Archaeologist/Metal detectors

[YoungBlood]

Please put you opinion on Archaeologists, Metal Detectors, Treasure Hunters, etc.

 

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[austin]

All are looters to one degree or another...

 

[bzbadger]

Difference between an archaeologist and a detectorist/hunter is a few years in college specifically for the items we find,oh and the debt that came with that college education. I think that's why the archs get so upset, they paid all that money to do what we do.

Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain

 

[TheRingFinder]

Every treasure hunter I have ran into on my journey's have been great people, Every Archy I have ran into have been rude, mean, hateful and acted very immature.

That is my experience - Though I am sure there are a few hunters that are jerks and a few Archys that are decent.

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

whew.

 

[G.I.B.]

Please put you opinion on Archaeologists, Metal Detectors, Treasure Hunters, etc.

Which one are you?

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

wow...this is gonna be a touchy thread..lol

I have respect for all 3 for different reasons

I would consider myself a treasure hunter... I would never destroy an area...or steal from sacred Native American areas..

I also dont think Metal detecting is considered Looting..it might be annoying to some people seeing holes every now and than....Now brining in a Excavator to a Historical Site is a different story..

I think Archaeologists do a great thing in preserving History, as treasure seekers and detectorist, are more of collectors of History.

It boils down to the Person ..IMO

 

[loco oro]

i worked for a crm firm , which is esentialy a contract arch,firm,where ever state was going to impact a hist/prehist site ,and there was usualy a distain for the collecter,but i found that it was mostly the young newly educated, who were proudly wearing there brand new badge of ethics, but the older more experienced ,were often more than happy to look at a locales collection,or hear their story of a place nearby and soforth,i was more than egar to see what came from a site nearby, if nothing else ,to see what lithics were found, and i will be absolutly honest the finest clovis points i ever saw then or now were from private collections ,found by local collectors, and i would not have had the pleasure if it werent for them, my opinon is that people have been littering the landscape for thousands of years, and there is plenty for all, with respect of course.

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

I've seen both sides. I have worked on multiple projects with archaeologists in both a volunteer and paid capacity. Some of the archaeologists recognize the expertise we bring to the table in locating metal or battlefield artifacts. Others look at us as "pot hunters" and don't give us recognition for what we do. I've seen digs where we do a better job at digging techniques to preserve artifacts.

I think there is common ground to be made through communication. There are "bad" detectorists and "bad" archaeologists, but we don't have to all be lumped together.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[YoungBlood]

Which one are you?

I'm a little bit of all and know several of each.

 

[G.I.B.]

I'm a little bit of all and know several of each.

Now there's a firm commitment...

Who were you an archeologist with?

 

[YoungBlood]

Now there's a firm commitment...

Who were you an archeologist with?

What do you mean?

 

[Jason in Enid]

What do you mean?

Yep, that's what I expected.

 

[YoungBlood]

Yep, that's what I expected.

When I say a little archaeologist its because I'm in 8th grade and can't volunteer yet, but I have studied archaeology on my own and with archaeologists. Done a few of my own digs. I also plan on taking archaeology in collage

 

[loco oro]

very cool man but i have to tell you there isnt much money in it, but if you love it then go for it, i worked at heberling assoc for three years just out of high school ,and loved every project , i got to work gettysburg twice, but was limited to impact zone , but was cool, a bridge replacement where first shots were fired in a running skirmish , and the other was a visitors center where they had photos of a (reported med tent ) , gruesome photo legs and horse corpses, but was determined this a local effort of cleanup, we supected that .got to work a few fantastic contact period sites, these were the most exciting , one project on rt879 n of clearfield pa on a confluence of a small stream and the west branch of sesquhana river, a prehist site with a 1790s blacksmith site on top of it very cool one of my coolest finds was there , i was verting a wall for photos , and flicked out of wall a steatite gorget, a meter deep , with a sortof sun burst type design carved in it , it went phase three total excavation and every meter pit had multi layered fire features , found heat treated jasper in the feature and only partialy worked a moment in time supercool. but i got lucky ,my town had a crm firm , which was owned by paul heberling a professor of anthro at juniata college, i started with them ,great people ,quik to clearly explain ,they still take students for feild work when you get older of course heberling assoc, alexandria pa. very good people, i worked there twenty years ago and would still be there ,,but had to chase the dollar ,i have 7 kids , i guess i loved women as much as history lol but keep open mind for some of your greates treasures will come from unlikely spots

 

[YoungBlood]

very cool man but i have to tell you there isnt much money in it, but if you love it then go for it, i worked at heberling assoc for three years just out of high school ,and loved every project , i got to work gettysburg twice, but was limited to impact zone , but was cool, a bridge replacement where first shots were fired in a running skirmish , and the other was a visitors center where they had photos of a (reported med tent ) , gruesome photo legs and horse corpses, but was determined this a local effort of cleanup, we supected that .got to work a few fantastic contact period sites, these were the most exciting , one project on rt879 n of clearfield pa on a confluence of a small stream and the west branch of sesquhana river, a prehist site with a 1790s blacksmith site on top of it very cool one of my coolest finds was there , i was verting a wall for photos , and flicked out of wall a steatite gorget, a meter deep , with a sortof sun burst type design carved in it , it went phase three total excavation and every meter pit had multi layered fire features , found heat treated jasper in the feature and only partialy worked a moment in time supercool. but i got lucky ,my town had a crm firm , which was owned by paul heberling a professor of anthro at juniata college, i started with them ,great people ,quik to clearly explain ,they still take students for feild work when you get older of course heberling assoc, alexandria pa. very good people, i worked there twenty years ago and would still be there ,,but had to chase the dollar ,i have 7 kids , i guess i loved women as much as history lol but keep open mind for some of your greates treasures will come from unlikely spots

REALLY AWESOME!!! Thanks. I love archaeology and history and I don't care if make a buck. Being an archaeologist has been my dream since I was little kid (weird right). I also love setting the history books straight because so many of them are wrong.

 

[bzbadger]

What problem I have is how we as metal detectorists are looked down upon by archs. How we're considered ravagers of history well in their eyes anyone besides them who unearth anything. Funny thing is and I know there's are some archs here is that most of them have collections themselves, so where honestly do they get off saying we loot? Is it because they received a piece of paper saying I graduated and now that gives me legal right to do what you can't and I can make laws up to defend that. Look back at digs in Egypt, India etc how archaeologists looted the tombs, graves,palaces and homes and kept the stuff taking it back to their countries, England being one of the worst and America not far behind. I love history and do whatever I can to protect it but I don't want to infringe upon people's rights just so I can dog the hole first.

Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

whew.

 

[YoungBlood]

As several people have said I believe everyone in the historic fields (metal detectors, archaeologists, etc.) Can find even ground. Like I said I'm a little of all so I don't look down on one. As an archaeologist I wouldn't dig a site such as a burial mound unless it was in danger. As a metal detector I wouldn't dig an important archaeological site. We should all try and compromise.

 

[Salura]

Well, I'm not a "looter" if I'm MD'ing my own property. I don't have degrees in Archeology. Call me a MD'er or Treasure Hunter (most appropriate because I do more than MD), but do it in a nice way.

I don't like the way "Treasure Hunter" has a bad connotation. How about Historical Research and Recovery Technician? I do more than show up, swing my MD and dig holes. Like most, I plan, research, and study the area. Then when I find things I do more research. I also document my research and findings (yeah, I'm a bit of a geek).

Regarding my views about others-there's good and bad of every demographic.

But, if you are on my property without my permission digging anything, you're a looter and you will be sorry.