19th November 2008, 05:48 PM
Couple of points that I am sure are not quite correct as far as I am aware. Please set me right if I'm not:
Treasure Trove objects don't have to be assessed by PAS, that just tends to be the way things happen these days. Treasure Trove did exist before PAS and items can be report to the coroner/local museums etc.
Is it true that archaeologists legally cannot claim treasure trove reward for items found on their projects? I would just assume it is simply not the done thing or because they work for an organisation they can't (just like you can't claim copyright of a context form that you filled in working on behalf of someone). I don't believe it is enshrined in law that archaeologists can't claim; would this still apply if an archaeologist found treaure on their day off?
Whether finds from archaeological sites can legally count as treaure I don't know but doesn't necessarily stop them effectively becoming treasure - the Roman tombstone from Lancaster sold by the developer (and therefore legal owner) to the local museum for several tens of thousands of pounds, for example. I always assumed archaeologists were expected to report treasure from sites.
Of course these things tend not to be as straight forward as I hope...
Treasure Trove objects don't have to be assessed by PAS, that just tends to be the way things happen these days. Treasure Trove did exist before PAS and items can be report to the coroner/local museums etc.
Is it true that archaeologists legally cannot claim treasure trove reward for items found on their projects? I would just assume it is simply not the done thing or because they work for an organisation they can't (just like you can't claim copyright of a context form that you filled in working on behalf of someone). I don't believe it is enshrined in law that archaeologists can't claim; would this still apply if an archaeologist found treaure on their day off?
Whether finds from archaeological sites can legally count as treaure I don't know but doesn't necessarily stop them effectively becoming treasure - the Roman tombstone from Lancaster sold by the developer (and therefore legal owner) to the local museum for several tens of thousands of pounds, for example. I always assumed archaeologists were expected to report treasure from sites.
Of course these things tend not to be as straight forward as I hope...