Recording the Past: How Different European Countries Deal with Portable Antiquities

On September 7, 2009, the BM will be sponsoring a program about how different European countries deal with portable antiquities:

MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2009

BP LECTURE THEATRE, BRITISH MUSEUM
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME

This conference aims to gain a wider understanding of how different European countries deal with portable antiquities (archaeological small finds) found by members of the public and promote best practice amongst finders. The key questions that speakers will address are: whether there is a legal requirement for finders of portable antiquities to report archaeological objects and whether the state claims ownership of them; whether it is permissible to search for such finds with a metal-detector or by other means; how many people (in that country) are known to search for archaeological objects (legally or not); how many objects are reported each year; and whether the systems in place (in that country) work as well as they could or whether improvements could be made. It is hoped the conference will help identify the main strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches adopted by countries across Europe, in order to draw conclusions as to how best to preserve an archaeological record of finds found, develop best practice, and find ways to educate the public about the importance of such finds for understanding the past.

09:30 Registration

09:45 Welcome: Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum

10:00 Dr Roger Bland (British Museum, London), The English and Welsh approach to portable antiquities: a perfect system or fundamentally flawed?

10:25 Dr Alan Saville (National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh), Little and large: portable antiquities and treasure trove in Scotland.

10:50 Dr Cormac Bourke (Ulster Museum, Belfast), Found objects: the Northern Ireland
experience.

11:15 coffee

11.45 Dr Eamonn P Kelly (National Museum, Dublin), Portable antiquities in the Republic of
Ireland

12:10 Dr Johan Nicolay (University of Groningen), Metal detection in the Netherlands: the law and reality.

12:35 Dr Martin Segschneider (Archäologisches Landesamt, Schleswig Holstein), Methods of cooperation with metal detectorists in Schleswig-Holstein - first results and experiences.

13:00 lunch (not provided)

14:00 Dr Mogens Bo Henrikson (Odense Museum), Detectors and Danefæ in Denmark.

14:30 Dr Michel Amandry (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris), The French law on antiquities.

15:00 Dr Andrej Gaspari (Military Museum of Slovenian Armed Forces, Ljubljana), Purchase, compensation or reward? Abolition scheme for the illegally excavated archaeological artefacts between law and practice (experience from the Republic of Slovenia).

15:30 coffee

16:00 Gábor Lassányi (Aquincum Museum), Metal detecting and the antiquities law in Hungary.

16:30 Prof Aleksander Bursche (Instytut Archeologii, Uniwersytet Warszawski), Metal Detecting in Poland – law and reality.

17:00 Discussion

17:30 Close

Bookings: please send a cheque for £15 payable and your contact details to The British Museum to Claire Costin, Department of Portable Antiquities & Treasure, The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Tel: 0207 323 8618. Email:ccostin@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk