Farmer Brown to landowners: beware of inadvertent or deliberate untruths.

Dear Fellow Landowners,

On a detecting forum this week, there were two succinct confessions by someone who might not even realise the fact:

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“I always try to give them a printout from the NCMD”. But that NCMD code is a pound-shop version of responsibility, not the official one and merely give the impression it’s the official one. The NCMD won’t endorse the official one and its code doesn’t even say detectorists must report all recordable finds to PAS! 

“Oh and present them with a nice find every now and then.” So no suggestion of immediately delivering everything significant to the rightful owner, US, and let US decide if we wants to give anything away!

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And on the same day, on Gumtree, another detectorist is seeking detecting permission with this false claim:

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“I am a member of the National Council for Metal Detecting (NCMD) which comes with a strict code of conduct that any proper detectorist follows.” Why does he say that? To be charitable, perhaps he’s a bit thick. But if HE thinks their code is strict what hope do we landowners have?

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For the avoidance of doubt: this is standard behaviour at tens of thousands of farm gates yet PAS et al who have a duty of care to tell landowners only the official code will do, don’t. What epic, exclusively British, irresponsibility! Looks like we’re on our own, Friends, and it’s up to us alone to  protect both our own interest and that of Britain’s buried heritage. Don’t have anything to do with anyone who says they follow a code that isn’t the official one.

Your Friend,

Silas Brown
Grunters Hollow
Worfield
Salop

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More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
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