As if Britain hadn’t been sufficiently humiliated this week!

National Museum of Ireland‏ @NMIreland has just tweeted:
“We welcome the withdrawal of @CadburyUK & @CadburyIreland advertising campaign that threatens the safety of our precious heritage that is protected by law. For information on the regulation of metal detecting in Ireland please see https://www.museum.ie/The-Collections/Metal-Detecting-in-Ireland-The-Law “

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So both the British Museum and the National Museum of Ireland have welcomed the fact Cadburys has relented.

But there’s a big difference, as Irish archaeologists know well: only Ireland can boast a law which prevents metal detecting threats to “the safety of our precious heritage”. By contrast, how many people will there be, quite legally “doing a Cadburys” in Britain’s fields this weekend?

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UPDATE:
Talking of archaeo-humiliation, today there’s an “Archaeology in Wiltshire” conference in Devizes. Hurrah. But will it be discussing the fact that last year at Wootton Bassett, just 15 miles away, there was a Rotary sponsored Metal Detecting rally, on ridge and furrow pasture (i.e. undisturbed pasture, so in total defiance of archaeological advice)? Probably not. But isn’t the fact that was the twenty second rally in the Wootton Bassett area – yes the twenty second – worth a discussion session?

Perhaps it could be titled: “How the hell have we let Britain’s past be hijacked?”

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More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
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