It’s almost exactly five years this weekend since the “Near Avebury Metal Detecting Rally”, a crass and vulgar grabfest dedicated to “self” and a denial of the existence of “society”. 480 people lined up along two fields at Winterbourne Bassett and rushed forward on a signal (“like the start of the Grand National” crowed the organiser in the press) to grab what they could of our history. Which in this case was very rich, from Palaeolithic scatters onwards, as might be expected in this world-famous area under the scarp of the Marlborough Downs, overlooked by The Ridgeway, a White Horse, 2 Iron Age forts and countless bronze age barrows and visited but not harmed by John Aubrey, William Stukeley and scores of famous archaeologists since.
The usual claims underlay the event – that it was “disturbed plough soil” so no harm could arise – a demonstrably false mantra that PAS consistently avoids correcting. And we know that “Don’t worry, we all report to the PAS” was actually said to the elderly landowner. And as one said in our hearing “Anyway, it’s legal, innit?” It sure is. It’s not right of course as the rest of the world knows, but in Britain you can’t get locked up for it so that’s that.
PAS didn’t attend (it’s unclear whether by accident or embarrassment but who can blame them – no professional would want it on their CV!) Of course, if they and detectorists are to be believed it didn’t matter as most detectorists heroically record their finds anyway. If you believe the PAS records for those two fields show a commensurate huge spike in numbers we suggest you become a supporter of unregulated metal detecting – or even Minister of Culture! If on the other hand you believe that absence of records means absence of recorders whatever chatter may be put forward you’ll be less than happy to think of all that Wiltshire history being carried away without trace to Bootle, Bognor and Brussels.
So, now that five years have passed……we should ask whether anything in Britain has changed since that toe curling, populist display of cultural philistinism. Is our national behaviour less at odds with opinion abroad? After all, everyone was assured at the time that things would change. Both detectorists and PAS explained over and over that all that was needed was patience. Everyone needed to stop complaining about the damage, jump on the train to Liaisonville (as PAS put it) and trust PAS to offer detectorists understanding and education and outreach and liaison – and some more understanding – and definitely no criticism – as a result of which, very soon, more and more and more of them would see the light and become “responsible” rational citizens that recognised that their interests were as nothing compared with the interests of society and would start to regulate their own behaviour accordingly. In other words, they’d start to act like other people.
Well, for a start, this weekend there are not one but two metal detecting rallies in North Wiltshire – one of them a little way north of Avebury literally within a stone’s throw of the two fields that were used for that 2005 rally. So self interest still completely outranks communal interest, five years later.
However, at least the five years has brought the publication of a Code of Responsible Detecting. That’s a big step innit (as they say!) Trouble is, although it’s centrepiece is the assertion that to be responsible you have to report all your finds to PAS, PAS’s own statistics clearly indicate most detectorists still don’t – despite PAS regularly re-jigging the basis of calculation to make things look better than they are. No change there then – after five years most detectorists are still not responsible as defined, they are still knowledge thieves, plain and simple.
Also, some Guidance on Rallies has been published. Now that IS progress, because the Establishment has finally admitted publicly we were right that rallies are extremely damaging (or “troubling” as they put it!) . The problem is, the guidance doesn’t say what it should – don’t hold rallies, they are vandalism writ large – it merely offers some obvious suggestions that no-one with a conscience wouldn’t be doing already. Worse, some less-than-archaeology-friendly rally organisers are using guidance compliance as a marketing ploy. Crude bellicosity towards archaeologists and an endless succession of adverts for scores of rallies effectively saying “meet at the layby on the A1 and we’ll pilot you to the unpublished venue” hardly instills confidence in such rallies does it? Ah, but each rally is Advice Compliant, innit? Yep.
One other thing that has certainly happened over the past five years is that PAS staff have spent 1800 days outreaching, educating and persuading detectorists so some of that must have rubbed off. Or has it? This very day, a few minutes drive from the place where the Near Avebury detecting disaster took place the Colchester detecting society is holding the Foxham Rally – which is depressing enough since it shows no progress has been made, but worse, they are holding it on pasture that has remained undisturbed for 100 years, this being in direct defiance of both the Code of Responsible Detecting and the Guidance on Rallies. Why? Because they haven’t heard it’s not acceptable? Hardly. The hapless taxpayer has spent millions of pounds and more than a decade trying to get that message through their skulls. Presumably then, simply because they want to and they can.
Not that any of them are likely to do advanced heritage irony or even irony but if the attendees happened to look around Berwick Bassett on their way to one of their “fun weekends” (as one of the rallies is being marketed) they might well see traces of stones that Caleb Bailey smashed and removed from the Avebury stone circle to make stone cottages in the 1740’s – because he wanted to and he could and he fancied a fun weekend.
And that, it seems to us, illustrates the profound flaw in the “persuasion, education and liaison strategy” that Britain alone has adopted. It might not have been obvious at the start but it certainly is now. Like Caleb Bailey you can inform the majority of detectorists what’s right till you’re blue in the face, but you can’t get them to do what’s right if they find it more self-fulfilling to do what’s wrong. There’s no reason to take our word for it though, look at the PAS statistics or ask detectorists themselves. Both will confirm we are correct.
So is that it? Nothing has really changed over the past five years? PAS still liaising, most detectorists still helping themselves and North Wiltshire still subject to a self-serving pestilence? Pretty much. Except for one thing. Detectorists have used the extra five years provided by the liaison policy to lift another 1.44 million artefacts from the record, mostly without reporting them. How many is that? Well think of Wembley’s pitch. It wouldn’t be big enough to lay them all out. Britain is utterly barmy say know-nowt amateurs.
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8 comments
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30/04/2011 at 11:38
RALPH BROWN
I used to be a metal detectorist but haven’t been for a number of years owing to work pressures and came across this site by accident.
I have read with interest the bulk of this article but have to admit stopped half way through as the message is quite clear that the writer(s) are not in favour of metal detecting and those who participate in the hobby. And -it is a hobby for countless responsible people, including many professionals, not a source of income – anyone looking to make any money from detecting confines their searches to beaches hoping to find modern jewellery and small change – not the chance find of a valuable ancient artifact.
If the writer(s) have ever tried metal detecting they will know that it is back breaking work and one target in perhaps 20 may be of interest, the other 19 will be scrap lead, bits of general junk which are removed from the field for the landowner and responisbly disposed of. If you are lucky 1 find in 100 will be worth reporting to the PAS and then only likely to be a casual loss hammered coin of which there are countless thousands on the record books – more of a nuisance than of any real benefit to museums
But to the point being made about ancient artifacts being taken from the ground, even if only 10% are recorded properly ( and my experience is that this figure is much higher ) surely that is better than never finding them at all and allowing them to rot in the ground from farming chemicals, plough damage etc. The chance of an archaeologist finding them is negligible, even if they were digging in the right place without specialist probes it is likely to be thrown on the spoil heap without ever being spotted.
Most finds are in a very poor condition and typically have absolutely no value other than historical interest. Another point to make would be, if we believe the comment from the “Time Team ” crew is that pottery is more informative on a site than any metal finds – detectors don’t find these items and they remain undisturbed.
A comment on Night Hawks – these are not metal detectorists – they are Thieves using detectors as a tool. Just as an armed criminal is not a shooting enthusiast and it is too convenient to lable responsible dectorists with this tag to reinforce anti- detecting arguements.
I would not be naive enough to say that some detectorists don’t abuse their privilages but as in the case of terrorism/extremism of any sort you can’t bame a whole nation or religion for a minority of wrong doers.
I would repeat my earlier comment to the writer(s) have a go at detecting, if you can find somewhere to go, and see just how succesful you are and then make a balanced judgement on your criticism.
One final comment, most detectorist try the hobby can’t find anywhere to dig or lose interest within a few weeks. Those who do stay in the hobby tend to join a local club who all promote good practice in the field including PAS liaison.
RALPH BROWN
30/04/2011 at 12:39
Nigel
Your posting contains so many demonstrably untrue claims that it would be tiresome to address them all. So it will suffice to focus on the last and greatest one:
“Those who do stay in the hobby tend to join a local club who all promote good practice in the field including PAS liaison.”
That is just ridiculous. You are quoting what all the clubs say not what they do. Perhaps you are sincere in your beliefs but that doesn’t make your beliefs true nor does it make it right that thousands of landowners are treated to that same fiction every week. The truth is this: every club is affiliated to the NCMD / FID and their Codes of Practice but neither of those Codes of Practice require recording of finds or adherence to the official Code of Practice for Responsible Detecting. By no stretch of any imagination can it be pretended that clubs are sincere in saying they promote good practice.
It is bad enough that thousands of detectorists mislead thousands of farmers on this matter without a conservation organisation such as this helping the process and we don’t intend to. Check the facts for yourself. We’re not wicked we’re simply correct, as you will discover.
01/05/2011 at 11:49
RALPH BROWN
Thank you for your reply to my posting,
I would be interested to know on what data you are making your statements about the conduct of metal detectorists and club activities which are a national scale. What research have you undertaken, how many clubs have you visited and how many detectorists have you interviewed 1%, 10% ?
Given the proper research I think that you will find perhaps only 10% of detectorists have ever attended an organised rally so it wouldbe folly to base a conclusion on such a restricted sample
To state that my comments are demonstrably untrue does not unfortunately make your reply correct – please take the time to prove me wrong I am always genuinely open to constructive criticism – you have taken a lot of time and trouble to put this site together and I am sure that a few more words for my education can only be beneficial.
Also I don’t fully understand your last paragraph regarding ” we don’t intend to ” and ” we’re not wicked ” it may be that their are previous postings that I haven’t read that would put this into context? Perhaps you would elaborate on this point.
As I stated I am not naive to believe everyone is a good egg but my first hand experience suggests that the vast majority are .
Before the PAS scheme was in operation the club I belonged to, on my instigation, had a relationship with Birmingham Museum to report and present all pre 18th century finds ( their criterion not mine ) for their interest and evaluation. We donated many artefacts to them expecting to see them on public display, all were boxed and left in storage never to see the light of day, we even offered to set up the displays for them – we might just as well left them in the ground – but we still continued with the arrangement as good responsible practice
For your information and to add to your database I have been on digs with our local archaelogical society and witnessed them smash through archaeological layers to get to whats beneath without proper recording, I have witnessed the pocketing of finds for private collections by the so called professionals- what about the plundering of sites by Antiquarian archaeologists in this country and abroad, where are the bulk of the finds from in British Museum -perhaps it’s you who are naive?
I have seen finds reported in accordance with the Treasure Act and seen farmers benefit by may thousands of pounds – they were not mislead ?
Remember, it is the Treasure Act that promoted payment for finds they wish to retain not the finder and why is it that no publicity is given to those often valuable finds gladly donated to the Nation free of charge.
You picked up on the one comment I made about the promotion of good practice which is easy to criticise but where is your proof – you did not comment on the question ” is better to leave these items to rot on the ground never to be discovered ?” or ” pottery being more important ”
I would also be interested as to why you are so passionate about your anti detecting stance and does this extend to field walking finds ? Perhaps you could enlighten me as to where your origins lie in this matter in that I do not have a full history of this site and I can then make a more informed decision on your reply.
Many thanks .
01/05/2011 at 12:22
Pat
“You picked up on the one comment I made about the promotion of good practice which is easy to criticise but where is your proof “
You were provided with it in the clearest and most definitive conceivable way and were asked to confirm it for yourself. You have evidently not done so which speaks volumes about your motivation here so finis.
04/11/2011 at 12:03
John
You need to get a life! get out from behind your computer and find yourself a hobby. Maybe buy a metal detector, you never know, you might actually enjoy yourself!
04/11/2011 at 17:08
Simon K
Sorry, too bright.
02/10/2012 at 15:30
Steven
thanks for the info! I’m going! Should be a great day.
02/10/2012 at 15:48
heritageaction
You have the reading skills of a …. ummm… metal detectorist. It was seven and a half years ago!