Treasure Troves: What Happens to Finds?

Page 9 of 9

• 1. Safeguarding finds
• 2. Ethics
• 3. Treasure Act
• 4. Defining treasure
• 5. Exceptions
• 6. Portable Antiquities Scheme
• 7. Planning decisions
• 8. Site surveys
• 9. National organisations
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National organisations

Official bodies such as English Heritage, CADW in Wales (CADW means 'to keep' in Welsh), Historic Scotland, and Ducas in Ireland, are responsible for formulating policies for the preservation and interpretation of our archaeological heritage. They also maintain what is known as a schedule of ancient monuments, a record of those sites that are considered to be of national importance and are consequently protected by law from damage or disturbance.

These organisations employ inspectors, each responsible for a specific region or type of site, who will offer advice to more locally based archaeologists and planners. Other influential bodies include the Council for British Archaeology (CBA).

'... there should be a clearly defined role for non-professionals ...'

The professional body for archaeology is the Institute of Field Archaeologists, which establishes standards, has formulated strict rules of conduct, and produces guidelines to good practice. Membership of the IFA, either individually or corporately, is now essential in order to work professionally in many parts of the British Isles.

Ideally, at the beginning of the 21st century, all known archaeological sites should be well documented, while those that are of national importance should be protected by law and maintained in a stable state. Excavations, all of which should have clear research objectives, should be carried out by professional and highly motivated field archaeologists.

Within the overall structure of archaeology there should be a clearly defined role for non-professionals, and metal detecting should only be carried out by those willing to share both the objects they find and their information with the archaeological community.

In reality, this utopian state has not yet been reached. Programmes of protection carry on, there is still the impression that professional archaeology has no concern for amateurs, and the bridges being built between archaeologists and metal detectorists are far from complete.

However, progress is being made, perhaps helped by the great upsurge of interest in archaeology spawned by television programmes such as 'Time Team' and 'Meet the Ancestors'. If archaeology can be shown to be not only fascinating but also accessible, then it will thrive.

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Published: 2005-01-24