BAJR Federation Forum - Metal Detecting in the UK http://www.bajrfed.co.uk/ A place to meet talk and discuss, to cooperate and learn en Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:10:10 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.bajrfed.co.uk/images/misc/rss.png BAJR Federation Forum - Metal Detecting in the UK http://www.bajrfed.co.uk/ Rare Roman lantern found in field near Sudbury http://www.bajrfed.co.uk/showthread.php?3567-Rare-Roman-lantern-found-in-field-near-Sudbury&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:17:24 GMT This has been a long bubbling under story... controversial even... Though in a way it brings together all the rights and wrongs, the issues and... This has been a long bubbling under story... controversial even... Though in a way it brings together all the rights and wrongs, the issues and prejudice in one story.

Read the BBC version first. (which is a bit sanitised)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-11161686

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The more intersting debate comes from the method of discovery on a Rally, where the PAS FLO was not present, the signal was strong, and the finder (Danny - who seems to be a really nice bloke, as does his Dad.. but I digress) He realised that he coould not pull it out the ground, and fortunately another detectorist who had spent 13 years as an archaeologist, was able to improvise, and lifted the item in a block then to the Suffolk Archaeology Unit when they were informed first thing Monday.. The field was not in the Rally agreement, so the landowner donated it to the museum.. where it ws conserved and now displayed. The lantern also appeared on Digging for Britian, but without any mention of how or by who it was found, which upset the detectorists. Here we have our conundrum.. It would never have been found if it had been located by Danny, however, should Rallies (however your feel about them) have the reseources to deal with finds such as these (in a way it was only luck that an archaeologist was there, to remove it without damaging it.) Should they have a 'hotline number'? Can we reconcile the discovery and subsequent sharing of these finds... with the method of discovery... should we not accept that if we (as archaeologists) want to see these (and other) finds... we have to support rather than grump? The more we support and accept, then the more we may gain in the long run? After all, if you are continually berated for being a theif of the past, you are not likely to be amenable to working with archaeologists.... after all, trust is a two way process.

Am I glad it was foound... absolutely... could it have been handled better? well... yes... but .. BUT... this needs a change in process between detecting rallies and the PAS as well as the attitude of some archaeologists. As we can see in many simmering conflicts around the world, the majority are good people, but the loud minority will continue to snipe at teh other side, enflaming preduice ...

Good for Danny to know when not to pull it out, though shame it could not be fully excavated by a team... I won't hear a bad thing about him, but do wonder if both groups really need to sort out a method of dealing with reality... These finds will appear from time to time, and as such, we need to have a) the trust of the detectorists to be contacted immediatly.. and b) the detectorists must accept responsibility for finding artefacts.. and as such have an obligation to both the artefact and the archaeology... after all, they found it... however, it would have eventually been ploughed to nothing.. if it had not been located...

See what I mean, the more you look at it, the more the dilema twists and turns.

Think on!:face-thinks:
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