The Frome Hoard has been put on display in the new Somerset Museum. See
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/archaeology/art365271
The Hoard was purchased after a successful fund raising campaign. Other, less significant hoards are typically returned to the finder who can keep them or sell them ultimately to collectors who then will have a coin with a known provenance to add to their collection. Is it really necessary for the State to retain everything?
of-course the state shouldnt keep everything but i think it should be the state that decides what is archaeologicaly important and what is not.this is a major flaw in the treasure act of 1996,if its not made of gold or silver or a large hoard than the find dosent even have to be reported.if i was digging in my garden and found a life size statue of the emperor hadrian i wouldnt even have to report it to the pas.its a good thing that a treasure seeker[sorry i meant metal detector] didnt find the colossal bronze bust of hadrian or the lewis chessmen. even something as important as the dead sea scrolls, if found in the uk, could be sold off to the highest bidder with no uk law being broken.
ReplyDeletethe pas is still better than many systems used in source countrys but its not all rosy in the english garden.
kyri.
The state does decide what is important and what is not important through statute, no? No system is perfect, but look at the alternatives. Compare the reporting in places like Greece, Cyprus and Italy. Perhaps not all rosy but the smell is much sweeter in England and Wales.
ReplyDelete