Portable Antiquities: Archaeology, Collecting, Metal Detecting

This Event has now taken place. To view the presentations please see below.

The Council for British Archaeology and the International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies are organising this two-day conference taking place at Newcastle University and the Great North Museum: Hancock, in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. The conference will take place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th March.

Papers will address recent research, new initiatives and ultimately discuss what the future holds for portable antiquity management and protection in the UK and further afield. Speakers include individuals from archaeological, collecting, metal detecting and law backgrounds. For information view the conference programme [PDF | 16.9KB] and abstracts [PDF | 41.4KB].

There is also an opportunity to join the speakers and chairs for dinner on Saturday night at the Mandarin Restaurant on Stowell Street, in Newcastle’s Chinatown. Places however are limited, so contact Suzie Thomas for further information if you are interested.

Registration and dinner bookings are open until Friday 5th of March. If you have any queries after this date, please contact Suzie Thomas

To book a table at this event, for book or equipment sales, contact Catherine Todd

This event is sponsored by the CBA, English Heritage, Newcastle University, the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, Archtools, and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, with support from CBA North.

Follow the links below for further information:

• Conference Programme [PDF | 16.9KB]
• Conference Abstracts [PDF | 41.4KB]
• General queries: Contact Suzie Thomas for queries about booking and conference content; or Catherine Todd for queries about venues, transport and accommodation.

Presentations

Links to presentations and further information are provided where available. Please note that the presentations are the intellectual property of the speakers, representing their individual opinions and arguments. They are not property of the CBA.

Saturday 13th March

Theme 1: Portable Antiquities and the Law

• Outreach or enforcement: lessons learnt through the Portable Antiquities Scheme and Text of presentation Dr Michael Lewis, Portable Antiquities Scheme
• Metal detecting and portable antiquities - the Scottish perspective Stuart Campbell, Scottish Treasure Trove Unit
• The Lord’s Prerogative and an Act of Trust: Portable Antiquities in the Isle of Man Allison Fox, Manx National Heritage
• Policing the past: Recent work to tackle heritage crime in Kent and beyond Andrew Richardson and Michele Johnson, Canterbury Archaeological Trust, and Mark Harrison, Kent Police

Theme 2: Collecting and Ownership

• Coin Collectors and Cultural Property Nationalism Wayne G Sayles, Ancient Coin Collectors Guild Extended paper available
• The Ethics of Ownership Richard Thomas, Independent Metal-Detector User
• The Impact on Numismatics of Metal Detecting Finds (presentation not available) Peter Spencer, Numismatist

Sunday 14th March

Theme 3: Models for cooperation and communication

• The relationships between archaeologists and metal-detector users in England and Wales: a brief history Dr Suzie Thomas, Council for British Archaeology
• The Metal Detecting Forum - An Online Community: Resource, Education and Co-operation Tom Redmayne and Kevin Woodward, United Kingdom Detector Net
• What’s Missing? David Connolly, British Archaeological Jobs Resource
• Building a democratic facility for portable antiquities Dan Pett, Portable Antiquities Scheme
• A Common foe: Combating Nighthawking Dr Pete Wilson, English Heritage

Theme 4: Recent research

• Profiling Detectorists Tiva Montalbano, University College London
• The Integration of Archaeologists and metal detecting in investigating the Heritage landscape of West Kent Diarmaid Walshe and Paul Cawsey, University of Sussex
• [Biting the bullet: Battlefield archaeology and metal detecting] (Coming Soon) Natasha Ferguson, University of Glasgow