Friday, May 18, 2012

May 18th 2012: Why No "Outreach" about "Metal Detecting" Magazines?


Heritage Action refers to a post of mine where I highlighted the contents of the June 2012 number of “The Searcher” magazine "which of course show, in a way that cuts through all the comforting platitudes from PAS and the Culture secretary like a knife, just how money-oriented every one of the suppliers and (what must be) a massive number of the exponents of metal detecting are". I pointed out that it is “worth popping along to the local newsagent’s and getting a copy, just to see what these people get up to, what they think is worth talking about, and what they do not”. As Heritage Action points out, though PAS is currently heavily involved in the organization of the magazine's "Best find" competition, PAS is nowhere on its website as part of its "outreach" urging members of the public to use the magazine to find out "what these people get up to, what they think is worth talking about, and what they do not”. Or join any metal detecting forum. Why not, if they see what their "partners" as doing as some form of amateur archaeology? Could it be that PAS is actually aware that it is not true, and that closer familiarity with what metal detectorists do in England and Wales would show that to be the case? Why do the PAS apparently consider it unnecessary for members of the public to find out for themselves what "metal detecting" is actually about?

2 comments:

  1. Here we go again! cant stop can you you really have nothing better to do than slag of metal detectorists.
    Jealousy is a terrible thing MR BARFORD!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do not see your point, this text is about what the Portable Antiquities Scheme is failing to do. I am not jealous of the PAS, being an FLO must be among the worst jobs in the world.

    ReplyDelete