Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Why we record

Without records, finds become anecdotes. With them, they become history. Every reported object adds a dot on the map of Britain's past, and the PAS database has transformed our understanding of settlement, trade, and conflict across two millennia.

How we work with the FLO

Significant finds are taken to our regional Finds Liaison Officer for identification, weighing, measuring, and photography. The record is then published on the public PAS database, with the find spot generalised to a parish to protect the site. The club has developed excellent working relationships with the Hampshire (Anne Thom) and Surrey (Simon Maslin) FLOs. From the latter:

The ancient artifacts and coins you may find represent valuable archaeological information about past communities and the history of this country. The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a voluntary finds recording service, run by the British Museum (in England) which aims to document and preserve this information, which otherwise could be irretrievably lost.

The results of this work can be seen on our database www.finds.org.uk which comprises a virtual museum of finds which (at this point in time) is approaching 2 million items. For each record, findspot locations and finder identities are redacted for public view to protect site security, but the archaeological information becomes part of a huge resource used by finders, researchers, archaeologists, historians and planning officers.

As Finds Liaison Officer it is my role to identify and record your finds to add to this database. I am also the point of contact for the legally mandatory reporting to the Coroner of finds subject to the 1996 Treasure Act (precious metal finds over 300 years of age, groups of coins, significant metal finds and groups of prehistoric metalwork).

The Treasure Act 1996

The Treasure Act 1996 (and the amendments that have followed it) defines the categories of find that must, by law, be reported to the local coroner. In broad terms it covers:

• Single gold or silver objects (excluding coins) over 300 years old.
• Two or more prehistoric base-metal objects from the same find spot.
• Groups of two or more coins of the same find, over 300 years old.
• Certain hoards of recent date judged to be of national importance.

More than 350 Treasure cases, and counting

Across the lifetime of the club, our members have been involved in more than 350 Treasure cases. Each began with a signal in a quiet field, ended with a coroner's determination, and contributed a new line to the national archaeological record. A number have been acquired by national and regional museums, including the British Museum.

The process, in plain terms

1. The find is left as undisturbed as possible and photographed in situ.
2. The landowner is informed before we leave the field.
3. The find is reported to the local Coroner within 14 days, normally via the detectorists' local FLO.
4. A coroner's inquest determines whether the find qualifies as Treasure under the Act.
5. If a museum wishes to acquire it, the Treasure Valuation Committee sets an independent valuation and a reward is paid, shared 50:50 with the landowner.

Notable hoards

Hoards are the most evocative of all detecting finds: a moment in time, captured at the point a person buried what they could not afford to lose. The hoards below have been formally reported, examined by our regional Finds Liaison Officer, and published on the PAS database.

Further reading

• finds.org.uk
• Our NCMD membership
• Finds Gallery, a walk through time