September 2009 saw the four hundred thousandth item recorded on the database of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This was no mean feat for a scheme that was set up to be purely voluntary. Amateur archaeologists, metal detector enthusiasts and people making chance discoveries while going about their everyday business can take their finds to an expert for study, get advice on conservation and contribute to our knowledge of the past, before taking them home again.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme
The Portable Antiquities Scheme was launched in 1997, when the Treasure Act of 1996 came into force, and was subsequently expanded in 2003 to cover the whole of England and Wales. Its aim was to encourage members of the public to bring in their humblest finds for recording. Treasure may grab the headlines, but from an archaeologist’s point of view, it is the less glamorous discoveries – the pottery, letters and clothing of ordinary people down the centuries - that tell a more complete story of our past.
The Scheme was set up to encourage finders to report all their discoveries to local Finds Liaison Officers, who are based in museums and archaeological services around the country. Their details can be found on the Scheme’s website. The British Museum has managed the Portable Antiquities Scheme on behalf of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) since 2006.
A Multi-Faceted Approach to Portable Antiquities
Unlike the requirements of the Treasure Act, finders are not legally obliged to report their non-treasure finds. In consequence, the Scheme is highly proactive in reaching out to the public about the importance of the whole range of archaeological finds, from Neolithic flint axes to Victorian belt buckles. The Scheme's annual report for 2006 noted that the Scheme organised 776 informative events, which were attended by over 37,000 people.
The Scheme aims to raise awareness of the importance of studying archaeological remains in their context, and encouraging public involvement in archaeology. The Scheme also offers conservation advice, and is actively involved in tracking the trade in illicit antiquities. There is a growing emphasis on research, now that so much data has been recorded, with a number of PhD students working on various aspects of portable antiquities.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme – A Success Story
The Scheme has been undeniably successful. Many new archaeological sites have been discovered as a result of the finds recorded by the Finds Liaison Officers, and the abundance of data generated is now published on the Scheme’s website. At the ‘Recording the Past’ Conference held at the British Museum in September 2009, which surveyed the current situation regarding archaeological finds from across Europe, Dr Johan Nikolay of the University of Groningen confessed to a certain jealousy of the success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
There is still work to be done however. Roger Bland, Head of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum, told the conference that he is hoping for amendments to the Treasure Act. These would extend the obligation to report an item of treasure to whoever was in possession of it (not just the finder, as at present), and create an offence of dealing in undocumented archaeological finds.
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