_-LP-WvOhsg_QFOPLJZ6O89R2jztuDwonjvBo_yDT96rz_6Umz2QzNtIEFnn7TRo0NpKSz0YOjW7jq9UImozs/s2756/F3LFXQSXLNL7PIQI2P52FAHWNA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1808" data-original-width="2756" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHzhTYDl4crdR9PE4pvaD0FeorFmxtf8dCFg38LlyDma5j1557mlnjrVI2nBot-9m3jkNkxnyFRypDynweonPo5RrTfySToJplNda945_-LP-WvOhsg_QFOPLJZ6O89R2jztuDwonjvBo_yDT96rz_6Umz2QzNtIEFnn7TRo0NpKSz0YOjW7jq9UImozs/w176-h116/F3LFXQSXLNL7PIQI2P52FAHWNA.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> . </td></tr></tbody></table>Unesco has released a preliminary damage assessment report for cultural properties in the Gaza Strip</a>. According to a 2nd of February 2024 press report, “as of 25 January 2024, UNESCO has verified damage to 22 sites since 7 October 2023 – 5 religious sites, 10 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 2 Depositories of movable cultural property, 1 monument, 1 museum, and 3 archeological sites”.<br /><br /></p>Looking at what they've been doing to the people for the last 141 days, it is difficult to resist the thought that perhaps the Israelis were hoping to get more in their attempt to achieve a Palestinian genocide, a 'final solution' to the 'Palestinian problem'. <br /><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"></p><div style="text-align: center;">As a Christian, this just never sat right with me.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">They kept calling us “Hamas Supporters” simply because we opposed the murder of a lot of innocent people.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Thousands and thousands of little children are now dead.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">It has become extremely obvious that this is not about… <a href="https://t.co/dAgZZ6MWUe">pic.twitter.com/dAgZZ6MWUe</a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">— Lauren Witzke (@LaurenWitzkeDE) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaurenWitzkeDE/status/1760672774304231583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2024</a></div></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Vignette: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/nearly-fifth-gazas-buildings-destroyed-or-damaged-un-estimate-2023-12-12/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Reuters</a></div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-73573094446513448092024-02-23T19:08:00.000-08:002024-02-23T20:50:44.660-08:00Two Long Bloody Years of Living with "Z"<br /><br />
Today, 24th February, we enter the third year of the War that has followed the Russian Federation's totally unprovoked and infamous attack on its (and our) neighbour on this day. A completely unjustifiable colonialist landgrab attempt bringing so much damage, death, destruction through attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure and homes and through illegal occupation. As result, alliances have been tested, some found wanting, but all decent people everywhere continue to stand with Ukraine in the spirit of "За нашу і вашу свободу" and unite in supporting the Ukrainian people who will bring down the atavistic, backward-looking, ideology of Putin's "Z" policies. Слава Україні, Героям слава.<span style="text-align: center;">.</span><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"></p><div style="text-align: center;">We, indeed, should make sure we're worth this great story of frantic resistance for the sake of all that is good about this world.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Glory to Ukraine! <a href="https://t.co/PBHx5Ys6td">pic.twitter.com/PBHx5Ys6td</a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) <a href="https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1761169899806773559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2024</a></div></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><div style="text-align: center;">.</div>Video: <a href="https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1761169899806773559" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Illia Ponomarenko</a>. <br /><br />[I think this one, posted by Maksym Borodin, is well-done too:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p dir="ltr" lang="en" style="text-align: center;">Love this one! <a href="https://t.co/zvf0TecOGH">pic.twitter.com/zvf0TecOGH</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">— Maksym Borodin (@adnashmyash) <a href="https://twitter.com/adnashmyash/status/1761170248328171548?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2024</a></div></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />In answer to any criticism that these films somehow glorify war, let us <a href="https://twitter.com/ChakhoyanAndrew/status/1761078353472156033" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">remember this truism</a>: <br><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqA2Qn6anE88sHnDcjtcNf4ucgIFdu8JGGWq-EDUUhuxiYnpDyXw2f3njUGJeyU1PlPDzB2cNWSdSR8PtP2zhujsRBomwXUCMWZkiTPWo2tKT6vsM61x6df4MEaIkElpHMZYGlztahqWeGFnZQqgBIuqRLxQW3Voc93fcjCpIWzDkgORb9X2J9oaJcaiZ/s680/GHCZf-NXwAAutl2.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqA2Qn6anE88sHnDcjtcNf4ucgIFdu8JGGWq-EDUUhuxiYnpDyXw2f3njUGJeyU1PlPDzB2cNWSdSR8PtP2zhujsRBomwXUCMWZkiTPWo2tKT6vsM61x6df4MEaIkElpHMZYGlztahqWeGFnZQqgBIuqRLxQW3Voc93fcjCpIWzDkgORb9X2J9oaJcaiZ/s320/GHCZf-NXwAAutl2.png"/></a></div><br><br>
Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-27732015354070759672024-02-21T20:40:00.000-08:002024-03-02T19:29:40.194-08:00Syrian Artefacts in Heilbronn<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllqrzjYiQaoCCsIJk6McH6K2tz0rcoHlm7szEmUgTj8FQzNjdEHK5ei5StYjoa5DdWhSTm8stIBEy2Ujg8g2X8iXQN_hj7VbAna-M8rYfZ43JpIuen88RTwPPlDlYFbLAYt1eHRLg5XtgCw41Q8wYIUy-Z9Lhy7Vue-KYRXLQSXs6qVvg2n5HtSbwiCm0/s900/Heilbronn.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="900" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllqrzjYiQaoCCsIJk6McH6K2tz0rcoHlm7szEmUgTj8FQzNjdEHK5ei5StYjoa5DdWhSTm8stIBEy2Ujg8g2X8iXQN_hj7VbAna-M8rYfZ43JpIuen88RTwPPlDlYFbLAYt1eHRLg5XtgCw41Q8wYIUy-Z9Lhy7Vue-KYRXLQSXs6qVvg2n5HtSbwiCm0/w204-h114/Heilbronn.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>Police in Baden-Württemberg (SW Germany) <a href="https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/110980/5718893" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">are investigating a man</a> in the city of Heilbronn over a suspicious collection of ancient Middle Eastern artifacts some of which were probably stolen from a Syrian museum ( <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-man-with-ancient-syrian-artifacts-under-investigation/a-68330141" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">German man with ancient Syrian artifacts under investigation</a> Deutsche Welle 21.02.2024)<br /><blockquote>Investigators [...] believe that the tablet [...] may have been stolen from a museum in Idlib, Syria. The man claimed to have acquired the tablet from an old Bavarian collection as an investment and for possible resale, but investigators found this claim to be false. "Investigations revealed that the artifact had, in fact, probably been illegally imported into Germany ... after being stolen from the museum in Idlib in Syria in 2015," investigators said. Also in the man's collection [...] were a collection of "ushabti" figurines [...] and a second cuneiform tablet, all of which have been seized by police.</blockquote>The presence of the shabtis suggest he was a collector or dealer. The german polic e press release says the tablets were from 1975 excavations at Ebla, possibly this means they have been identified from photos in the excavation archive. No mention is made of the owner having any paperwork - as now required by German law. Were these artefacts purchased from ISIS? <br /><br />Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-48735595314855520282024-02-20T22:57:00.000-08:002024-02-26T12:06:00.981-08:00Nigel Swift: Friend, Fighter, Legend <br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/user/3188" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nigel Swift RIP</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />"</i>Interests:<i> Looking, Aimless Rambling and Rambling Aimlessly.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Conclusions:<i style="font-style: italic;"> None</i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Dislikes:</i> <i style="font-style: italic;">Whiskered Lady Foxhunters, who set him off like a firework</i></div><i style="font-style: italic;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>(UPDATE, 17 Feb 2005, the day of the Ban - Hahahahaha!</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>How d'you like that you witches from Hell!!), and little else.</i></div></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Likes: <i style="font-style: italic;">Laughing, Red Dwarf, Dylan Thomas, Tiswas (this site, really).</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Earliest Recollection:<i style="font-style: italic;"> Ascent of Everest by Hilary Benn, 1953.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Latest Recollection: <i style="font-style: italic;">September 1968, a lay-by outside Swindon.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Minders: <i style="font-style: italic;">See Rota".</i></div>.<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFTTyp7_a0aO80rNeif3BTeMnLM1Gk5S_VunGfMiziTrLUQuZLzic6pYttuSbP6mQO6EV2x4W7SnLVL4AMMxJQ2A6e9rlTVxQ6JyaXiMYo64mNIlEwxuDO0EJcFEK8A1ALQbWEC1VmejbV7iGciI4WVjnz2K7LpkPPE9Tj89_25ddfFYU9O6Gcsint_fw/s354/nigelswift.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="226" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFTTyp7_a0aO80rNeif3BTeMnLM1Gk5S_VunGfMiziTrLUQuZLzic6pYttuSbP6mQO6EV2x4W7SnLVL4AMMxJQ2A6e9rlTVxQ6JyaXiMYo64mNIlEwxuDO0EJcFEK8A1ALQbWEC1VmejbV7iGciI4WVjnz2K7LpkPPE9Tj89_25ddfFYU9O6Gcsint_fw/s320/nigelswift.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my friend, colleague and co-author Nigel Swift, who died peacefully on the night of February 19/20, 2024, after a long and courageous battle with illness. He was surrounded by his loving family, who gave him comfort and joy in his final days.<br /><br />Nigel Swift graduated in Economics and Politics (University of London) and was a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He has published articles and lectured at various universities on surveying-related topics. Following his early retirement in 2001, he expanded a keen interest in archaeological conservation issues.<br /><br />
Nigel was a remarkable person, who touched the lives of many with his kindness, generosity, humour, and passion. He was a loyal and supportive friend. He loved nature, especially butterflies, wildlife and landscape photography, was an avid conservationist, and active opponent of fox-hunting and other activities detrimental to the countryside. He also had a keen interest in history and archaeology, and in particular historical sites (especially prehistoric megaliths) in the landscape. Not content to be a passive consumer of heritage, Nigel's two interests intersected in a way that led to him becoming a fierce advocate for the protection of our archaeological heritage. <p></p><p><a href="https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2021/04/15/meet-the-antiquarists-nigel-swift/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This stage of his life</a> began with his contributions to the '<a href="https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/home/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Modern Antiquarian' forum</a> (March 2003 onwards). A spinoff of this was the formation in 2004 of the grassroots goup "Heritage Action" (HA) of which Nigel was one of the founders and later became its long-term Chairman, leading this informal group of amateurs and enthusiasts from all walks of life with energy, dedication and direction. </p><p>The group launched its online journal in blog form in March 2005 as "<a href="https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Heritage Journal</a>". Its aim was to "promote awareness and the conservation of the incomparable but often-threatened heritage sites of Britain, Ireland and beyond". It was later to transpire that that the seemingly obvious name was chosen without much thought what certain factions across the Atlantic thought a group called "Heritage Action" should be doing, which resulted in the journal being the recipient of texts full of neo-fascist/white supremecist hate and conspiracy theories. Despite this, the Journal continued steadfastly to advocate for the landscape heritage and protection of the archaeological information they contain. In this, Nigel and the group he led were more active and consistent than many professional archaeologists in Britain. </p><p>And then there were the metal detectorists. <br /><br />I am not quite sure precisely when Nigel became concerned about this issue. It was before our first online contacts in (I think) about 2005. At first, he did not want to get the new group Heritage Action involved in the 'detector debate', but after a while found it increasingly impossible to ignore his convictions and remain silent. He began to say on various online platforms what many in the British archaeological establishment avoided saying about the conservation of the archaeological record in the face of mass removal of diagnostic artefacts from surface sites by collectors. <br /><br />It was about this time that we began our online collaboration. One early product of this (2007) was the <a href="https://www.heritageaction.org.uk/erosioncounter/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Heritage Action Artefact Erosion Counter</a> (the idea and text are Nigel's), but for seventeen years there was participation in online discussions on archaeological and metal detecting forums/discussion lists and work on a number of more formal texts together (not all of which, to my shame, have made it to print, yet).
<br /><br />Nigel was one of the best informed people in the UK on what metal detectorists get up to, and in particular what they say on their forums. Most archaeologists rarely go there, but Nigel considered that the best source for understanding metal detectorists was 'netnography' to observe what they said and did when they thought nobody was watching. Nigel pioneered this kind of work, spending many hours a week documenting his observations. This led to a specific kind of gamesmanship, where detectorists were trying to detect his several accounts and block him from seeing what was going on in the closed groups, and , failing abjectly (to judge from what he was sending me). </p><p>There was a downside to this search for knowledge. His interest in finding out about artefact hunting and writing about it in the public domain led to Nigel's exposure to some exceptionally nasty attention from elements of the UK (and indeed part of the US) metal detecting fraternity. This took a number of forms. There was persistent name-calling, verbal personal attacks, insulting remarks. The metal detecting community produced and circulated (including on the British Museum's PAS forum)* fake homoerotic photos with Nigel's face photoshopped in with another guy. There <a href="https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/heritage-action-threatened-on-two-continents/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">were threats</a> of physical violence too, an episode of stalking (reported to the police), two episodes of doxing with incitement of fellow detectorists "to pay him a visit", this is behaviour that went on, online and off, for years. Some of this insulting material is still online, but I am not going to link to it. </p><p>In addition to that, the professional archaeological community was less than supportive. A number of detectorists report PAS FLOs telling their detecting "partners" to ignore the issues raised by Nigel. In particular that his Artefact Erosion Counter was mere ranting. Another archaeologist criticised the "<a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2013/03/focus-on-uk-metal-detecting-more.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">logarithm</a>" (sic) behind it. One <a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2021/04/personal-re-dr-rachel-pope-liverpool.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">academic archaeologist</a> for some reason falsely accused him on social media of "harrassing young women" because he'd merely written questioning the position of a FLO who happened not to be a man. The PAS, the CBA and other archaeological bodies constantly sidelined any questions raised by Heritage Action activism. <br /><br />For me, this has a somewhat distressing context. Few knew at the time that Nigel had been disgnosed with terminal cancer and given the proverbial six months to live before I even met him. He had, however, the luck to find a doctor who managed to choose the right medicines. Because of this managed to live a life that until fairly recently, was from what he said in some of our frequent phone conversations passably decent a lot of the time, but this was interspersed every few months with low points that sapped his energy and seemed to be a harbiger of the end. Yet a number of times he pulled through and carried on as before. In one such inteval he visited the Staffordshire Hoard field and documented the traces of the ongoing speculative nighthawking that professional archaeologists were turning their backs to. One others he visited commercial rallies to see what was going on. Each week, he published a short pithy comment on Heritage Journal addressing an issue connected with current British "policies" (I use the term loosely) on artefact hunting and collecting. </p><p>The series of <a href="https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/?s=Farmer+Brown" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Farmer Silas Brown posts</a> is notable, through this persona Nigel raised a number of points, though they were lost on some in the detecting community who thought they were 'so clever' to recognise that this was "not a real person, because the public love us". </p><p>As I said, all of this was studiously ignored by the Establisment, if they pretended they did not see what he'd put in the public domain, the jobsworths would not have to address the many issues raised. Yet, though living on borrowed time, he was convinced that there are serious heritage issues that in the public interest should not be allowed to be swept under the carpet. Nigel carried on for nearly two decades (in fact as he proudly told me some two years ago, his survival at that stage of the disease set some kind of a medical record), devoting a lot of his time to trying to get more engagement with the issues. From what I see, it would be hard to find many British archaeologists with that amount of dedication to the conservation of the archaeological resource. But then, Nigel was <a href="https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2021/04/15/meet-the-antiquarists-nigel-swift/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">not, as he often remarked, an archaeologist</a>. </p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nigel was never invited to any British archaeological conference to comment on policies and their effects, or share his deep knowledge of the UK detecting community. So there are no papers in conference proceedings. He was invited by French archaeologists and wrote a paper 'Fantaises, fictions et fausset<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">é</span>s: quelques tristes r<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">é</span>alit<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">és </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">derrière</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;"> la coop</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">é</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">ration metal-detectoristes-arch</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;">éologues en Grande Bretagne pp. 243-260 [in:] Compagnon, G. (ed) 2010) </span><em style="background-color: white;">Halte au pillage !</em><span style="background-color: white;">, Paris, Errance, coll. « Les Hespérides ». There is a similar text forthcoming in a collected work in preparation. Of course there is also a large number of pithy remarks in a whole series of posts by Nigel in the Heritage Journal that will repay reading. Some themes repeat, but each text is a unique contribution to a debate that is long overdue. <br /></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Artefact Hunting</b><br />
<a href="https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/ethics-acquisition/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">All our articles from 2005 onwards on unnecessary exploitation and damage to the buried archaeological resource for recreation or profit</a> – presented as a foil to the shameless pro-detecting public noise from detectorists and PAS…</span></blockquote><p></p><p>Nigel was not afraid to speak his mind, challenge the status quo, and stand up for what he believed in. He earned the respect and admiration of many, even some of those who disagreed with him.
Nigel will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and fellow heritage enthusiasts. He leaves behind a legacy of activism, inspiration, and friendship. He was a true legend, and we are lucky to have known him.
At his request, there will be no formal funeral service, family and invited friends will be meeting on March 9th to celebrate <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">a life
exceptionally well lived</span>, but his family add: </p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><blockquote>Whilst we would be extremely happy to see you there, please do not feel obliged
if your journey is long or if life gets in the way- Nigel would hate the idea
of putting anyone out. You can stay at home and remember the twinkly-eyed old
rascal just as well, in the sparkling stardust of the night. </blockquote><p></p><p>I'd like to end this with one of Nigel's many poems (this one from the Modern Antiquarian) that seems fitting to today's occasion: </p><p><b></b></p><p> </p><blockquote><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Ridgeway (Ancient Trackway)</span></b><span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p></p><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana; font-size: 11px; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="miscellaneousLHS" style="background-color: white; background-image: url("../images/miscGrad.gif"); background-repeat: repeat-x; border-color: rgb(248, 248, 248); font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; padding: 20px 40px 20px 20px;" valign="top" width="100%"><span style="font-size: medium;">A mere one thousand years ago,<br />King Alfred marched this crest of chalk<br />To fight the Danish foe,<br />And strained to see that very lark.<br />In this same Saxon blue.<br /><br />Just two thousand years ago,<br />The feet of Rome stamped here and here<br />Upon this bouncing turf,<br />And glittering, ravenous conqueror’s eyes<br />Devoured these seemly, gentle hills.<br /><br />From here, four thousand years ago,<br />The men of Bronze surveyed their works<br />Through eyes as wide as mine,<br />As wondrous Silbury, virgin white,<br />Bedazzled in it’s prime.<br /><br />And here, six thousand years ago<br />Gazed Neolithic eyes<br />On wonders older still:<br />On tombs of Kennet, Avebury Henge<br />And ancient, ancient Windmill Hill.<br /><br />Now they are gone, those mighty men,<br />Those Lords of all they saw,<br />And only I am left to walk<br />This high and winding lonely lane,<br />Whilst all around, on deep-etched hills,<br />Their proud, immortal marks remain.<br /><br />What voice commands, what power compels<br />That such as they should go?<br />It is the same insistent call<br />As whispers in my ear:<br />There is a time for mortal men,<br />You may not linger here.<br /><br />Perhaps, like mine, their spirits soared,<br />Above this magic land,<br />Perhaps they both rejoiced and cried<br />At beauty unconfined,<br />Perhaps this final earthly view<br />Blazed in dying eyes.<br /><br />Perhaps that spark has never died,<br />And essences remain.<br />For see that joyous soaring lark<br />And hear it’s blissful cries.<br />It could not be more free than I,<br />Nor joyful nor fulfilled:<br />Perhaps no power, no time, no death<br />Can take me from these hills.</span><div class="postLinks" style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 181); margin-top: 20px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: right;">by Nigel Swift, Posted 30 Jun 2003CE </div></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><p>*That forum has now gone, <a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2012/11/focus-on-uk-metal-detecting-quote-throw.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the photos were one of the reasons</a> why the PAS decided to abandon this as a way of promoting interaction between "finders" and the public. It showed the general public all too clearly what kind of people take up metal detecting.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-11568099544181998072024-02-19T21:03:00.000-08:002024-02-20T12:03:21.329-08:00 Xi'an airport: Seizure of nearly 500 Smuggled Artefacts<p><br /></p><p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwbYSdrd3l0i80HECt8A-_L-01KynkrYCRv8d9OT9mVrhV7Tn4MJ4905xInvYaykw4ZQ57GzGfkHzbjWv7I6Sxd8Tm8cbdns1dmHi53Obk91Y-0hKzJ5t4BXi_jy8szIEalQLJsUq9noZfOu51rFdHy9ROEB49yPSfy1JV-WYbJKg84FE8KJjW5YVLJCI/s297/Xi'an_Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="297" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwbYSdrd3l0i80HECt8A-_L-01KynkrYCRv8d9OT9mVrhV7Tn4MJ4905xInvYaykw4ZQ57GzGfkHzbjWv7I6Sxd8Tm8cbdns1dmHi53Obk91Y-0hKzJ5t4BXi_jy8szIEalQLJsUq9noZfOu51rFdHy9ROEB49yPSfy1JV-WYbJKg84FE8KJjW5YVLJCI/w145-h97/Xi'an_Map.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Wikipedia </span></td></tr></tbody></table>The Xi'an airport customs in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province have recently seized a total of 494 prohibited Chinese cultural relics dating from the Han (206 BC-AD 220) to Qing (1644-1911) dynasties during outbound inspections (Lou Kang, '<a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202402/1307191.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Xi'an airport customs seizes 494 illegally exported cultural relics</a>' globaltimes Feb 18, 2024). </p><blockquote>
According to China Youth Daily on Friday, customs officers at the outbound inspection site noticed an unreported checked baggage while supervising outbound flights. Upon inspection, it was found that the checked baggage contained a total of 672 cultural relics, including glazed bowls, bronze mirrors, and ancient coins, which were not declared to the customs.<br /><br />
After the report by the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Appraisal Center, it was determined that 494 items were general cultural relics on China's list of items prohibited from being exhibited abroad. These included glazed bowls, bronze mirrors, bronze smoking pots, ancient coins, and blue and white porcelains from various dynasties such as Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, spanning a wide range of time and categories.</blockquote>Probably the remaining 178 objects were modern fakes.
<p></p><div><br /></div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-40290718166100670942024-02-10T04:17:00.000-08:002024-02-10T04:18:48.824-08:00Arrested for a Tourist Fake<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOLoDfCRZz7GAorWvvXO10f3F3qQ1SkHbS88R6e_0pbjhduMNCaohcCjx5JQJS8QoYwEs_0hH6mErW0fBxKTsurTzcAK1jqE1sMSYVrgp2SNDMpuSg_C4pI4vE4mOpyzrSI4aJg2elv5QzpYigbl0mgeEIFkHL6fI4bOUOMvf6b-5vXWSWpsnegLzr2tm/s1600/s-l1kneelyboy0.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOLoDfCRZz7GAorWvvXO10f3F3qQ1SkHbS88R6e_0pbjhduMNCaohcCjx5JQJS8QoYwEs_0hH6mErW0fBxKTsurTzcAK1jqE1sMSYVrgp2SNDMpuSg_C4pI4vE4mOpyzrSI4aJg2elv5QzpYigbl0mgeEIFkHL6fI4bOUOMvf6b-5vXWSWpsnegLzr2tm/w152-h202/s-l1kneelyboy0.jpg" width="152" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=Egyptian+kneeling+statue&_sacat=0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Egyptian rip-off tourist crap from Ebay</a>.</span> <br /><br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><br />A new slant on the constant stream of stories where the photos show at a glance that over-enthusiastic border guards or police have not the faintest idea what real antiquities look like and they are constantly seizing fakes and then broadcasting their "success" in the international media before the item has been checked (Rebecca Ann Hughes, '<a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/french-tourist-jailed-egypt-souvenir-060002975.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAInuolgSc422fDTsCZuOJhApJs6TQRHbMywy9pA9F_uvHKw2xA94dnVvb07f1Bv8FIqOF0JUA45AWQXZDiah7nToFCsmMbp8CnRgPqrrIXp8snx82hBc-LM_dpN5PC7993KgdxSThvSDn30dUM1RChDCB2Zm7T09zarrzubU-k_D" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">French tourist jailed in Egypt after souvenir mistaken for 4500-year-old antiquity</a>' Yahoo News Fri, 9 February 2024). A French lawyer on a ten-day trip to Egypt was falsely accused of trying to smuggle an antiquity home. A statue she had purchased from the shopping arcade of the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor for €250 the day before her departure led to her being arrested at airport and held in a police station in a room in Luxor police station
with 40 other people for eight days. She was then charged with possession and trafficking of antiquities.
<blockquote>“I was very attracted by this object, a small character dressed in a loincloth, seated, holding his hands on his knees. I had no idea that he would not bring me luck,” she told French paper Le Figaro. [...]
Two days later, Nathalie appeared before a French-speaking judge. To demonstrate that the statue was a copy, the gallery owner was called to give the address of the manufacturing workshop where similar models lined the shelves.
The judge declared the proceedings halted, but still didn’t give Nathalie a formal dismissal.
Eventually, the intervention of the French ambassador in Cairo, Éric Chevallier, ensured she was put on a plane to Paris.</blockquote>Of course, it is very difficult, isn't it, to find a competant archaeologist in Luxor in February (right in the middle of the digging season) who would be able to say what this item actually was. Experience shows that the vast majority of fakes sold to tourists look nothing at all like real antiquities and can be spotted a mile off. I'll assume that this lady had a very good eye and taste and found one that was much better than the average.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Hat tip:
Marc Balcells.</div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-83903293768305893142024-02-01T21:38:00.000-08:002024-02-20T12:26:50.220-08:00What can one say? Quarter of a Century of PAS and CBA Outreach, and this is where we are in the UK... <div class="separator"><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmIfM3Frfxf2_TP2DLaz8WoMD01tO5dK_8ipDvA48qy3BZScADd9pIMWsZu4T6hB06Cl4mplFrOE6hJZw09IckiNpcC_H4hMDs5YkrnS4jhLA6mRDrsdCmLzPcI-24KCR7eIa69LkvyNLp3eOGtF3Hb35Q1r8doOr9A8yEcScb52GcVVvmNGcUSWFpsMV/s734/dsr.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="630" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmIfM3Frfxf2_TP2DLaz8WoMD01tO5dK_8ipDvA48qy3BZScADd9pIMWsZu4T6hB06Cl4mplFrOE6hJZw09IckiNpcC_H4hMDs5YkrnS4jhLA6mRDrsdCmLzPcI-24KCR7eIa69LkvyNLp3eOGtF3Hb35Q1r8doOr9A8yEcScb52GcVVvmNGcUSWFpsMV/w138-h161/dsr.png" width="138" /></a></div>In Polish, there is an expression "ręce mi opadają" <a href="https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/ciekawostki/11-sformulowan-ktore-rozumieja-tylko-polacy/9fdtjn#:~:text=Autorka%20t%C5%82umaczy%2C%20%C5%BCe%20Polacy%20u%C5%BCywaj%C4%85,%C5%BCe%20ju%C5%BC%20totalnie%20si%C4%99%20poddali%C5%9Bmy.&text=Autorka%20radzi%20obcokrajowcom%2C%20by%20u%C5%BCywac,ma%20si%C4%99%20poj%C4%99cia%2C%20co%20powiedzie%C4%87." rel="nofollow" target="_blank">that has no English equivalent</a>. It expresses the idea that you think something is utterly futile. I think attempting to discuss things with the bulk of UK metal detectorists is pretty futile. From the things they write and say it seems that a huge proportion of them are as thick as the proverbial planks. So it is pretty apposite here. The remarks below are from some metal detectorist (De. William Shephard) writing last night in a comment for some reason to <a href="https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2024/01/2022-treasure-figures.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my recent text on self-reflection</a>. It shows an extreme lack of it:<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
My dear fellow, how are you? I see that bounder Rushton and one of his obnoxious band of detector-wielding sacrilegious scavengers have once again hit the headlines by uncovering a <b>magnificent example of a Medieval Gold Noble</b>. I am so sorry that the finder destroyed the first six inches of strata deemed to be of the utmost importance to the biased bigots posing as serious archaeologists, but after witnessing the wanton destruction caused in uncovering the remains of Richard III, I, and many more serious minded people consider that argument no longer holds water. So, following the legal path, the coin will be subjected to a Coroner's Inquest, then there will be two options available to the Coroner, option one, whether was it a casual loss, or, option two, whether it was deliberately buried to be recovered at a later date. Option one is the obvious answer resulting in the coin being returned to the original finder and then it is up to the landowner/ farmer whether he wants the finder to sell it and split the money or the finder to keep it for himself. I think the first option would be the favourite which would, I assume result in a museum purchasing the coin where it would be put on display to bring untold joy to the great unwashed masses. Or maybe he should have left it where it was in the middle of a cold, damp, field?</blockquote><p>A noble is an English gold coin of the 14th and 15th centuries (later replaced by an angel). It was quite a high value coin, so difficult to talk of a "casual loss". But what attracts attention here is Dr Shephard's ignorance of the Treasure Act. Single gold coins do not undergo a Coroner's inquest, and the Treasure Trove determinations went out with the 1996 Treasure Act so all this cobblers about casual loss/intent to recover is precisely that. Who is this guy's FLO, and what do they do all day, if not educate (outreach to) people like this? </p><p><br /></p><p></p><br /><p></p>
<br />Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-37398765499649994542024-02-01T11:51:00.000-08:002024-02-01T21:18:26.403-08:00Pantikapaion Silvery Coin <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbHQf3KGQkkzfZvOKhxEYrmzsKWvwDcn1dR5lAw1tsUL4oZzqQoNjOxo34pOkHkIcjpzseQS5r3YxyKAjgdtEaLbWNOingtpYLrADXY4hsoA2zQ6WIuvxfwuX5f_9A8blSd0C-YdbPdEqreONCEQXywXsbH8C8U9Qp2ZV5z1bpZhqottwrzc5g3RcJTH-/s2076/Pantykap.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1488" data-original-width="2076" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbHQf3KGQkkzfZvOKhxEYrmzsKWvwDcn1dR5lAw1tsUL4oZzqQoNjOxo34pOkHkIcjpzseQS5r3YxyKAjgdtEaLbWNOingtpYLrADXY4hsoA2zQ6WIuvxfwuX5f_9A8blSd0C-YdbPdEqreONCEQXywXsbH8C8U9Qp2ZV5z1bpZhqottwrzc5g3RcJTH-/s320/Pantykap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>South East Asian EBay seller
<b>Antique Galary plaza</b>
(255
100% positive) located in Bangkok, Thailand has a tempting antiquity for sale: "<a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/266586406790" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Greece, Bosporus, Pantikapaion Silver Stater Coin 20mm. - 6.60 grames"</a> for a mere
US $299.00
or Best Offer (Free Standard International Shipping) <p></p><blockquote>This silver stater coin from Pantikapaion, dating back to between 450 BC and 100 AD, is a truly remarkable piece of ancient history. With intricate details and a weight of 6.60 grams, this coin is a must-have for any collector of ancient Greek artifacts. The coin was manufactured in Greece and features a beautiful design that captures the essence of that era. This coin can be a great addition to any coin collection or as a gift for history enthusiasts.</blockquote>Oh yes. The specifications are a little puzzling: <blockquote>"Historical Period:
Greek (450 BC-100 AD)<br />
Cleaned/Uncleaned:
Cleaned<br />
Composition:
Silver [oh yeah? PMB]<br />
Provenance [sic PMB]:
Ownership History Not Available [shame, eh? PMB]<br />
Era:
Ancient [sic PMB]<br />
Grade:
MS 70 [wot? PMB] <br />
Country/Region of Manufacture:
Afghanistan" [uhhhhh....? PMB]</blockquote><p></p>Well, lookie-lookie here, what have we here? First of all, the seller does not attempt to describe it. Does he even know what it shows?
<blockquote>The <u>obverse</u> shows the head of a bearded satyr (Pan) facing three-quarters left, with long dishevelled hair and pointed horse’s ear. <br>The <u>reverse</u> is a bit disjointed but shows a winger figure something like a lion-griffin standing left on large wheat or barley head, horned head facing, spear in mouth, off foreleg raised, with the inscription Π-A-N. </blockquote>
I think this is supposed to be a hemidrachm of the fourth century BC but that would have a weight of around 2-2.5ish gm. and be smaller. <br><br>Far from being from "Greece", this type of coin is from Panticapaeum (Pantikapeion, Panticapaeon or Pantikapaion), in the Tauric Chersonese/Chersonesu/os that is <u><b>just outside modern Kerch, at the eastern tip of Crimea .... RUSSIAN OCCUPIED Ukraine</b></u>. So how did it get on the market, eh? Where's the documentation of legal excavation and export? <br /><br />That's the first thing any collector should ask. <br /><br />Second thing, any collector should be taking a second and third look at any "antiquity" being sold out of Banghkok. It is not an area of the world that was acquiring antiquities fromn the classical world in the heyday of the "good old days of collecting" (18th/19th century to about the 1920s) but it is an area where today there are LOTS of fakers and dodgy dealers><br /><br />Any collector should (in the case of coins) look at the stated weight, and ask themselves if this is (a) silver - does not much look like it to my eye and (b) if this is a struck coin, not cast. Now it has bold crazing, often touted as a sign of genuine old coins - but this looks a bit 'off' to me. Secondly those bobbly bits looking like casting bubbles on the obverse are a big no-no for me. As is the generally 'soapy' appearance over all, the way the raised design merges gently into the background (so not suggesting a cut die) and the disjointed design of the reverse suggests to me that the maker of the mould really has no real concept of the "reality" of the mythological figure from the classical past being depicted. It looks too much to me like it has been slavishly copied from a picture with no real understanding of the form of the depicted subject. This is often a dead givewaway that something is of modern manufacture by an artisan working outside the cultural traditions of the authentic (and has never actually seen a lion-griffin, dead or alive). <br><br>The seller is either very honest or clueless in (a) claiming it is from "Afghanistan" and (b) presenting the picture of the edge of this thing. Instead of showing a flan that has been distorted by being flattened with no small force between two opposing dies during striking, we can see very clearly a series of toolmarks intended to remove..... a casting flash (!). We can also see how the metal has coolecd differentially in contact with the face of the mould and deeper inside the casting. <br /><br /> the question that is of interest to me, is this object a product of a Ukrainian workshhop or Thai one? The <a href="https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ssn=haji_786&store_name=antiquegalaryplaza&_oac=1&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l170197" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">range of other products</a> sold by the same seller seems to suggest the latter. <br /><br />I'd buy it, it is not an illegally excavated ancient object smuggled out of Crimea, it is an interesting simulacrum (not a replica as the size is wrong) and thus collectable. But not at that price. Let the seller admit what it really is and price it accordingly. <br><br>
Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-81509233072220681212024-01-31T18:40:00.000-08:002024-01-31T18:40:51.025-08:00The International Antiquities Trade and Corruption<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNA674tVYMPj26Js3RuWONhMtFR-oDAnF7IKucllHPgmT1SslMxipl7TJnXb6TvVOpYYXxWULNrzhtq9ZmrEFgkxuXg59hakudybDTfYxA142gLyFkEqUxA-prE9DAcrTSyF7nQiUD8OhVMxXLPk6_LH0u1SrBA0Lhv3QLHQdFM7Lpp8Pwh8aaRCmgtYSH/s1304/Corruption.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1304" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNA674tVYMPj26Js3RuWONhMtFR-oDAnF7IKucllHPgmT1SslMxipl7TJnXb6TvVOpYYXxWULNrzhtq9ZmrEFgkxuXg59hakudybDTfYxA142gLyFkEqUxA-prE9DAcrTSyF7nQiUD8OhVMxXLPk6_LH0u1SrBA0Lhv3QLHQdFM7Lpp8Pwh8aaRCmgtYSH/w400-h272/Corruption.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;" target="_blank">Transparency International's latest index</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: inherit; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> shows the clear difference in the level of corruption in most of the more prevalent source countries for antiquities and the exploitative countries where the most voracious markets are. This shows the degree to which the antiquities trade flourishes and takes advantage of societal inbalance and the exploitation of the weakest. </span></p>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-17261323326799241552024-01-30T05:37:00.000-08:002024-02-01T21:19:30.163-08:00Self Reflection on the Study of the Past<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3d7putp5Ku5tZ0BoBiYLjJ6Y4L3mQq5ilv26cyh-t3OXGa0tBq5CDgHAeo7QLlTN2MBhrTK5AEY0ZqudZLAHGranbGnIE77o8B-6wccw-huJWx7PEGnRH4RjZbJApkI69liimimrmXAAqCSUxdC3q1ebr1aO-DGIpte_j7zowfjLWoWXCm5FoynWLxS9B/s1000/61FJdQpvgpL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="772" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3d7putp5Ku5tZ0BoBiYLjJ6Y4L3mQq5ilv26cyh-t3OXGa0tBq5CDgHAeo7QLlTN2MBhrTK5AEY0ZqudZLAHGranbGnIE77o8B-6wccw-huJWx7PEGnRH4RjZbJApkI69liimimrmXAAqCSUxdC3q1ebr1aO-DGIpte_j7zowfjLWoWXCm5FoynWLxS9B/w121-h157/61FJdQpvgpL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="121" /></a></div>The last number of the US journal <i>Inside Higher Education</i> has an article by Steven Mintz, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin ('<a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/2024/01/29/can-academic-discipline-exhaust-itself" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Can an Academic Discipline-exhaust-itself?</a>', Jan 29th 2024) that has aroused some discussion This is a reflection on the current state of U.S. history as an academic discipline and a consideration of whether it has reached a point of stagnation or decline. There are few breakthrough scholars, moreover there is declining research productivity, and a perceived absence of significant reinterpretations of major historical topics. Ultimately, the text suggests that U.S. history may be at the end of a certain phase but, once this phenomenon is regognised and diagnosed, hints at the possibility of a new, more dynamic, and theoretically attuned history emerging. The author advocates for a more integrative and interdisciplinary approach, strengthening links with social sciences and more firmly addressing conceptual and ethical questions. "If U.S. history is to remain relevant, it must do more to connect the past to the present in meaningful ways, to address big conceptual, theoretical and ethical questions; place U.S. history in comparative perspective". <p></p>Christopher W. Jones has commented:<br />What if... dare I suggest it... U.S. history has never been a particularly <a href="https://twitter.com/cwjones89/status/1752922322053304487" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">methodologically innovative field</a>? [...] There has never been an Americanist Braudel, because there <a href="https://twitter.com/cwjones89/status/1753163230640308477" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cannot be an Americanist Braudel</a>, because U.S. history as a discipline begins in 1776 or 1609 and therefore is incapable of considering the longue durée or even most of the conjunctures. [...] The solution, if anyone is wondering, is to <a href="https://twitter.com/cwjones89/status/1753163929340026937" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">re-define the 20,000 year history of human habitation of North America</a> as "American history" and not self-limit the field to just the last 250 or so. [...]
American history has a different purpose in the United States from other historical fields, and is more about creating and shaping national narratives as part of the constant re-formation and negotiation of group identity. American history doesn't ask the big questions and can't answer them. That's not its purpose. Its central question is "who are we?" [...] . <p>Does the main argument of the original essay apply to US [or any other] archaeology too? (not so much the digging up of ever-more new "discoveries", but the way enquiry is framed, conducted and presented)</p><p>Vignette: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Visual-History-Archaeological-Discoveries-Around/dp/1499465769" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Archaeology as "Discovery"</a></p><br /><br /> </div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-85624033146575733022024-01-29T11:33:00.000-08:002024-01-29T11:33:00.916-08:00No Paperwork, no Design, no Fettling, no Explanation. The trade in Ukrainian Antiquities<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3te21JATJD9KBsmteRvUdb484mAhW0KZObgeY-Ad1jaKclBpjEI2kSG6I8vE7ZCaDsPWBYCohtdDLLNwrJ35aavJVr0F3wtvpDawTtwHuIXfqAyC8ZA6osvepDtSgxzQGKq6BfbO3huCpSNehH8DTxuSdcc_O9ZbUbi4dFDWwvfO7xC_U68cueR61jJn/s1600/Uwertd.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="1600" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3te21JATJD9KBsmteRvUdb484mAhW0KZObgeY-Ad1jaKclBpjEI2kSG6I8vE7ZCaDsPWBYCohtdDLLNwrJ35aavJVr0F3wtvpDawTtwHuIXfqAyC8ZA6osvepDtSgxzQGKq6BfbO3huCpSNehH8DTxuSdcc_O9ZbUbi4dFDWwvfO7xC_U68cueR61jJn/w181-h156/Uwertd.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><div><br /></div>US dealer
<a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=kievan%20rus%20pendant&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-169881-977244-9&mkcid=2&keyword=&crlp=679172164217_&MT_ID=&geo_id=&rlsatarget=dsa-1456167871416&adpos=&device=c&mktype=&loc=9061064&poi=&abcId=&cmpgn=20728368633&sitelnk=&adgroupid=159061310150&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CjwKCAiAtt2tBhBDEiwALZuhAMV_YDbKwbqU7-C3CIZPGgxQTezejqjlPHgRZpLKdDB1bdF4RdbbYRoC5OwQAvD_BwE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>vikingheritag </b>(on eBay since <span class="str-text-span SECONDARY" style="background-color: white; color: var(--color-neutral-5); font-family: "Market Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; text-decoration-line: none; width: fit-content;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="str-text-span BOLD" style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; text-decoration-line: none; width: fit-content;">17 Feb, 2017 -</span> </span>2.2K items sold, 97.9% positive Feedback</a>) located in: Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, United States has for sale a: "<a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186029564246?hash=item2b5039e156:g:08QAAOSwattk1Wb3&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwF5HZFuUYc%2FSRYiDEevi1qFTDsb1cEHEtrVS7o0GEocg2ENyAY%2FTtxTyhOqi4I1treEKmhXgzpHwsETPqatPhL5KAhcZMOh3o2%2F0DD5oC0Qe5R%2FWmWOiUrF7Y6xEqoomxs8FoSN9FXcs1JR6e%2FPfgRbKYlN6WkCb4MKyspcKFpBYGf3OVD19m1Ah%2BCGAOyeY9hl3jkZRbCrz9yaH9TvbGTuzHuiwD%2F8dpMnzUnpa1f2BbaLowrxAMe0Z2W8H%2FC0nlg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-6Mh-eqYw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Viking silver Pendant - cross Kievan Rus 9 century</a>", yours for US $1,750 Buy it now <blockquote>Found with a metal detector in a farmer's field.
This field was inhabited by people during the Viking Age of the 9th century.
Found in the ground as a complex - a treasure trove of jewelry. Item from a private collection.
Material: silver,
Weight: 11.32 grams,
There are no defects or cracks.</blockquote> ah, so you can wear it. If it weren't so damn ugly. It is a crap piece of casting. The outlinesa are blurred and 'soapy', there seems no understanding of the manufactureer of the motif, the interlace is very poorly done, the piece is 'as cast', has not been fettled. In my opinion, looking like that, this is not an ancient piece. "Foud in the ground as a treasdure trove (sic) of jewelry (sic)", in which country, even? A total lack of details which is highly suspicious. <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185641043630?hash=item2b391186ae:g:pVEAAOSwMlpjYaX~" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This item however was "found by a metal detector in Ukraine"</a>, and under the description of a <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186029531992?hash=item2b50396358:g:J2QAAOSw~AFk1WGs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"Viking Belt 9-12 century"</a> is a photo of a diorama of early medieval Kyiv from the Historical museum in Kyiv. And lo and behold, the seller admits under some auctions (<a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185439572154?hash=item2b2d0f50ba:g:6WMAAOSwocBijSc5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185966245527?hash=item2b4c73b697:g:8kMAAOSwN4xhIs6S&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4IKci%2BAz5%2Fwvg5Wx1ENMzo3rQITyFF%2F8mNMSTk1nQIvBvPaJIgR3fGDKE%2FC9QKbxUczK5yMSIPVzeXNoSA%2B2p42mW%2FMZh4GYWoBQzfCr84TmmoHzHVOghX7ytxbKmy3xyj5KovVKvbTdEXpSkZKvYB%2F8hfVZQ3OSueFazNctBMmDWIGC%2BMS7JGhzJLTxjBqp5Tp6bVcdHOT2ww9xlyy7mCQA3HeLdiJ8N3SRBGu2kboyl6s%2FuaoCUGHA%2BAbs1CtvrLzyavBr176P1pO0VYkh%2FQPLMrWXZNON1hWKxsJgafK5%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_KMh-eqYw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> [looks like brass to me], and <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185439572154?hash=item2b2d0f50ba:g:6WMAAOSwocBijSc5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>) that he is (also?) based in "Kiev" [disrespectful RUSSIAN spelling of the name of the Ukrainian capital].
<div><br /></div><div>Metal detecting, garnering archaeological artefacts, selling them off and exporting them without the proper permissions is all illegal in Ukraine. Perhaps Vikingheritag thinks it's a good idea to take advantage of the ongoing war to flog off some of Ukraine's archaeology to western collectors, maybe western collectors kid themselves that they are "rescuing" the items they bought. I'd ask both of them, what on earth is so specifically "Viking" about the majority of portable antiquities this guy is handling? Of course nothing. </div><div><br /></div><div>To my eye, this looks like a mixture of objects of different origins. there look to be locally metal-detected objects, some of which are in a bad state due to soil conditions, others less so. There are pretty bad fakes masquerading as metal detected finds, there are some that it's difficult to tell from the wuzzy photos which group they should go in, but all are claimed to be detector finds. </div><div><br /></div><div>The mixture in one sales offer of these three groups are pretty typical for Ukrainian sellers. This is what happened to Bulgaria, back in the day they were a massive source of artefacts, then the fakes began to creep in as the sites began to get depleted and less productve, then the fakes started predominating. And then the whole trade collapsed, leaving gutted sites. Then the searchers shifted briefly to the Balkans... Macedonia ans Serbia mostly, now these areas are prolific fake-producers (coins in particular). Then Ukraine started to be mined, and this is ongoing on a massive scale. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-29378955839383812512024-01-29T09:59:00.000-08:002024-01-29T09:59:56.268-08:00Lern Yer Brooches. Not Vikings at All.<p> </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWNecgCNqn8vysr6BL0gTgMtEDI2iliASBusa3raWaMqZquKuFlIVgaKb4rPy2jgNVo-lnpY9mDOW-2T6eDqTXOwjdbqWynZU4xG6fbtkTUYGxkfU721OVPtWmElQ5EH9DjiXgYLYfDe-227mlVjIZjgdnNJ2PIGaew5TA0lZFBbmkNs_yI_bWaUdgso9/s678/dotandline.png" style="clear: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="554" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWNecgCNqn8vysr6BL0gTgMtEDI2iliASBusa3raWaMqZquKuFlIVgaKb4rPy2jgNVo-lnpY9mDOW-2T6eDqTXOwjdbqWynZU4xG6fbtkTUYGxkfU721OVPtWmElQ5EH9DjiXgYLYfDe-227mlVjIZjgdnNJ2PIGaew5TA0lZFBbmkNs_yI_bWaUdgso9/w151-h184/dotandline.png" width="151" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.cepuckett.com/inventory/index.php?no_cache=20240129101136&main_page=product_info&products_id=1042" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Charles Edwin Puckett</a><br />(fair use for critique)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>Charles Edwin Puckett, dealer of Akron, Ohoho, USA is struggling to profit from portable antiquities. This is just bollocks:<p></p><blockquote>Viking Omega Brooch c 8th - 10th century AD<br /> <a href="https://www.cepuckett.com/inventory/index.php?no_cache=20240129101136&main_page=product_info&products_id=1042" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bronze Fibula - VIKING Omega Brooch - Circa 8th-10th Century AD</a><br /><br />
(61 mm in Length – 2 3/8”)<br /><br />
A very fine Viking bronze “Omega “brooch (so called because of its resemblance to the Greek letter), embellished with a “dot and line” pattern. Remnants of the original silvering are visible. In excellent condition with a nice green patina and complete with the fastening pin. A similar brooch found in Norfolk, Great Britain is illustrated in Hattatt “Ancient Brooches,” figure 1688.<br /><br />
This wonderful Viking Age bronze brooch <b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">originated from Staraia Ladoga - </b>Aldeigjuborg. On their journeys east, Viking ships sailed into the Gulf of Finland and up the river Neva to the huge Lake Ladoga and on to the mouth of the river Volkhov. Some kilometers up this river is the settlement Aldeigjuborg, known today as Staraia (Old) Ladoga. Finds from this area indicate a Scandinavian presence from as early as 750 AD. <u><b>From an old Scandinavian collection, found as part of a hoard</b></u>.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">
The fibula was in widespread use throughout the ancient world. Roman conquests spread the use of the fibula, which became the basis for more complicated brooches. In the severe climate of northern Europe, it routinely functioned as a fastening for a heavy cloak or tunic. The safety-pin type of fibula continued to be used up into the Middle Ages, serving both as decorative and functional elements. </span><br /><br />
Inventory# PA-3144 <br /><br />All items are authentic and original as described - we do not sell reproductions. Each item is fully documented and in good antiquarian condition unless otherwise stated.</blockquote>Here the old adage about never trusting an antiquities dealer further than you can throw one is well seen when you <a href="https://martyngleaden.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Hattatt-A-Visual-Catalogue-Of-Ancient-Brooches.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">look up what Hattatt's fig 1688 actually looks like</a>. NOT AT ALL like the series of brooches this comes from. Don't be a chump like Mr Puckett, read (<a href="https://www.medieval-baltic.us/syulgam.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ásfríðr Úlfvíðardóttir 2012, 'The Mysterious “Omega” Brooches'</a>). This is all true, so it is extremely unlikely that a piece of post-mdedieval jewellery found its way from a community 500km ESE of Moscow to an ealy medieval hoard near either of the Ladogas, 600 km to the NW of Moscow. Complete nonsense. The text in red about sprung bow fibulae of teh Roman period is totally empty-headed padding and has sod all to do with a penannular brooch.<br /><br />So I want to ask the dealer how he can guarantee the object is "as described". What, specifically, is "Viking" and "8th century" about this piece? Eh? And "from Staraia Ladoga, found as part of a hoard"? Where is the documentation of that - and that the item was legally reported when found and disclaimed by the state? What is a "dot-and-line pattern" when at home? looks like this one has opposed triangular fields of pseudo-granulation (because cast) to me. Is this even the description of this object, or one cut-and-pasted from somewhere else? Bonkers. Yet, it was sold, somebody bought the pathetic amateurish spiel. <br /><br /><br /><p></p>
Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com0