Written by the Treasreguide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
Two Alabama Tax Tokens Found With Metal Detector.
These were found at an old hotel site. The hotel had burned down a long time before.
The site looked like a battlefield with bomb craters and fox holes everywhere. Evidently someone who didn't know what they were doing had been there.
Anyhow, there were a variety of targets to be found. These are two.
You'll love this! Here is a list of the top ten archaeological finds made in Britain - and almost all made by detectorists.
Take a look.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/treasure-island-ndash-the-best-archaeological-finds-in-britain-1816442.html?action=gallery&ino=1
That site can be a little difficult to navigate but it is worth it.
How about the chap that found a pot full of coins on his first outing.
It happens. But not often.
One lady found a gold escudo on the Treasure Coast on her first outing.
Some people hit the lotto too.
Detectorists and other amateur hunters make important contributions and deserve to be acknowledged rather than slandered. Just look at these amazing discoveries from England.
When I look at the top ten discoveries made in the world in 2011 as ranked by Archaeology Magazine, not one was made in the US. I wonder why?
Nothing to be found? I don't think that's it.
If you consider how England, for example, handles its history and relations with the public relatively well it seems. They have what is called the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS).
The PAS encourages detectorists to report find and creates much better relationships and results than the illegal-to-do-anything approach preferred by many archaeologists in the US. In the US, instead of protecting history for the public, they seem to want to keep the public from their history. Just shut-up and pay your taxes, fund archaeology and the museums, and maybe someday we'll dig something out of our dusty basements to put on display so you can pay to see it, and then we'll wonder why so few people are interested.
I think the US archaeological community should quit trying to portray the people who fund their salaries and museums as a bunch of ignorant looters and grave robbers. They would be much better off getting to actually know the people who have an active interest in history and arcaheology and encourage pubic interest and involvement.
Yes there are people who do things wrong. That goes for both detectorists and archaeologists. How many artifacts sit in the homes or offices of archaeologists? How many artifacts that belong to the public are stored in dusty basements, or worse yet, lost?
I recently posted a story about an artifact sent to a Wyoming school by Luis Leaky that turned up after many years of being lost in a basement. That is not the type of collection management that the tax payers should expect.
I hate to get on one of these rants but some of the stupid, out-of-touch, ignorant things that are said and done by some of the archaeological community just sets me off.
I spent a lot of my career in academia, and I know how insulated and out-of-touch academic communities can be. Like I said, they should actually get to know the people that they seem to view as enemies.
I could go on for pages and pages, but I'll stop there. I think I made my point.
If you want to know more abut PAS, here is a link.
http://finds.org.uk/
Yesterday I mentioned proposed legislation in Kentucky that you should support before it is too late.
Here is a link to read more about that.
http://www.lex18.com/news/treasure-hunters-proposal-hits-road-block-in-ky-
it was Some of the things in that article that set set me off today.
Treasure Coast Beach Conditions and Forecast.
Yesterday we had some north winds but the seas were only about three feet. Today they aren't much bigger. That means beach conditions will not improve. However, by the weekend the seas will be down to one or two feet. That should mean easy water hunting.
Unfortunately I suspect that the shallow water will be very sandy too.
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
