The TRUTH always wins!

Historic England is the public body that helps people care for, enjoy, and celebrate England’s spectacular historic environment. On the 13th of March 2024, this influential body published a report: – Extent of Heritage and Cultural Property Crime in England Revealed.

The report broadly falls into four categories: –

Theft of historic stone (including York stone) which according to the report, “is on the rise.”

Metal theft from historic places of worship, “increased during the lockdown periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, but effective preventative and enforcement action has since resulted in a steady decrease.”

A reduction in unlawful metal detecting (also known as nighthawking) “A 9.3% reduction in unlawful metal detecting (also known as nighthawking) has been highlighted in the research. This has been made possible with the support of vigilant landowners and the legitimate metal-detecting community working in partnership with the police.” 

Offences relating to the theft of cultural objects from art galleries, museums and stately homes “are on the rise, with artwork and antiques being the most frequently stolen items. It is estimated that over £3.2 million worth of cultural property was stolen in the 2021/22 period.”

Historic England’s report goes on to say that it has also been working with Detectorists to train them as part of the ‘Heritage Watch’ scheme and that, “the small minority of metal detectorists who do break the law are being identified and brought to justice.”

The report effectively (and officially) rebuts and sidelines the propaganda our critics spew out, who’ve taken to ‘spinning’ data to fit with their own rabid anti-detecting/collecting agendas and subjecting Detectorists to personal insults.

Whilst these rabidly offensive disparagers have no place in mainstream archaeology, they do unintentionally raise a vital issue…

Radical elements in archaeology show little compunction in twisting facts and data to their own propagandist ends, it naturally follows the veracity of all excavation reports and edicts MUST be thoroughly questioned.

There’s the additional problem that archaeology per se, marks its own homework. This situation has to cease. Many would like ALL publicly funded heritage work independently scrutinised for accuracy, and whether such work represents value for public money. Currently, he who pays the piper is not calling the tune. This must change.

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Q. Why are married women heavier than single women?

A. Single women come home, see what’s in the fridge and go to bed. Married women come home, see what’s in bed and go to the fridge.

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There’ll be a wailing and gnashing of teeth in some quarters

Page 28 of Saturday’s (16th March edition) broadsheet the Daily Telegraph carried a full-page article about the efficacy of metal detecting under the screaming banner headline: –

‘How the detectorists thrashed the archaeologists at their own game‘ with the strapline, ‘No longer the gentle pursuit of lone hobbyists, metal detecting is rewriting history.’ 

Mr Twopercent

In this well-written piece by Tracy Ramsden, all the usual nooks and crannies were covered but significantly woven into the text was this delicious morsel: –

“So popular has public metal detecting become that every year 96 per cent of all metallic archaeological objects are found by a detectorist compared to 2 per cent from archaeological digs.”

Though the gobbier, empty-headed element of our detractors constantly bandy about the pompous notion that archaeology is somehow ‘highbrow,’ ‘scientific’, and painstakingly accurate, such a self-serving nonsensical hypothesis is betrayed by the 2 per cent of yearly finds.

Even the casual observer must be wondering why archaeology’s alleged finds rate so paltry?  Could it be there’s a lot of sticky fingers in the cookie jar? Maybe archaeology’s methodology is seriously wanting? Perhaps it’s a bit of both. The British Museum scandal has done little to quell suspicions.

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Overheard

In the lounge of a famous and exclusive London Club, two ageing Brigadiers are enjoying a post-lunch brandy.  One lowers his copy of the Times and exclaims to the other.  “Good Lord. According to their Africa correspondent, they’ve found old Carruthers.”

“Good Lord, do you mean old Carruthers of the 95^th? Where’d they find him?”

“Says here, that he was found in the Congo, living up a tree with a gorilla” says the first Brigadier.

“Ha! A female I hope!”

“Of course! There was nothing funny about old Carruthers.”

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Happy and lucrative hunting

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