.
In recent months there has been an increased interest in discussing artefact hunting issues. The author of the Portable Antiquities Collecting and Heritage Issues Blog which has become a bit of an informal focus for views dissenting from the official line in the UK has several times been asked whether he would accept guest posts from people who felt constrained to write something on the issues connected with metal detecting, but were busy in other walks of life and did not want the bother of running their own blog. While appreciating the value of the idea and the gesture of support, for several reasons I did not feel this was what I wanted to do. I therefore decided to set up a separate blog, for guest contributions. I have contacted those who wanted to write something on the PACHI blog with an invitation to add them to the list of contributors. So far Brian (who tells me he is an architect from Shrewsbury, UK) and Nigel Swift of Heritage Action (needs no introduction to readers of their excellent blog) have been the first to agree to take part in the experiment, I am hoping to hear from the others in due course. Anyone who wishes to participate and feels they are eligible (see the next post) is invited to contact the owner (Paul Barford) either by email or through the comments section here or the PACHI blog [in the latter eventuality, please indicate whether the comment is intended for publication or not].
There are many, many websites, forums, discussion lists to discuss artefact hunting and metal detecting. Most of them are run by metal detectorists for metal detectorists. That is not what this blog is for. The hope here is that the authors of this blog will look a little more deeply below the façade that artefact hunting and collecting have created at the fundamental issues concerning its effect on the preservation of the archaeological record. Each poster is requested to put their name at the bottom of their post.
[by Paul Barford]
In recent months there has been an increased interest in discussing artefact hunting issues. The author of the Portable Antiquities Collecting and Heritage Issues Blog which has become a bit of an informal focus for views dissenting from the official line in the UK has several times been asked whether he would accept guest posts from people who felt constrained to write something on the issues connected with metal detecting, but were busy in other walks of life and did not want the bother of running their own blog. While appreciating the value of the idea and the gesture of support, for several reasons I did not feel this was what I wanted to do. I therefore decided to set up a separate blog, for guest contributions. I have contacted those who wanted to write something on the PACHI blog with an invitation to add them to the list of contributors. So far Brian (who tells me he is an architect from Shrewsbury, UK) and Nigel Swift of Heritage Action (needs no introduction to readers of their excellent blog) have been the first to agree to take part in the experiment, I am hoping to hear from the others in due course. Anyone who wishes to participate and feels they are eligible (see the next post) is invited to contact the owner (Paul Barford) either by email or through the comments section here or the PACHI blog [in the latter eventuality, please indicate whether the comment is intended for publication or not].
There are many, many websites, forums, discussion lists to discuss artefact hunting and metal detecting. Most of them are run by metal detectorists for metal detectorists. That is not what this blog is for. The hope here is that the authors of this blog will look a little more deeply below the façade that artefact hunting and collecting have created at the fundamental issues concerning its effect on the preservation of the archaeological record. Each poster is requested to put their name at the bottom of their post.
[by Paul Barford]
