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All That Glitters Is Gold Archaeological Discoveries We now live in the age of the
Metal Detector. Finally people with no comprehension of antiquities or their
value can roam over hills and dales and by disturbing historical soil layers
'find' treasure trove. We are all familiar with the recent find (by a metal
detector) of the Staffordshire hoard estimated to be valued at over 3 million
pounds sterling! A fear expressed by archaeologists and historians is that
clandestine artifacts discovered by a metal detector be disbursed and be sold
privately with historical information of a settlement site being lost. It is
felt that in all cases proper techniques that should referred to professional
archaeologists, and historians. (as in the case of the Staffordshire Hoard,
which is being competently assessed at present. The main criteria here is
that the historical significance of a find of the culture that produced it.
That a site should be professionally analyzed, not to keep archaeologists 'in
a job' but to preserve for all future generations the history of artifacts,
especially if the initial discovery indicates traces of ancient 'settlement' |
