More failure to tell farmers about the realities of metal detecting

With metal detecting being permitted again, Mr Richardson, Treasure Registrar at the British Museum, is urging people to continue to follow the Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting and report their discoveries, including Treasure. But as highlighted yesterday, the chances of a hoard not being hoiked out before a FLO gets there are small.

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Now there’s more: detectorists are being urged to follow the Code but there’s no mention that the detecting organisations have refused to sign it! How is that not misinforming landowners about what might happen if they say yes? WHY, when landowners are the only people who can decide whether detecting takes place at all and are therefore the only true guardians of our archaeology?

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WHY?

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More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
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