Dear Fellow Landowners,

You might remember back in 2014 I confessed I was confused. I still am. Can YOU answer this simple question: if metal detecting good practice is such a good thing, how come it’s still only voluntary and hasn’t been made compulsory?

It’s very strange and very British: something that everyone says is good can’t be put into law because most detectorists insist it must only be voluntary and they must be free to choose to comply or not. Why? Why is 0.015% of the population of a highly developed, educated, conservation-minded Western democracy allowed to prevent a Good Thing coming about?

Let me put it like this: imagine if a tiny (and demonstrably selfish) section of the British population had successfully threatened, lobbied, and dissembled for 40 years to prevent drink driving laws being introduced.

Silas Brown
Grunters Hollow
Worfield
Salop

.

.

__________________________________________
More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
__________________________________________