Since 1997, over 11,000 legally recognised metal detector treasures have been discovered in England

The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) has evaluated 20 years since its inception. The results include. A publicly accessible database of recovered artefacts, new archaeological sites and finds, which to date numbers nearly 1.5 million objects, a terrifyingtens of thousands of collaborating archaeologists across the country, hundreds of participating museums and institutions, and hundreds of thousands of collaborating members of the public, including tens of thousands of children.

What is PAS

PAS records archaeological artifacts from public finds (most often with a metal detector), increasing knowledge, telling stories of history, and promoting public interest in the past. It is a partnership programme administered by the British Museum and the National Museum of Wales. PAS works with at least 119 national and local partners and has its own network of 40 local liaison officersLiaison Officers (FLOs), who link other freelancers such as expert advisors, interns and volunteers to the PAS management centre...

Main achievements

From the inception of PAS in 1997 to 2017, over 1,120,000 archaeological finds discovered by the public have been recorded (1,477,727 to date). It presents these finds in an online public database that helps identify new archaeological sites and rewrite understandings of the past. Of the 10,530 finds declared treasure recorded through PAS to 2017, a total of 215 museums across England and Wales have so far acquired 37% of the treasures for public display.

PAS is based on a similar finds recording system already in use in Flanders, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland, for example. The data collected, which is used by Historic Environment Records (HERs) amongst others, helps to protect the historic context and inform archaeological staff. They are very important for archaeological research, as evidenced by the fact that they have been used in at least 455 research projects, including 20 large-scale investigations or 95 PhD theses.

The Code of Practice for Responsible Detectorists in England and Wales, compiled by PAS, provides a baseline of methods and best practice in picking upfor the recovery of archaeological finds, resulting in thousands of finds being preserved for archaeological use each year.

Public engagement

PAS helps to create partnerships at local and national level between allall those interested in archaeological finds to share knowledge about the past. Through the national programme it is possible for PAS and its partners to work with an ever-increasing number of people. Archaeological liaison officers play a key role, through their hostinstitutions and local organisations, they connect with local people and share their knowledge of archaeology and history. PAS has also drawn up guidelines for popular mass detector 'rally' events in England and Wales, jointly with the Association of Local Archaeologists, the Council for British Archaeology, History England and the Society of Museum Archaeologists.

In the last five years PAS has directly involved 326,400 people, including 57,500 children through PASt Explorers, expanding its volunteer base and providing new opportunities for people to get involved in archaeology. The huge interest is borne out by visitor statistics to the finds database website, which has seen over 2,255,000 unique visitors in 7 years. Through its own network of liaison officers, PAS has direct and consistent contact with 55 museums, 64 organisations and 197 detector clubs. For 2020, PAS anticipates recruiting at least 500 new volunteers for fieldwork.

Protection of cultural heritage

PAS plays a vital role in archaeologists working with finders and landowners and in providing advice to protect archaeological contexts and monuments. It is also a member of the monitoring committee and working group tasked with monitoring illegal criminal detector activity - e.g. Illegal looting of archaeological sites and the sale of archaeological artefacts. He coordinates this activity with the police and other institutions. Working with colleagues in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, it has set up a council to monitor auction sites (including eBay, with which it has a monitoring agreement) and groups and individuals dealing in archaeological artefacts.

It is undeniable that through PAS activity and working with detectorists, vast amounts of treasure have been rescued, many new archaeological sites have been discovered and understanding of the past has been shifted countless times. The National Museum in London itself uses the term 'rewriting history'. The contribution of the programme can be seen in its annual reports. Hundreds of thousands of people with an interest in history who work with museums, rather than ourwithout context end up in a drawer somewhere or, at worst, at auction abroad, millions of reportedfinds, tens of thousands of recognized treasures that advance existing knowledge, and hundreds of thousands of newnew people interested in archaeology and history - all of these are the considerable benefits that PAS brings.

A word in conclusion

In English countries, knowledge of history is seen (unlike here) as public and available to all without distinction. Archaeological sites with finds are perfectly presented by the media, eliminating the risk of disturbance and increasing interest in learning about one's own past. Archaeologists are constantly trying to bring their work closer to the lay public and the general public, often with live broadcasts of laboratories, lectures, etc. PAS archaeologists are in daily contact with people in the field, in schools and detector clubs. They train, assist, and are available to record finds and pass them on to museums. The system of positive motivation of cooperation and education is proving to be very successful. We can only hope that instead of endless guesswork and making things up, we will see a similar system in our country.

Roman Němec

Sources: finds.org.uk, britishmuseum.org