Volunteers

[Unitof1]

Googled "institute of field archaeologists volunteers" not much joy really

[Steven]

quote:Originally posted by garybrun

A thought.
Is an archaeologist always an archaeologist or only when he gets paid?

I know of an archaeologist, who while cycling to work in Milton Keynes found a 17/18th century gold mourning ring that had eroded out of a river bank... He was later paid for the ring via the archaeology unit he worked for. So it would seem because he wasn't at work (working) he was entitled to the award.


Website for responsible Metal Detecting
http://www.ukdfd.co.uk
Recording Our Heritage For Future Generations.

Hi
In legal terms it is up to the Coroner who owns finds under Treasure Trove or more recently the Treasure Act and he/she will almost always award it to the landowner and the finder (normally because agreements between MDs and landowners are in existence). Just picking up a gold ring and selling it to another party may well have been (and is almost certainly now) illegal as it was not the finders to sell, making the unit potentially guilty of receiving stolen goods and the finder of (poss.) aggravated trespass and theft.

Under the Treasure Act an archaeologist cannot gain financial award whether at work or not. So any archaeologists who detect as a hobby cannot claim treasure under the Act and it is awarded to the landowner or local/national museum if on local authority held land.

Steven

[BAJR Host]

Just discussed this point with my wife, and came to the conclusion that an archaeologist is in a way, never off duty - and archaeologist does not stop being an archaeologist at 5pm...



"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[Paul Belford]

My point exactly.

[Steven]

quote:Originally posted by BAJR Host

Just discussed this point with my wife, and came to the conclusion that an archaeologist is in a way, never off duty - and archaeologist does not stop being an archaeologist at 5pm...



"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

Hi
This is why its very interesting that many MDs want to be considered part of archaeological investigations because they may well make themselves ineligible for reward under the act by doing so, not just at the time of detecting for the arch unit but in their own time as well.

This also raises the whole question of does a statute of Law contradict with the Valletta Convention (to which Britain is a signatory) which attempts to outlaw the searching for antiquities to sell for profit on the open market.

Remember guys I'm not trying to annoy anybody here, or pushing an agenda, just exploring the legal aspects of all this stuff (which is often strangely missing from discussions in the media).

Steven

[garybrun]

Its a brilliant insite Steven.
But I would say.. if you really cared for the heritage you wouldn't really be bothered would you if you got reward or not?

What i would like to see is for "public" archaeologist (council) to be able to claim a % off the Treasure Act to fund the dig or eduction.



Website for responsible Metal Detecting
http://www.ukdfd.co.uk
Recording Our Heritage For Future Generations.

[historic building]

No offence Gary but that would be an absolute pitance compared with what we can collect off developers in terms of Section 106 money to fund community projects.

[garybrun]

quote:Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 allows a local planning authority (LPA) to enter into a legally-binding agreement or planning obligation, with a land developer over a related issue. The obligation is sometimes termed as a 'Section 106 agreement'.

Such agreements can cover almost any relevant issue and can include sums of money. Possible examples of S106 agreements could be:

the developer will transfer ownership of an area of woodland to a LPA with a suitable fee to cover its future maintenance
the local authority will restrict the development of an area of land, or permit only specified operations to be carried out on it in the future eg, amenity use
the developer will plant a specified number of trees and maintain them for a number of years
the developer will create a nature reserve
S106 agreements can act as a main instrument for placing restrictions on the developers, often requiring them to minimise the impact on the local community and to carry out tasks, which will provide community benefits

Sound like you can have the developers by the short and curly ones on most things



Website for responsible Metal Detecting
http://www.ukdfd.co.uk
Recording Our Heritage For Future Generations.

[BAJR Host]

that would be nice...!

However... true....

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[BAJR Host]

Don't worry Stephen, to be classed as an archaeologist, it will have to be your occupation... so outside of working as a detectorist on a dig... then normal English Rules apply....

Scotland of course is different!

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu