Author Topic: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.  (Read 9321 times)

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Tez

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #15 on: January 12, 2016, 04:23 pm »
Don't think I would be standing around that hole with that digger lol.

nailman

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #16 on: January 12, 2016, 07:32 pm »
Well this subject certainly got us talking.  I don't know the background I just watched the show the other night.  On it's own I thought it showed detecting in a good light.  The people in the show certainly made the point about doing the excavation for the right reasons, and identified the baddies in the background.

From my limited experience I cannot see a reason why archaeologists should be against metal detecting.  Not a justifiable true reason.

You still have a lot to learn grasshopper

Most modern Archaeologist embrace metal detecting as part of the survey procedures
The old school archaeologists hate us
Both camps disapprove of night hawkers who just strip sites for financial gain
Hope this answers you're query.
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Keith67

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #17 on: January 12, 2016, 11:52 pm »
Grasshopper understands oh wise one.

But what reason do old school Archaeologists have for hating the hobby?  What do we do that can be seen as bad?

Everyone rightly detests nighthawkers, another name for thieves, and all thieves are scum regardless how they do it.
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Cornholio

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #18 on: January 13, 2016, 03:16 pm »
But what reason do old school Archaeologists have for hating the hobby?  What do we do that can be seen as bad?

Because they went to university and you didn't so they get their panties in a wad when some ordinary geezer with a metal detector unearths something from a field they probably drive past every day. They like to think their career path enlightens them with arcane knowledge that mere "members of the public" like us cannot begin to fathom, when in fact, anyone who is interested can teach themselves as much as they know without going to university, and be as meticulous about uncovering artefacts as Baldric & Co. *

When you look at the way certain famed and respected archaeologists and historians spout their "facts", you'll find that they haven't done any donkey work (ie. hands and knees in muddy fields, or going through boxes of papers in dusty archive basements) since they were students themselves. Often, the facts they present as absolute are shot down a few years later as utter BS. - they've decided something was a certain way, and that's that. When their fanciful theories are be shown to be wrong, it might be thanks to some bloke with a metal detector.
 
They certainly don't want some electrician or mechanic showing them up (not least because they have no idea how to wire a light switch or change the oil in their own car), they want their name on the placard at the museum, they want to be doing nice little speaking tours to hushed rooms full of people awestruck at their momentous hoard discoveries.  They don't want you to be the man in demand telling of your finds, what have you done to merit the glory? (Apart from tramping up and down wet muddy fields in the cold for years, sifting out horseshoes and pop cans, obviously...)

That said, for all the hundreds of conscientious, sensible detectorists like I hope we all are, with more than a passing interest in what we find and the relevance to our society, history and culture,  it only takes 1 bell-end in a shellsuit hacking a field to bits without due care and attention, then e-baying the loot, to reinforce the prejudices those archaeologists have. Sadly, I fear there are more than a couple of these, and they don't give a toss, so long as they are making a bit of bunce. I can understand why some people might despair at what is being lost, deliberately or through ignorance, when they spot someone out in the middle of a field with their coil.
 
* Obviously the chaps who do all the DNA tests on bones and carbon dating etc are the real professionals, the real clever ones, but they aren't the ones getting sniffy about detectorists.

Nigel at Regtons

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #19 on: January 13, 2016, 03:44 pm »
Very well put that man. :)

JBM

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #20 on: January 13, 2016, 03:53 pm »
As I have said before over the years, nothing changes only the faces

I also think its a good contribution.  ;)   :)  Jerry.

nailman

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #21 on: January 13, 2016, 05:45 pm »
There are two breeds of Archaeologist
The academic verity they go straight from school to uni spend all their time writing papers that only other academic archaeologists read.
They claim we remove artefacts from sites with out recording their context and relationship to the area etc etc, and then we sell them on e bay. ( in practice 75% of our finds are in plough soil so we are rescuing the artefact from further damage by ploughing) and if someone finds a hoard the academics drool over it big time.

The second type is the commercial archaeologist, these are the guy and girls who work on construction sites motorways etc, I help a friend who is a commercial Archaeologist, they tend to embrace modern technology which includes metal detecting as part of a survey technique. The one I help runs a after school archaeology club we put washers 2ps into the long jump sand, let the kids find them with a detector, then plot map ref etc.
I was doing a History degree before a motorcycle accident, so have first hand experience of the academic archaeologist, there is Evan friction between academic and commercial archaeology
What a crazy world we live in
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nailman

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #22 on: January 13, 2016, 06:08 pm »
When you look at the way certain famed and respected archaeologists and historians spout their "facts", you'll find that they haven't done any donkey work (ie. hands and knees in muddy fields, or going through boxes of papers in dusty archive basements) since they were students
Quote from  Cornhollo

Totally agree see my post, tried to post this this morning but internet went down
How about we draw a line under this them and use as I feel we might be going of subject and hijacking a thread about a excellent program.
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Keith67

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Re: World War II: Battlefield Recovery- CH5 7.05pm tonight.
« Reply #23 on: January 15, 2016, 10:10 pm »
As I suspected, Archaeologists don't have a REAL reason for not liking detectorists.

Thank you all for the answers to my question.
Flirt with the dirt, beep, dig, dance....