8.1: The "Responsible Artefact Collector"


It is often disregarded that what the British euphemistically call "metal detecting" is just part of the wider activity of collection-driven exploitation of the archaeological record. It uses the archaeological record as a source of collectable items. In order to do this responsibly, if it must be done at all, it follows that their retrieval by an individual is accompanied by a permanent and accessible record of the information that is as far as possible recompense for the information that is depleted by their removal. This is one aspect of the issue of responsible artefact collecting, the other (discussed in the following sections) is the responsible curation of the collectables and the associated information about them and their origins.

The fundamental issue is seeing archaeological objects as a source of information, rather than as mere trophy objects. The responsible collection of such items requires that information to remain retrievable and associated with the object (including information about the collection itself).


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