SEARCHING FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS with a metal detector is legal in England as long as the landowner agrees and the site is not on the list of Ancient Monuments. When metal detectors became popular in the 1970s, many archaeologists were concerned that people were removing objects from sites and destroying important evidence. On the thin upland soils this concern was justified, but the situation was different in the heavily cultivated counties of eastern England (Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire). Here, the intensification of agriculture since World War II had led to a massive destruction of sites, and, by recording objects picked up by the detector operators, we could at least salvage something from the wreck. Criminals have used metal detectors to loot sites, and even excavations, but overall the instruments have led to an increase in our knowledge. Metal objects left in the plowed soil do not survive and, unless they are recovered, we will know nothing about them or the sites.
THE PORTABLE ANTIQUITIES SCHEME
The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a national project set up in 1997 to record archaeological finds made by metal-detector users and other members of the public. The program is based at the British Museum but has 40 local liaison officers covering the whole of England and Wales and six National Advisors (I am one of them) who ensure standards. This web-based program has now recorded more than 700,000 finds, all of which can be seen by visiting www.finds.org.uk. There is nothing like this organization anywhere else in the world, and it has led to massive expansion of our knowledge.
TREASURE TROVE AND TREASURE
“Treasure” is one of the peculiarities of the English legal system but, until it was reformed in 1996, it was even more peculiar. Basically, all finds of gold and silver, hoards of coins, and prehistoric metalwork belong to the Crown. To be treasure, a find must be more than 300 years old and contain more than 10 percent gold or silver. Single coins are not considered to be treasure, but any hoard of more than ten base-metal coins may be treasure. Hoards of prehistoric bronze may also be treasure.
The decision of whether or not a find is treasure is made by the district coroner, representing the Crown (the Queen and her government). If it is treasure, it will be offered to museums in the area or, in some cases, the British Museum. If the museums are not interested an object will be disclaimed and returned to the finder, but if they want to acquire it, the find will go before the Treasure Valuation Committee. The TVC takes advice from antiquity dealers who estimate how much a find would sell for at auction. Once a valuation is accepted by the finder, landowner, and interested museum, the museum has to raise the money to buy it from the Crown, which then makes an award of the full market value; this award is shared by the finder and the landowner. The payment of rewards has successfully motivated people to report their finds and has resulted in expanded museum collections throughout the country. There are also penalties for failures to report treasure. Archaeologists who find treasure during the course of their work are not entitled to any reward.
The old law of treasure trove was an odd phenomenon from medieval times. Something would only be considered treasure trove if it was buried with the intention of recovering it. This was not too difficult with a pot of coins—someone’s piggy bank was clearly intended to be retrieved—but it was more difficult with something like the Sutton Hoo ship burial. No one intended going back for that (well, not legally, anyway), and that magnificent discovery was not treasure trove. It was returned to the landowner, who generously gave it to the nation. Goodness knows what the old law would have made of the Staffordshire find; we have no clue whether or not anyone ever intended to dig it up.