9.1: Curating Archaeological Information as a Personal Collection


Antiquities collection
Since the archaeological record is finite and fragile, responsible artefact hunters who are removing material and information from it must replace any information destroyed by a permanent and as full as possible documentation.

The objects in a responsibly-created private collection should not be held loose, but in a form that allows them easily to be linked back to the documentation of the archaeological interference that produced them.

As Ian Longworth (1992, 5) puts it, if the collected objects are to be used to fulfil their potential, then their care becomes a matter of paramount importance. It should be noted that preservation, far from being a passive role, is a task that must be worked at that calls for the use of many resources to turn good intention into reality. To be effective in this task private collections must seek to reach attainable standards and these need to apply to all aspects of the problem - the environmental conditions under which the collections are kept, their documentation, conservation and availability for study as much as the physical conditions and security of the building they are kept in and the method of storage. To aspire to maintain an archaeological collection imparts both moral and financial commitments. Not everyone should embark upon this voyage. If the likelihood is that resources are either not or unlikely to become available then it would be more responsible to leave the material in the ground or seek out others more capable to shoulder the burden. For those committed to the task the attainment of the highest professional standards has to be the goal.

In part adapted from 'Standards in the Museum Care of Archaeological Collections', 1992

Tamara Kroftova comments:
"Many collectors stress that they collect antiquities in order to "preserve, display and study" ancient objects as an expression of their interest in, and respect for, past societies, and as a visible token of their own cultural 'enlightenment'. Very often, too bragging rights are involved. It may sound 'cool' to decide to have a 'home museum', but the irresponsible collection of portable antiquities can lead to damage to archaeological sites and destruction and loss of archaeological information. It follows that responsible collection maintenance is part and parcel of responsible collection-driven exploitation of teh archaeological record, and it is a mystery why this does not form part of the 2017 'Code of best Practicve for Responsible metal Detecting in England and wales' or the outreach of the Portable Antiquities Scheme."

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