.
There is a
useful handlist of the commercial artefact hunting rallies in the UK attended by the PAS between 2000 and today from the PAS website. The hyperlinks should give details of which FLO was there and what was reported. I am not clear whether this list means that before 2008 the PAS was not in attendance at any of the many dozens of commercial rallies that were taking place, or whether the details are now difficult to extract from the records. I note for example that the rally in Suffolk in 2008 from which emerged a fuss about me including a photo of the
FLO in action seems not to be on this list. The
map of commercial artefact hunting rallies in which the Portable Antiquities Scheme has been involved may not therefore be fully up to date. The geographical pattern it reveals is quite interesting.
Each of these places represents an area where the archaeological record over a substantial area has been depleted and in places destroyed by the selective removal of material. To what degree is this mitigated by the lists of a few dozen finds for the most part from unrecorded places within the original pattern contained in the PAS database? What was not recorded at these commercial rallies? How much money was made (including by participants flogging off the finds afterwards) from these events, and how much did providing PAS legitimation of them cost the public? It seems to me that commercial rallies are an especially weak link in the pro-artefact hunting arguments.
1998
1999
2000
Linkenholt 1st September 2000 1st September 2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Rallies that the Portable Antiquities Scheme has attended
Linkenholt 1st September 2000 1st September 2000
2005
Myddle Rally 2005, Shropshire 3rd September 2005 4th September 2005
Rotary Charity Rally at Brill, Bucks 2005 10th April 2005
2006
Myddle Rally 2006, Shropshire 16th September 2006 17th September 2006
Rotary Charity Rally at Brill, Bucks 2006 9th April 2006
2007
Weekend Wanderers at Billingsfield II 4th November 2007
Weekend Wanderers at Billingsfield I 23rd September 2007
Rotary Charity Rally at Brill, Bucks 2007 15th April 2007
2008
Baddiley, Cheshire - 26/10/2008 26th October 2008
Fosse Way charity rally 12th October 2008
South Shropshire Rally 12th October 2008
Weekend Wanderers - Ropley (28-09-2008) 28th September 2008
Thrapston & Raunds Charity Rally 28th September 2008
Cliffe Metal Detecting Club Rally 14th September 2008
Trowbridge club rally 8th September 2008
Stixwould rally 5th September 2008 - 7th September 2008
Firle Rally 5 23rd August 2008 - 25th August 2008
Water Newton II 23rd August 2008 - 25th August 2008
Water Newton I 17th August 2008 - 19th August 2008
Weekend Wanderers - Ropley 27th July 2008
Rotary Charity Rally at Brill, Bucks 2008 27th April 2008 27th April 2008
Combermere Abbey 2008 24th February 2008
2009
Weekend Wanderers - Broughton (20/12/09) 20th December 2009
Somerton 2009 8th November 2009
Weekend Wanderers - Otterbourne (18/10/09) 18th October 2009
Rotary charity rally/Wessex MDC - Hannington (04/10/09) 4th October
Combermere Abbey 2009 27th September 2009
Tickhill 2009 25th September 2009 - 27th September 2009
Water Newton Rally III 25th September 2009 - 27th September 2009
Glemsford Rally 2009 25th September 2009 - 27th September 2009
West Hanney 2009 19th September 2009 - 20th September 2009
Coinshooters Charity Rally at Padbury 12th September 2009 - 13th September 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover Dean 5th September 2009
Linwood, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire 4th September 2009 - 6th September 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover Dean 30th August 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover 27th August 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Hardwick 23rd August 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover 20th August 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Mentmore 25th July 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover Dean 28th June 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover Dean 28th June 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Mentmore 9th May 2009
CS at Wharley End, Beds, 2nd - 4th May 2009 2nd May 2009 - 4th May 2009
Rotary Charity Rally at Brill, Bucks 2009 26th April 2009
Malton 2009 10th April 2009 - 13th April 2009
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover Dean 22nd February 2009
Weekend Wanderers - Twyford 1st February 2009
Weekend Wanderers at St Leanards, Bucks 17th January 2009
2010
Weekend Wanderers - Stone 27th November 2010
Marsh Farm, Sudbourne, Suffolk, November 2010 21st November 2010
Beckingham Hall (Tolleshunt Major) Essex Oct 2010 31st October 2010
Weekend Wanderers - Cholsey 2nd October 2010
Green Farm, Bacton, Sept 2010 26th September 2010
Isleham, Cambridgeshire, 2010 26th September 2010
Glemsford Rally, Suffolk, Sept 2010 24th September 2010 - 26th September 2010
Langham, Essex (Colchester MDC) Rally 19th September 2010
Urchfont 2010 17th September 2010 -19th September 2010
Grange de Lings, Lincolnshire 17th September 2010 - 19th September 2010
Andover Anton Rotary Club Charity Metal Detecting Rally 12th September 2010
Western Region (Dave's) rally, Broad Hinton, Wiltshire 12th September 2010
Wyverstone Rally, Suffolk 2010 12th September 2010
Fosse Way RABI rally 2010 12th September 2010
West Hanney 2010 10th September 2010 - 12th September 2010
Water Newton IV 10th September 2010 - 12th September 2010
Great Shefford 10 - Rotary club & Leisure Promo 5th September 2010
Detecting Wales Rally - Ludlow 2 5th September 2010
Bridlington Quay Metal Detecting Club Luttons Rally 29th August 2010
Weekend Wanderers at Ellesborough 29th August 2010
Weekend Wanderers - Ropley 26th August 2010
Weekend Wanderers - Ropley 28th August 2010
Hacheston 22/8/10 22nd August 2010
Detecting Wales Rally (19) - Ludlow Area 15th August 2010
Dewsbury District MDC Dog Tag Rally 2010 15th August 2010
Weekend Wanderers - Wendover 12th August 2010
Rally UK Matching Green 8th August 2010
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover [Hale Lane] 5th August 2010
WW Fritwell Aug 2010 1st August 2010
Weekend Wanderers at Wendover Dean 22nd July 2010
2011
Rotary Charity Rally at Brill, Bucks 2011 17th April 2011
Brampton and Longtown Rotary Club MD Rally 2011 3rd April 2011
The Rodings, Essex 27th March 2011
Rotary/LP rally - East Stratton, Hants (27/03/11) 27th March 2011
Weekend Wanderers - Crawley (12/02/11) 12th February 2011
Combermere Abbey 2011 6th February 2011
Burley Gate - Herefordshire - Detecting Wales 30th January 2011 30th January 2011
Weekend Wanderers - Twyford (30/01/11) 30th January 2011 30th January 2011
Weekend Wanderers - Broughton (02/01/11) 2nd January 2011 2nd January 2011
Although as will be seen, one of the Raunds events is listed, if you click on the link you will see that not a single item from this 2008 rally was ever shown to any FLO. That's Central Searchers for you, all "take" and no "give". So what if it was for "charity" when the people involved are merely there to pocket history for the pounds and pennies they spent?