The shame isn’t that Cadburys thought digging up buried treasure was “fair game” it’s that they DIDN’T KNOW IT WASN’T!

After 20 years of expensive taxpayer-funded “outreach” by many hundreds of PAS employees, American-owned Cadburys and their new English PR firm have shown they are utterly clueless and uninformed about the law, looting and legal knowledge theft. The only question that matters is WHY?.  

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“There’s plenty of real treasure out there still to be discovered. So, what are you waiting for?”

Unearth the fortunes of Rome in Somerset Over 52,000 gold and silver coins were discovered by a metal detectorist in Frome, Somerset. So, grab your metal detector and go hunting for Roman riches!

Hunt for precious rings in Fermanagh* Recently discovered deep in a bog in County Fermanagh a priceless jewel laid dormant for 3,000 years. Are you willing to get your hands dirty to discover more? [*Metal detecting is illegal in Ireland!]

Get your hands on gold in Mooghaun FortGold ingots were unearthed 3-feet underground in Rockcorry, Mooghaun. The treasures have been valued to be worth €150 million… Probably, worth a quick check.

Mine for Saxon gold in Chelmsford, Essex Over 1,500 years ago, an Anglo-Saxon King buried his gold in a field in Chelmsford. Now, 1,500 years later, the treasure’s fair game.

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Cadburys are getting massive criticism, and, as always, PAS is crying mia non culpa and diverting attention: this is “an opportunity to engage and educate” don’tcha know? No, it’s a scandal: after 20 years of public finance no-one in Britain, not even American chocolate manufacturers, should have been left in a state of damaging ignorance about the law, looting and legal knowledge theft. It is that failure which should be absolutely central to the forthcoming discussions on reform of the Treasure Act and hobby metal detecting.

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Update 18 March 2019:
Numerous archaeologists and others have contacted Cadburys over the weekend to explain (in the words of the CBA for instance) “why this is so inappropriate and misguided”. When Cadburys formally respond they are bound to say “we didn’t know” – (what other possible excuse could there be?) If all those archaeologists and others don’t want such a thing to ever happen again perhaps they should then ask themselves

“WHY? How is it possible there is anyone in Britain in 2019 in a state of ignorance about the way to treat buried archaeology?

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More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
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