Today's abomination in Archaeology

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Swedish Museum Accelerates Their Cultural Collapse By Turning Viking Artifacts Into Scrap Metal ? Return Of Kings


"...Following the revelations of one of its angry archaeologists, it emerges that the curators of Stockholms Länsmuseum have been ordering the systematic destruction of newly found artifacts from the Iron Age and the Viking period under the guise that it would be too burdensome to process..."


eta: apologies for the incorrect title spaillin. sometimes my brain gets ahead of my typing. or is it the other way around.
edited yet again to Thank TH for fixing my error!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

fixed title for you...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Awesome link Champ-ferguson. It's true that museum space and staffing simply don't allow for all the items that exist to get displayed. So you can hardly blame them for getting at least the melt value. Or at least they should put on ebay to raise museum funds.

It's articles/links like that , that cause me to have little guilt about cultural heritage issues and archie concerns. I mean, sure: We can all agree not to tromp on a sensitive monument, or snoop around in their dig-pits going on. But beyond that, .... no tears shed if I dig up a 51+ yr. old coins out in the forest or desert or beach.

 

[treasuresalvor]

Sadly, many archaeologists and their colleagues would rather see historical items either destroyed or left in the ground than have anything make it into private collections, yet many private collectors do a better job of preservation and documentation. I would have no guilt displaying a historically significant artifact in my own home vs. having it toe tagged and jammed in a box in some museums closet.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Sadly, many archaeologists and their colleagues would rather see historical items either destroyed or left in the ground ....

Alas, the archies have their pat platitude answer for that. They would say "How do you know for certain that .... 2000 yrs. from now, some future archie *might* not dig in that exact spot ? Thus the buffalo nickel could tell future generations about their history. "

In the same way that we all enjoy National Geographic archie studies of the pyramid worker-bee villages that existed several miles downstream of the pyramids themselves. Thus while seemingly not "ground zero sensitive" (like the pyramids themselves), yet archies have gained a BOAT-LOAD of cool info on the day-to-day lives of common blue-collar workers of the era.

Thus in the same way, you can never know for 100% certain where your "pot-hunting" now, won't do harm to future archies.

Shame on you. I know you are shedding alligator tears now. Right ? But I will absolve your conscience of all guilt. Just box up all your stuff and send to me

 

[treasuresalvor]

You're right Tom. I think it's time that I hang up my shovel for the greater good of mankind...not.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Criminal for sure. But it's no better here. We plow up ancient sites, cart off rocks, put freeways over old canals and generally destroy the past. Silver is interesting but it doesn't tell you much about the history.

I had an aunt whose multi-generation family orchard (and cemetery) is now deep under the Prepacton Reservoir - a water supply to New York City 120 miles away from the area. They did move the headstones.

There are too many people already in the world to have many preserved sites and the world's population is at the rate of doubling every 40 years or so. We're going to have to start repurposing cemeteries pretty soon.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

There was an 1810's mission asistencia / out-buildings spot in my part of CA . We'd found some reales, buttons, and super early USA coins there. Then they got ready to build a subdivision over the spot. As a prerequisite, the developer had to have an archaeologist to "monitor" the site. You can bet the developer hired a .... uh ... "customer friendly" archaeologist, paying extra, to "make sure nothing of interest was seen or found". Then .... gee golly ...... nothing was found. The project went un-hindered.

At a certain point, seeing all the dirt being off-hauled in trucks, we tried to get permission. Needless to say, they didn't want any hint of something of value surfacing, so they said "no". Thus all the dirt got hauled off and is now just levee material along the river miles away, and probably 10 ft. deep by now.

Hence I put very little stock into what some purist archies will say is the interpretation of the laws, and don't shed any tears about "cultural heritage" etc... Just got sick & tired of seeing this happen. Heck, if anything, I'm doing preservation MORE of a favor, as my stuff is in no less than 3 museums so-far in CA. That and my own private museum that is enjoyed by family and friends as well

 

[4x4x4]

....It true Tom and I've been witness. One site in the LA area produced two skulls expertly whisked away by the (well paid) archie whilst earth movers made surgeon like passes. It happens often .

Mark.

 

[sprailroad]

I have little doubt that the next step for America's ignorant, after removing ALL the statues, will be having book burning rally's. We already teach revised history in schools. Just look to how well informed our "university students" are in American history in general.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I have little doubt that the next step for America's ignorant, after removing ALL the statues, will be having book burning rally's. We already teach revised history in schools. Just look to how well informed our "university students" are in American history in general.

Ahhhh, but you will have the self-satisfaction that you have not "offended" any thin-skinned people. Good on you !

 

[TerryC]

Years ago, a piece of property in old downtown section of Murphys had an old building completely taken away. Just an empty lot now.... EXCEPT the town had two feet of fill brought in. Hmm. Building torn down... fill put in immediately... no other construction yet. Was the fill meant to keep us detectorists from digging? ╦╦Ç

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Years ago, a piece of property in old downtown section of Murphys had an old building completely taken away. Just an empty lot now.... EXCEPT the town had two feet of fill brought in. Hmm. Building torn down... fill put in immediately... no other construction yet. Was the fill meant to keep us detectorists from digging? ╦╦Ç

Few observations:

a) That might have been to bring it up to street level grade. And nothing to do with md'ing or archie concerns.

b) That might have been an archie call for "capping". Where they "cap" a site (for archie-monitoring requirements) to preserve what's underground to remain un-disturbed for future archies. There's actually been cases where some sort of construction project has to change all their blue print plan and build upwards from a given-point, once they found indian bones. So they can still build, but they have to cap it (add several feet of soil) and engineer to build upwards from there.

I have detected 2 different "capped" sites where there is a rise in the landscape d/t years ago they added soil to "cap" a site. And so the only period targets we get are on the fringes of the added soil.

c) Your job, in such old-town urban demolition cases, is to get in there THE EXACT NIGHT where there is neither 1) too much soil removed, or 2) fill-dirt added. There is scores of old-town demolitions I've worked where the window of time is just that slim. And jobs like old-town sidwalk demolitions where you have to get in their *right* when they've removed the old cement, yet before they've dug down deeper, or added compaction fill. That might require md'ing on their lunch hour. Which requires an extra degree of "coolness/invisibility" factor

 

[Honest Samuel]

Ahhhh, but you will have the self-satisfaction that you have not "offended" any thin-skinned people. Good on you !

I am a thin skin person, do not upset me.

 

[sprailroad]

Ahhhh, but you will have the self-satisfaction that you have not "offended" any thin-skinned people. Good on you !

Well Tom, at this point and time in my life, if I "offend" any thin-skinned people, well----------I guess they will just need to deal with it, while sitting in their "safe space" of course.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

lets keep politics out of thread please..

 

[Mzjavert]

One thing I have wondered is what is the ratio of junk to historical finds in this specific area

 

[sprailroad]

One thing I have wondered is what is the ratio of junk to historical finds in this specific area

I'd bet there would be Swedish pull tabs.