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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Administration]

A voluntary Code of Practice (UK):

1. Do not trespass. Before you start detecting obtain permission to search from the landowner/occupier, regardless of the status, or perceived status, of the land. Remember that all land has an owner. To avoid subsequent disputes you should consider obtaining written permission, and agreement in writing regarding the ownership of any finds you make.

2. Observe the laws concerning protected sites (e.g. those defined as Scheduled Monuments or Sites of Special Scientific Interest: you can obtain details of these from the landowner/occupier, Historic Environment Record or at www.magic.gov.uk). Take extra care when detecting near protected sites: for example, it is not always clear where the boundaries lie on the ground.

3. Consider joining one of the popular metal-detecting forums which can easily be found by doing an Internet search. This is one of the best ways to learn about all aspects of the hobby, and to take advantage of the collective knowledge of many thousands of members. (A great deal of expertise exists within the hobby, from researching sites to identifying finds, and from legal requirements to conservation.)

You might also wish to consider joining one or more of the many metal-detecting clubs around the country. (See http://www.ukdetectornet.co.uk/uk_clubs.htm for a list of clubs.)

4. Handle, clean, protect and store your finds in an appropriate manner. Conservation requirements vary according to the nature of the item, but specialist advice should always be sought if there is any uncertainty.

5. When detecting, always backfill your holes after excavating a find. They are a potential hazard to other users of the countryside.

6. If you excavate finds from undisturbed land (e.g. undisturbed pasture, or below the ploughsoil), use tools that will minimise the ground disturbance and any potential damage to stratified archaeological deposits. Reinstate excavated material as neatly as possible.

7. Make a note of your findspots so that they can be recorded with details of your finds. For finds that you believe could be of archaeological importance*, record the findspots as accurately as possible (i.e. to at least a one-hundred metre square, using an Ordnance Survey map or hand-held Global Positioning Device).

* A find of ?archaeological importance? is one that might indicate the presence of an archaeological site as opposed to a casual loss or discarded item. Archaeological sites include burial grounds, habitation sites, and battlegrounds. The presence of significant numbers of related items may indicate an archaeological site.

8. Respect the Country Code (leave gates and property as you find them and do not damage crops, frighten animals, or disturb ground nesting birds, and dispose properly of litter: see www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk).

9. Offer to keep the relevant landowner/occupier informed of any finds you make, and ensure that you have his/her agreement if you intend to publish details of the findspot.

10. Consider recording your finds so that the information they provide is accessible to researchers and the public at large. Recording is voluntary (other than ?Treasure? items, see 11 below), but is strongly recommended, as it is both rewarding for the finder and beneficial to our understanding of the past. You may choose to use the self-recording scheme operated by the UK Detecting Finds Database (UKDFD) (www.ukdfd.co.uk), the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) (www.findsdatabase.org.uk), your local HER or, for specific types of coin find, the Celtic Coin Index (CCI) (www.writer2001.com) or the Early Medieval Corpus (EMC) (www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/coins/emc )

11. Ensure that you understand and comply with the requirements of the Treasure Act (www.finds.org.uk), wreck law (www.mcga.gov.uk) and export licensing (www.mla.gov.uk).

12. Seek expert help if you discover something large below the ploughsoil, or a concentration of finds or unusual material, or wreck remains, and ensure that the landowner/occupier?s permission is obtained to do so. Reporting the find does not change your rights of discovery, but will result in far more archaeological evidence being discovered.

13. Call the Police and notify the landowner/occupier if you find any traces of human remains.

14. Call the Police or HM Coastguard, and notify the landowner/occupier, if you find anything that may be a live explosive: do not use a metal-detector or mobile phone nearby as this might trigger an explosion. Do not attempt to move or interfere with any such explosives.

[Bart]

From the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, here is a concise historical overview of Treasure Trove.

http://19.1911encyclopedia.org/T/TR/TREASURE_TROVE.htm

     TREASURE TROVE, the legal expression for coin, bullion, gold or silver articles, found (Fr. trouv) hidden in the earth, for which no owner can be discovered.

     In Roman law it was called thesaurus, and defined as an ancient deposit of money (vet us depositio pecuniae) found accidentally. Under the emperors half went to the finder and half to the owner of the land, who might be the emperor, the public treasury (Jiscus), or some other proprietor. Property found in the sea or on the earth has at no time been looked on as treasure trove. If the owner cannot be ascertained it becomes the property of the finder (see Lost PROPERTY).

     As the feudal system spread over Europe and the prince was looked on as the ultimate owner of all lands, his right to the treasure trove became, according to Grotius, jus commune et quasi getium, in England, Germany, France, Spain and Denmark. In England for centuries the right to treasure trove has been in the Crown, who may grant it out as a franchise. It is the duty of the finder, and indeed of any one who acquires knowledge, to report the matter to the coroner, who must forthwith hold an inquest to find whether the discovery be treasure trove or no. Although the taking of the find is not larceny until this be done, the concealment is an indictable offence is  still punishable in practice, and formerly was held akin both to treason and to larceny. In the statute Dc officio coronatoris 1276
(4 Edw. I. c. 2) the coroner is enjoined to inquire as to treasure trove both as to finders and suspected finders, and that may be well perceived where one liveth riotously and have done so of long time.

     The Coroners Act of 1887 continues this power as heretofore. In Scotland the law is the same, but the concealment is not a criminal offence; it is there the duty of the kings and lord treasurers remembrancer, with the aid of the local procurator fiscal, to secure any find for the Crown, whose rights in this respect have been pushed to some length. Thus in 1888 a prehistoric jet necklace and some other articles found in Forfarshire were claimed by the authorities, though they were neither gold nor silver. The matter was finally compromised by the deposit of the find in the National Museum. By a treasury order of 1886 provision is made for the preservation of suitable articles so found in the various national museums and payment to the finders of sums in respect of the same. Also if the things are not required for this purpose they are to be returned to the finder.

      In India the Treasure Trove Act (16 of 1878) makes elaborate provision on the subject. It defines treasure as anything of value hidden in the soil. When treasure over Rs. 10 is discovered, the finder must inform the collector and deposit the treasure or give security for its custody. Concealment is a criminal offence. An inquiry is held upon notice; if declared ownerless the finder has three-fourths and the owner of the ground one-fourth. The government, however, has the right of pre-emption.

     In the United States the common law, following English precedent, would seem to give treasure trove to the public treasury, but in practice the finder has been allowed to keep it. In Louisiana French codes have been followed, so that one-half goes to finder and one-half to owner of land. Modern French law is the same as this, as it is also in Germany, in Italy and in Spain. In the latter country formerly the state had threequarters, whilst a quarter was given to the finder. In Austria a third goes to the finder, a third to the owner of the land, and a third to the state, and provision is made for the possible purchase of valuable antiquities by the state.

      In Denmark treasure trove is known as treasure of Denmark, and is the property of the king alone. In Russia the usage varies. In one or two of the governments, in Poland and the Baltic provinces, the treasure is divided between the owner of the land and the finder, but throughout the rest of Russia it belongs exclusively to the owner of the land. This was also the law amongst the ancient Hebrews, or so Grotius infers from the parable of the treasure hid in a field. (Matt. Xiii. 44).

See Blackstones Commentaries; Chittys Prerogatives of the Crown; R. Henslowe Wellington, The Kings Coroner (1905-1906); Rankine on Landownership; Murray, Archaeological Survey of the United Kingdom (1896), containing copious references to the litera ture of the subject. (F. WA.)