New York State Archeologists Attacking ExploringHistorysTreasures TV Series

[detector99]

New York State Archeologists Attacking Producer Of Exploring Historys Treasures!
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Metal Detecting TV Series Upsets Arkie?s

In my past posts you have read my concerns about the situation in Virginia and what we at EHT were proposing to do to help other states so that kind of injustice does not harm others within the hobby. Now the Arkie problem has personally come to my TV production, and me, and I am asking for everyone support. Otherwise, not only our freedom to produce our TV productions, but all of our interests in this hobby may again be blown out of context in another State.

A few days ago I became New York States President and director for World Wide Association Of Treasure Seekers (WWATS). For those of you who are not familiar with this organization please visit www.wwats.org , this organization is positioning itself to be a very powerful association in fighting for the rights of individuals like us who love to metal detect.

Most of us know of the other organizations that were helping us with our defense against Archeologists and various other State authorities, whom have tried to take our metal detecting rights away from us. For a variety of reasons it seems that those organizations have not been doing enough to fight for our detecting privileges. However, now with WWATS, that will change. I feel very confident with their abilities to help all of us.?

Some of you may know that I am the Executive Producer of ExploringHistorysTreasures.com, please view our site and watch our ?trailers? if you have not done so. We at EHT produce for TV, an exciting metal detecting series. Our first series, Ghost Towns Of The East, was an overwhelming success in the local Central New York area, that is, except for the Archeologists who became aware of what we were doing. Now they are defaming not only my name, but also my TV detect?en partner John DeCharo by saying untruths in a recent newsletter they have printed. Below is an excerpt from that newsletter.


Editorial

The article begins with the following sentence.

?A number of ----------- Chapter members e-mailed us to report the latest archaeological horror story. TV Series Exploring History?s Treasures Debuts. Two men Frank W. Pandozzi and John Decharo, are digging up historic artifacts using assorted sources of information and their metal detectors. What they are after are the artifacts, and nothing but the artifacts! To them, by getting permission from the landowners everything is fine.?

I will shorten the newsletter article to stress the important areas. Here is what another Chapter member said after viewing our show.

?These two treasure hunters are demolishing archaeological sites-destroying historic cultural heritage, and are receiving what appears to be positive reinforcement from others for their activities.?

The newsletter then continues with this.

?I urge those of you who live within the viewing area of this program to watch it, tape it, if you are able, and share it with members who are outside the viewing area of this program so that this can be discussed at the February meeting.?

Another interesting section reads.

?The objects are being ripped out of their context with no regard to the material around them; the strata in which various objects are located, the environmental setting which may provide extremely important information about the human people and groups they represent are going to be lost forever.?

Then they have the nerve to write this.

?Please consider writing to WSTO-LP, Channel 14/Time Warner Cable?s Channel 6, to voice your opinion and concerns.?

Now allow me to address what they perceive as John and I ?demolishing archaeological sites, and ripping out objects from the ground.?

First, we have permission to detect private property, however, John and I did pick up a few pieces of pottery chards and broken bottles when we were filming on State Lands. When we did begin detecting, we dug 3-inch plugs, retrieved our finds, and covered the hole with the dirt we removed. All of this is shown on video for everyone to see. Does this sound like we are demolishing archaeological sites, or ripping objects from the ground?

In addition, we strive to show the hobby in a positive way. That is why we produce the program. We tell our viewers to ask for permission before going on to private property, and to respect the property owner?s rites. We stress the importance of filling in every hole dug, and not to leave trash behind. Would we be so stupid as to break any law and then film it for everyone to see? The fact is that we broke no laws while detecting, we never did, and we never will. However, the Arkies believe otherwise, anyway they have met their match.?

Folks, the Archeologists are messing with the wrong person. I will go as far as I can to fight their injustice against all of us and their defamation of my character and Johns. If they continue their nonsense I will use my TV program to my advantage. However, I also need your support. Please pass this information on to every treasure seeker you know. It makes no difference whether or not that person is a metal detectorists, bottle digger, rock collector, gold digger, or a person who just likes to walk the streams and creeks of our free country searching for arrowheads. The newsletter shows how Archeologists attacked John and I; however, they are also attacking the rights of all treasure hunters. If they fight to stop my TV production, I?m afraid they will not stop there and all treasure seekers will be affected.

Please respond to my discussion board with your posts, but please, be diplomatic about it. The Arkies do read my website posts. I do not need an Arkie causing me any more problems because someone defamed them on my discussion board. Besides, I do monitor my forum and I will delete any message that I believe is in distaste. Lets not lower ourselves to the levels they have shown with their remarks about John and I.

Please feel free to email me. And finally, join WWATS, it?s a free membership and they need every voice that can be heard. I need your help also. I believe our television programs are the best within the hobby, and we want to continue to bring them to you. We will have VHS and DVD copies available, but only if we can continue to film without the Arkies breathing down our backs.

I promise to live up to my appointment as NYS WWATS President, and your representative for the future of our hobby. Bring me any concerns or signs of harassments by any Archeologist. I will fight for your rights. Thanks in advance for your help!

I am asking all clubs to please ad this information to your newsletter.
If you need a club speaker please email me.

Frank W. Pandozzi
detector99@yahoo.com
www.exploringhistorystreasures.com

 

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[Arkansas Bill]

Upset Arkie's?? Probably more than you realize.? Archaeologists (notice the correct spelling, sil vous plait) and the citizens of the great state of Arkansas are probably not exactly enamored over your choice of words.?

 

[jeff of pa]

No matter What word is used ARCHEOLOGIST, ARCHIE, ARKIE or whatever. You know who it is directed towards. I personally do not see either of these words Derogitory. Or anything in this letter Derogitory for that matter.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?The Point is, Do you want them telling you, "Even tho a Landowner has givin you permission to search on his land, we have a problem with it, and we're going to do everything in our power to make shure, Landowners are not allowed to give you permission to disturb anything under the Ground"? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?This is the Exact same thing starting, that is now going on in Virginia.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? The point Being, Let's not fight against each other on Our Choice of words, let's fight against, Having are Hobby taken away from us.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? www.wwats.org ? ? ? ? ? ? JOIN, FIGHT FOR YOUR FREEDOM, or get ready to dispose of your detector

 

[diggummup]

I agree with jeff of pa,archeologists or whatever slang term used for them is not the point here.The point here is more of our personal freedom/s being yanked away from us.We are not excavating the remains of lost civilizations here,we are simply(myself anyway)exercising our rights as citizens of OUR country, the personal freedoms granted to us by the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!Every little thing we as citizens do,it seems lately,is being put under a microscope and then blown out of proportion.If we as citizens just lay back and DO NOTHING,before long we won't be able to do ANYTHING without permission from some GOVERNMENT entity.So all you ARKANSANITES that are offended by the slang term for ARCHEOLOGIST, need to get over these minute(adj.)discretions and look at the BIG picture.How many amateur detectorists do you know that have desicrated ancient ruins in thier quest for a little piece of thier national history?HUH?How many more "historical"sites do we need?How many have been bulldozed in the name of progress?To build mini-malls,housing developments,condos,resorts and everything else under the sun, deemed an enhancement or beautification project?This is just another EXAMPLE of the little guy getting pushed around by the bully.THESE ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THIS SUBJECT.I pity the day when we can't even go for a walk in the woods without being harassed.It's getting there.....

 

[cheese]

Arkie is not a derrogatory word. It's just like calling us MD'ers. It's a shortened term. Archaeologists are not bad, and not all of them oppose relic hunting. I am an amatuer archie who is very much in favor of relic hunting. Picture this: A hundred years ago there were open spaces and virgin land all over the country. Now, virgin land is almost non-existent and farms, housing developments and roads cover a large percentage of the country. It's a domino effect...the more the population expands, the faster it expands. One hundred years later, where will all the artifacts be? The ones that remain will be covered forever, scattered and damaged by landmoving equipment, and otherwise lost or destroyed forever. And here we are hunting them out and saving them voluntarily...because we enjoy it.

One thing that ticks me off....Why are they so worried about a few items that us MD'ers might find when major historical sites...even pre-columbian sites...are being destroyed every day?? I know of some native american mounds being destroyed. The land was levelled, and a big reservoir was dug into the middle of it. These mounds were midden piles many feet high and 100s of yards long. They were made almost entirely of pottery and bones. Everything from sea turtle bones (charred from being cooked) to ancient human remains. People have walked over the site carrying grocery bags, even boxes, filling them with relics from the past. The DOT even used the midden piles for material to grind into asphalt!!! Now, in that regard, how do they justify focusing their attention on a little civil war bullet someone allegedly "ripped" out of the ground?? BTW: on the human remains I mentioned...I know this because I found an acient piece of skull there myself. I met with state archaeologist to report the find and the destruction of a burial ground and handed the piece of skull over to him. He was less interested than I'd hoped...he already knew the place was being demolished.

One more thing...If it weren't for us, a large percentage of historical places would not even be known. Detectorists and TH'ers find places that no one knew about. We save relics before they get paved over. We save relics before they get broken by the plow. We save them before they get crushed by heavy equipment, before they rust or corrode into nothingness, and before they get ground into asphalt (tongue in cheek). We discover things of significance and preserve them. Isn't that better than losing them forever? Some of us even keep records of where they came from. Collectors of Native American artifacts do this regularly.

Why can't they see that what we do is better than leaving them there? It's the only way many artifacts and relics will ever be recovered and preserved and saved from destruction.

They might argue "yes, but the place being hunted in the show was in the woods, not in a city or cultivated field.". But...it probably will be a road, development of some sort, field, etc... in the future. Some ghost towns are already built on top of. How do they intend to get a relic out from under a shopping mall?

Ok, I'll stop now, lol. This kind of thing just gets me worked up.

 

[stoney56]

There's so many things to be said on the subject but the only short thing I can think of that hasn't already been said is that the archeologists is that they're using our own tax dollars to raise the fight against us. and who knows-maybe 500 years from now there will be a museum display of various pulltabs and screwcaps to show how our society lived.

 

[nedigger]

It seems to me that archeologists and our government entities suffer from a severe case of sour grapes.If they can't have it then nobody can and if they aren't profiting from it then they will be darned if anyone else will! This is the same kind of crap that Mel Fisher was battling when he started finding shipwrecks in the waters off the coast of Florida. It seems no one could care less about them until he and his crews found them and then suddenly he was no better than a modern day pirate and the government was ready to lay claim to them. He took it to court and although the goverment still got their greedy, sticky fingers all over it, he basically won. If he hadn't put up a fight, who knows what effect that may have had on our hobby, not only in Florida, but nationwide.
If I get permission to hunt a field that has been tilled and planted for the past 150 years and pull a few relics from the earth, pray tell me who or what I have hurt. No one. But sure enough, let an archeologist find out and watch them start yelling foul. They themselves will never find it all. There is just too much out there and is scattered to all four corners and everywhere in between. Are they afraid they are going to miss something of great historical value or that bridges a chasm in history...the proverbial missing link. It's very doubtful. Even if a regular "Joe Detectorist" did find something of such significance, it would most likely be recognized as such and would be turned over to a museum, university or other such institution to be studied.
Most of the items we find are quite common (some more so than others) and can be found in abundance in the back rooms and storage facilities of museums and will most likely never be seen by the general public and are sometimes sold or auctioned off by the very officials who want to chastise us for collecting, buying, selling and trading of such relics.
As Cheese was saying, if you want, you can till it under, pave it over or build upon it but use a metal detector to locate it and save it from it's earthly (or watery) grave and suddenly you're a common thief stealing our national heritage.
So when we can no longer go out and detect has anyone given any thought to what their next hobby will be?

 

[Lowbatts]

We will not win if we think we need to take some "high" ground in semantics, that's for sure. I've watched as tens of thousands of acres of farms around here have gone under the earthmover and with every load of topsoil, the entire archeological record of this area disappears. Now comes academics, aligned with a few high minded elected reprehensibles, and what I'm doing is an outrage? At the worst I'm picking up trash. At the best I'm finding something that they are NOT looking for. And these protectors of the public interest? Who is picking up the tab for their efforts? We are by mandate. Call it what it is, academic welfare. The thought that by law they would mandate that certain items rot in the ground rather than be found by someone who is not pediGREED like themselves goes so very far from the American ideal it's absurd. We have been deemed criminals already. Likened to the pyramid tomb raiders of old. Wow.

For those of you on the wrong side of this argument, Uncle Johnny saw some archies in one of his fields arrowhead hunting, they had not asked permission and were seeking to setup there as it was an old Indian site. He took his shotgun and greeted them as they fled over his fence and they have not returned. He told me stop out and dig anytime, just don't bring such presumptive idiots like those along ever unless they wanted to be buried there. There's still a few Americans who believe in the individual and the nature and concept of liberty.

 

[kenb]

Well said lowbatts, well said

 

[diggummup]

Lowbatts- Your Uncle Johnny sounds like a great guy.I would've paid money to see that spectacle.