My 2019 Captain America/Iron Man Big Bang drawing for @firebrands‘s incredible fic, you’d break your heart to make it bigger, so why not crack your skull. It’s gorgeously written and incredibly poignant, absolutely beautiful. Go read it!
As an archaeologist, I cannot endorse the practice of amateur archaeology, treasure hunting or metal detecting. This may ruffle the feathers of those who practice these as hobbies, so let me attempt to explain:
Unless you are conducting your activities under the supervision of a properly trained archaeological crew, what you are doing is looting. It is destructive, unnecessary, and potentially offensive. You do not have a permit from any of the correct authorities, do not know the chemical and biological risks of the area, are at risk of damaging trees and wildlife, and are not operating in communication with local/relevant descended groups.
Keep in mind, even if you did have permits, no actual scientists are aware of your “research”, and you aren’t adding any of your data to any known system. You may not be able to adequately preserve the artifacts that you remove because you are unaware of the proper, scientific procedures that are necessary for the storage/conservation of the items. most importantly, you are robbing descendent communities of say in how items belonging to their ancestors are treated.
By taking items without the oversight of a scientific team you are
- destroying the original context of those artifacts, denying us information that could be used for research, including
- environmental data like pollen, phytoliths, and starches
- soil grain analysis
- small artifacts that would come out in a sieve
- organic remains that may appear to be dirt/part of the soil matrix
- insight into depositional processes
- only collecting items that you deem to be of value
- potentially intruding into sacred spaces
- potentially exposing yourself to dangerous substances that thorough research from multiple sources can properly predict
- without the proper precautions, you are damaging the habitat of the area in ways that you do not fully understand
Excavation, whether done by looters or archaeologists, is always destructive, which is why we train for years and have rigorous procedures to make sure that we’re destroying as little as possible and preserving what we do find. Our research ends up being funneled into places where other people can access it rather than being tucked away in private collections.
Here are some articles regarding people who called themselves amateur archaeologists/treasure hunters/metal detectors but were actually just looters:
- The Cerberus Collection in Utah
- Heinrich Schliemann and Troy
- Metal detectors find a hoard of coins in England
This post is not meant to shame people, it is meant to educate on the dangers of looting. If anything here sounds like something that you do, I urge you to reevaluate your decisions and try to apply your talents in a more constructive way. Many archaeological teams would be thrilled to have a metal detector volunteer for them. You can help museums with their collections. You could start school to become an archaeologist. If none of this applies to you, take the opportunities when they present themselves and spread the word.
voxofthevoid