Who do you contact To get permission to metal detect in foreign countries? We will be visiting Crete and I would like to metal detect. I realize that I can not remove antiquities but don't want to go to jail for doing something illegal.
Who do you contact To get permission to metal detect in foreign countries? We will be visiting Crete and I would like to metal detect. I realize that I can not remove antiquities but don't want to go to jail for doing something illegal.
Out of sight out of mind??
Well, el padron, I notice you don't cite any law that's actually saying "no metal detecting". But are just going by the intuition that is natural, that *any* country with such spell-binding ruins, simply *MUST* have some sort of border-to-border prohibition? Maybe yes, maybe no.
But it's all relative, when you think about it. Because SO TOO is the U.K. and the USA riddled with "historic" sites, depending on who you ask. Like how is Stonehenge any less magnificant. How is Mel Fisher's fabulous discovery (for which he underwent all sorts of scorn and legal hassles) any less historic or valuable? Etc... So TOO does the USA and the UK have prohibitions about certain types govt. land (why do you think UK hunters do 99% private farmer's lands afterall? )
In the USA, in some places (federal and some state level stuff) the age-cutoff is "50 yrs" to be considered a "historical artifact". Hmmm. And I can gaurantee you that you can find some archies here who might say you can't detect any public land, whatsover, on any level (and maybe even find dire-sounding verbage that appears to back up what they're saying). But the *reality* is, that it's probably only those couple of ivory tower archies who could dream up or care about such things, and you're right: You just avoid those "one or two" who might gripe, and no one else (certainly not the farmer you're about to go 50/50 with) cares less.
I'm not saying to "throw caution to the wind" and tromp of sensitive places, etc... But just saying that sometimes you have to read between the lines. Like right now, I bet you, there's no doubt hobbyist in Greece. Presumably doing their hobby legally *somewhere* Or .... with the ... uh ... "presence of mind" to not be an eyesore knowing how not-to-ruffle someone's feathers.
well, when you think of it, so too does any developers project in California require an "environmental impact report". And guess what one of the parts of the EIR's is? CULTURAL IMPACT. They have to research what was there before, and if deemed to be something of interest, they might have to have an archie "monitor" it, etc...
I'm not trying to say that Greece's "cultural heritage laws" are to be scoffed at, or ignored, or go in after 5pm like we do in the USA to any old-town demolition site. I'm just saying that .... when you want to get down-right technical, the USA is no different. Oh sure, one place may be "more enforced" than the next, granted. But this is where common sense comes into play. Not just reading some book or link, etc.... or finding some laws you just assume apply everywhere, etc....
I have no doubt in my mind, that if a tourist from Greece were getting ready to come to the USA, and asked enough border consulates here "can I metal detect in the USA?", that he might actually find one to tell him "no". And even with dire-sounding verbage that may appear to say exactly that! Why? Because the pencil-pusher might be interpretting something at state-level laws, or ARPA, or exporting gold bars out of the country, blah blah blah.
I actually talked to my boss about this, who is from Greece.
He told me that they wouldn't take to kindly on this at all...In fact they are very serious about keeping whats there, untouched.
Its not like the old days where you can walk up to the Parthenon and pick up a couple rocks.....Very guarded place.