Historical Society/Museum Response

[sendin]

I am trying to find a good location to detect in a small town we are visiting this weekend so I placed the following ad in a couple of free venues and also sent it to a local Historical Society/Museum -

"My name is Denny. I am planning a weekend trip to ********** with my
wife who is competing at the Fairgrounds in Agility Trials with
our Border Collie Tina. We will be there this weekend Oct 28 & 29th and I
will be bringing my metal detector.

I placed a couple of free ads in ******** to do some metal detecting on
private property where I offered that anything I find I will hand over to
the owner. All I want is a picture of the find!

Anyway, I thought I'd pass on the same offer to you or anyone you know at
the Historical Society. You may have some spot in mind where some
artifacts or older coins could be found. I'd be happy to help you do this
and, of course, anything I find would be handed over to the Society or
property owner.

I have references and you can contact me via email until Friday and via my
cell phone after that."

And this is the response I got -

"I can't help you with suggestions of who to contact for metal detecting. I know there are a few members of the Historical Society who do that kind of thing, so I'll show your email to them. I do not condone metal detecting as a way of collecting artifacts for the Society or Museum, so will leave it up to those individuals who do it for their own enjoyment to contact you."

I think this response is fine, but I am a little perplexed as to why she would not condone metal detecting as she mentions. Is this what people learn when they take courses on archeology or something? Her response seemed like some veiled moral condemnation, but hell, I don't know what the issue might be.

Any ideas?

 

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[gold fish]

Um, maybe she's just one of those old cranky puritan types, you know, the kind that hate all our modern "witch-craft" tools.A device that beeps when it goes over metal has to be the work of the devil. ask anyone from 17th century salem!!!

There are a lot of professional archaeologists that use MDs.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Her choice of words crack me up....She doesn't condone metal detecting as a way of collecting artifacts...hmmm...okay....perhaps she does condone leaving valuable finds in the ground to rot away? What the heck? Most of these people who do work at the historical societies have no clue . They sit there with the hopes that someone dies and leaves all their history to the society....so they can fawn over it at their teas. Shoot me,. How much you want to bet that if you found 10000 silver coins and donated them to the society her whole outlook on what she condones would miraculously change .

 

[Jeffro]

Problem is this- there are too many stories of looters using metal detectors and so naturally(?) the two are equated with each other. Archies and historians run in the circles of artifacts, and so naturally they hear more of these looting stories than the general public.

It's really too bad that they don't have the time or inclination to find out that the vast majority of us are not looters.

She probably saw your letter the same way we all look at those Nigerian scam e-mails, figuring there must be hook or catch.

 

[sendin]

Jeffro- I think it is something else. I don't think whe would offer to pass on an email from someone she suspects to be a looter or scammer to other members of the society.

The Museum is right across the street from the fairgrounds and I don't know if she will be there Sat or Sun, but I might go over there and if she is there, she might elaborate on what she does condone.

I have a feeling that she might have some notion that MDers are like 'treasure hunters' (another term that is misunderstood I think) and really don't care about history; all they really care about is value. That is why I offered to turn over what I find to the Property owner. I'm not intent on changing anyone's mind, I just want to understand the prejudice.

I think if I did make a donation I think it could definitely change the reception, but I figure, at least right now, I am offering enough.

Still interested in any other opinions or if anyone has dealt with a small local, historical society and doing some metal detecting.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

My opinion- She may have thought you were looking for historical sites. Most historical sites are off- limits to metal detecting or any unauthorized digging. They want to lay out a grid, meticulously screen everything not just metal, and mark the locations of each find. This will often decide how history is written, or re-written. They may know of these sites but havent got to them yet. These locations often have "problems" with treasure hunters. They consider this looting. I know you offered to give them any finds, but you might do better if you just volunteered to help on one of their digs and then later mention that you have a metal detector. You may get a response from the MD people. They may know some areas that have potential but are not historically significant, just old. Just my opinion.

 

[sendin]

That sounds right to me bigcypresshunter.

There must be a lot of stuff left in the ground over this issue. Who can afford archeological digs at all the places a site is considered historical? College students and trained volunteers don't get to much of this done I'd bet.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

MDers and Archies worked together on The Little BigHorn Battlefield and dicovered that Custer was outgunned. Here is another story of Archies and Metal Detectorists working together to rewrite history.
http://www.protecthehobbynow.com/how_to_volunteer_for_archeologic.htm
"It appears that at last some archeologists are beginning to realize two things: (1) Not all metal detectors users are lowlife poachers who sneak into protected sites under cover of night to steal historic relics, and (2) Using large groups of volunteer metal detectorists is the best way to study a modern battle site; the pattern of bullets, spent cartridges, artillery shells and other metallic objects found by skilled detectorists can tell volumes about what actually occurred during the fight."

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Here is the Little Big Horn story where volunteer metal detectorists searched the battlefield after a burn.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/mwac/libi/methods.html

 

[Jeffro]

I guess the archies get the same kind of treatment sometimes- from todays letters to the editor-

Lawbreaker isn't archaeologist

In a recent news item, The Register-Guard repeatedly described Jack Lee Harelson, convicted of numerous antiquities-related crimes, as an "archaeologist" or "amateur archaeologist" (Register-Guard, Oct. 14). Harelson, who has destroyed archaeological resources and desecrated graves for his personal profit, can't be reasonably described as an "amateur archaeologist" any more than a criminal who shoots or stabs someone can be described as an "amateur medical doctor."

Dignifying Harelson's looting of cultural resources and his desecration of human remains by calling his behavior archaeology is an insult to those of us, amateur and professional, who actually are archaeologists. Unlike Harelson, we work hard, within the law, to preserve the past and educate the public.

Harelson might be called a pothunter, a graverobber, a looter or a violator of antiquities law. But he's hardly an archaeologist.

SARA E. PALMER

Eugene

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/10/26/ed.letters.1026.p1.php?section=opinion