A question if you please

[BAJR]

As PP says... a proper surface survey ... not so hard

[Mike.T.]

i'm getting the strong impression that you dont do archaeology

I do and I get the strong impression that it's for longer than yourself.

[Mike.T.]

I think the point is dissemination of information......why else would you dig something up other than for personal gain. I'm all for profit but why not combine it with doing the right thing!

You miss the point. Most ''dig stuff up'' because of an interest in history / archaeology. Most don't sell what they find and as material in ploughsoil is usually damaged by ploughing and corroded by modern fertilizers, has little or no commercial value.

How is something sitting in achieve, possibly for years ''disseminating information'' ? If something like a Viking gold ring is found by a MD' er then of course it should go on display in a museum but why should museum storerooms be crammed with every archaeological artefact and coin ever dug up by a member of the public ? Who benefits from that ?

[archaeologyexile]

You miss the point. Most ''dig stuff up'' because of an interest in history / archaeology. Most don't sell what they find and as material in ploughsoil is usually damaged by ploughing and corroded by modern fertilizers, has little or no commercial value.

How is something sitting in achieve, possibly for years ''disseminating information'' ? If something like a Viking gold ring is found by a MD' er then of course it should go on display in a museum but why should museum storerooms be crammed with every archaeological artefact and coin ever dug up by a member of the public ? Who benefits from that ?

Everyone benefits from it as everything will have been mapped logged and recorded so that the overlying patterns can be recognised, recorded and analysed, surely?

[Mike.T.]

If the finds are mapped, recorded and then returned to the finder / landowner I think that's ok. Otherwise not.

[BAJR]

If the finds are mapped, recorded and then returned to the finder / landowner I think that's ok. Otherwise not.

I don't have much problem with that. but just to be a devil... why would the finder want them and what would they do with them?
Would they be averse to certain items being studied?

[Hamish]

... why would the finder want them and what would they do with them?

My experience indicates that the finder/landowner beyond being interested in how old the thing is and maybe where it was found generally don't have much interest in particular items, any finds won't be archived in any meaningful way that can be accessed at will. At some stage the finds will either be lost or chucked out, and in the meantime everything from everywhere will be in the same box or cabinet all muddled up not a label in sight.

[BAJR]

and how could this be made better?

suggestions of bagging and labelling useful finds? and a message that they should be given to xxxxx in a will

[RedEarth]

How is something sitting in achieve, possibly for years ''disseminating information'' ? If something like a Viking gold ring is found by a MD' er then of course it should go on display in a museum but why should museum storerooms be crammed with every archaeological artefact and coin ever dug up by a member of the public ? Who benefits from that ?

Good to see, yet again on this forum, someone claiming to be an archaeologist apparently incapable of thinking beyond their own lifetime. In theory, items in museums are potentially still able to disseminate information way into the future - can you say what scientific techniques might have developed in 100 years? 200 years? Can you be sure that items returned to the finders will be as equally available for study in 100 or 200 years time? I was looking at some finds from an excavation 100 years ago a few weeks back with the thought about new research, good job they are in a museum otherwise that would be impossible!