Portable Antiquities Scheme Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Portable Antiquities Scheme or PAS is a voluntary programme run by the United Kingdom government to record the increasing numbers of small finds of archaeological interest found by members of the public. The scheme was begun in 1997 and now covers most of England and Wales.It is primarily focused on private metal detectorists who through their hobby regularly discover artefacts that would otherwise go unrecorded. Members of the public can also report objects they have found and finds of non-metallic objects are also covered by the scheme. Finds that legally constitute treasure are dealt with through the Treasure Act, 1996. This however concentrates on precious metals and finds in association with them. Base metal and non-metal finds would not be recognised as treasure and therefore be unrecorded. The PAS exists to fill this gap.
The scheme funds the posts of Finds Liaison Officers (FLOs) at county councils to whom finders can report their objects. The FLO is qualified to examine the find and provide the finder with more information on it. He or she also records the find, its function, date, material and location and places this information into a database which can be analysed. The information on the findspot can be used to organise more research on the area. Many previously unknown archaeological sites have been identified through the scheme and it has contributed greatly to the level of knowledge of the past. FLOs maintain close links with local metal detecting societies and have contributed to a thaw in relationships between the detectorists and archaeologists who often previously disdained one another.
The find remains the property of the finder or landowner and its owner is free to dispose of non-treasure finds. The scheme is currently being temporarily being paid for by the Heritage Lottery Fund and attempts are being made to secure longer-term finance for it.
The scheme has its detractors, especially amongst those archaeologists who consider all metal detectorists to be desecrators of the past. Similarly some detectorists with suspicions regarding archaeologists' motives refuse to participate. The possibility that a newly-discovered site might be protected through Scheduling and therefore be out of bounds to future detecting visits is a concern of some hobbyists.
External link
The PAS Homepage
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