A new artefact hunting club with a misleading web presence has been created in Gloucestershire by a guy called Steve Taylor [DetectingforGold]. It is called the "Portable Antiquities society: Specialists in Land Surveying and Detecting". Of course it is nothing to do with land surveying, but that sounds technical and will no doubt fool some landowners. This 'society' is called: Cheltenham's newest historical research organisation. A society put together to enhance our knowledge of the past and conserve and protect our ancient history.The blurb on the home page is also notable. After telling the reader that the county is "steeped in history" which "lies hidden beneath our feet", it then alleges that must of this "history" is now "being lost forever" and this is due to the advent (sic) of modern farm machinery. But all is not lost:
The Portable Antiquities society have had remarkable success in finding some of Gloucestershire's most remarkable treasure's, which includes the 'The Poulton Hoard', Eldersfield brooch, and many more, some of which are now on display in the Corinium Museum, Cirencester. Our team can offer an unbeatable service, in surveying and detecting hidden objects, from water pipes to missing parts from tractors. Our interests are to map out the history of Gloucestershire, and record human migration throughout the centuries, and publish the information on a national database.Well the PAs (note the misleading acronym) cant have actually found anything much since it was only formed earlier this month (9th April). So that's the first deception. Now, readers will no doubt remember that metal detectorists often claim that their machines do not penetrate very far ("six to eight inches" they insist) so how on earth can they seek pipes with such machines? A pipe just six inches down in the soil can be found by probing and digging, can't it? But of course that is just an excuse. As is "our interests are to map out the history of Gloucestershire", they are not so much interested in mapping as hoiking out collectable artefacts as they are shown doing in one of Mr Taylor's videos made in Suffolk. Note there is not a word about that aspect of metal detecting anywhere in this text (!).
But what on earth is this nonsense about recording "human migration throughout the centuries"? This is Gloucestershire they are talking about, not the Oregon Trail. If they consider that migrationism is a dominant paradigm in archaeology I can only assume they've picked up a 1929 archaeology textbook at a car boot sale for 5p and are basing their knowledge on that. What nonsense.
I guess the reader is intended to infer from the phrasing of the last bit that this PAs is the actual host of this "national database" where this "information" (about migration through the centuries) is "published". And lo and behold a search on the internet will reveal just such a PAS database, with a strap-line in black with white lettering on the background. Now I am sure this is totally unintended and Steve Taylor simply did not think that people might confuse his new organization with a public-funded institution. But that does not mean that he should not rectify this oversight now it has been pointed out.
Especially as one gets the feeling that the whole thing is really nothing else but a front for some nasty anti-archaeological agitation. Look at the Diary of a Yobody about how the angry guy found a hoard and the FLO didn't come and collect it from him (read the Treasure Act and especially the Code of Practice sections 38-9 Mr Taylor, the finder is supposed to deliver it to the Coroner from whom he gets a receipt made out to him). Then he only got 17 000 quid for it and had to share it with the landowner. Those back-stabbing "archaeologists" are to blame! There's a video all about it. Don't be misled by the artefact hunter's gentlemanly demeanour and uneven hint of a Home Counties accent, this guy is a trouble-making oik like many of the rest.
Steve Taylor is one of those who went off on an archaeological-metal-plundering holiday in Suffolk in 2008 and made a candid video on it. One to which I posted a link on this blog a while back (because it showed how many finds a detector user can make in a few days). As a result of his reaction to that, he is relegated to my metal-detectorist-ass (as in UKEng 'donkey') ghetto blog, here, here and here. With regard to the aims of the PA Society suggested on their website, note what he informs me in the latter one:
You seem to be a collision course for self destruction on your private war against UK detectorists. I have now instructed the various Museums I have loaned items too over a number of years, to return them, because of your personal attracts (sic) on the hobby. Many of these museums did not have the funding to purchase these items and were loaned by myself for the public to view. I have told them why I am now asking for the items to be returned, and I now hope to turn the archaeological community against yourself. Regard Steve TaylorWhether or not this action turned the archaeologists of Britain against me I could not say - but as I commented at the time:
As for taking "his" objects from public display as a reaction to me discussing a video he made of a detecting holiday in Suffolk on a blog, then really that simply demonstrates the depth of the public responsibility detectorists like Mr Taylor display. What were his motives in loaning them to museums in the first place - to offset criticism by archaeologists, or to make a contribution to public knowledge? I wonder if he will be contacting the landowners on whose land these things were found to explain the reasons why he is now not sharing them with the public? We still have no news whether the finds from Suffolk we saw in the video reached the PAS or local museum.
The "Work with the Archie's and they stab you in the back" video is here and on You Tube here. What else can one say? It's not exactly "working with the archie[ologist]s" to report a Treasure find, its what the law obliges any finder (with or without a metal detector) to do. If you don't you are a criminal, what the metal detectorist parlance calls a "nighthawk".
Mr Taylor alleges he was being "stalked" by an archaeologist, and when he got a FOI search done, he found out he'd been suspected of being a nighthawk but he says innocently "I've never been out detecting at night" [shifts gaze from camera, looks at ground].
Do have a look at the comments to the You Tube video.
UPDATE Saturday: Mr Taylor wrote to me, among other things thanking me for the "publicity" for his views, but I note that he has now made the "diary of a Hoard" visible to registered members only, so obviously he is not all that interested in members of the public reading what he wrote. He says he searches 110 farms in the county - so the information must be fair flooding into the local HER from that "national data base" as he "maps" all those human migrations or whatever it is he claims to be doing on the basis of his artefact-digging.
The text on the "about us" page is new, it was not there last night when I wrote (in yer 'aste, y'forgot the spellcheck, Steve).
The Portable Antiquities Society Search Team
Our society is dedicated to the research and discovery of our lost past, using sophisticated electronic aids in locating small metalic objects, from the plough soil. The area's that we study would never be excavated archaeologically by the County archaeologists due to time and cost, but our team with many years of experience undertake this work in our spare time at no cost to you. We hope to illustate and record finds from Gloucestershire on our national data base which can be shared by all, for future generations. We are always happy to give talks to local historic societies and organisations and will bring along a selection of finds for you to look at and hold, to bring the past alive. We adhere to a strick code of conduct, liasing with local museums to share any knowledge of a particular areas. that's nice then. Which "strick kode" wuld that be? And YOUR national database would be where, exactly? (No link given).