New Age Grave Robbers

www.theguardian.com...

Detectorists strike gold as British Museum reveals record haul

There were 1,120 treasure finds in 2016, the highest number since the revised Treasure Act came into law 20 years ago

A glorious jewel made from hundreds of tiny pieces of garnet set in gold to form geometric and animal shapes lay for 1,400 years on the breast of an unknown woman until her Norfolk grave was rediscovered by a first-year university student. The item was among a record number of treasure finds reported by the British Museum in the year 2016. The pendant and other jewels and coins buried with the woman were among the spectacular discoveries mainly made by metal detectorists

I sincerely relate to this behavior as totally out of order. This is basically grave robbery (in the case of the woman as that is HER property, even though she is dead). If you think I am being silly and irrational think on this: When will it be okay to break into Bob Marley's tomb and take his beloved Gibson guitar from him that he wanted to be buried with?; may be after twenty years, fifty, one hundred? What is the difference in time scale because it is still the same act?

I would be fuming if somebody did that to my grave and my cherished accompanying items. If it is okay to do that to this woman just because they stumbled upon her and they don't know who she is then it acceptable to go grave robbing any grave to look for treasure. It is lets dig em all up and take their wedding rings kinda thinking.

Where is the line? Where does the law stand on this?

www.quora.com...

So, when does it become not a crime to raid the graves of the dead? When does it become morally acceptable?

Can I start digging up all the ancient graves around the East Gate in Jerusalem? Can I raid King George's grave for his goodies yet? Why is there a law protecting SOME graves and not others?

Even in death there is no release from the one rule for some and another less favorable for the many.

May be it is a case of anonymity? When there is no name in memory to associate with the grave then it is fair game? If that is so then def' make sure to see that your gravestone is kept clean. However, we know the Pharaohs names, but still dig em up and parade them like a circus show. Saints get the worse treatment. Their remains have to put up with some very weird collective human behavior indeed down through the ages.

a reply to: Revolution9

The pendant and other jewels and coins buried with the woman were among the spectacular discoveries mainly made by metal detectorists – including a hoard of 158 bronze age axes and ingots, the largest of its kind to be found in Yorkshire; and more than 2,000 silver Roman coins in Piddletrenthide, Dorset, which the finder and a local archaeologist managed to lift together with the clay pot holding them and the entire block of soil in which it was buried, so it could be studied at the British Museum.

The grave of the Norfolk woman, who probably had aristocratic or royal connections, was found by Tom Lucking, then a landscape history student at the University of East Anglia. He has since graduated with a first and found work as an archaeologist. His student loan debt repayments will be made considerably easier by the £145,000 valuation recently agreed at the British Museum for his treasure, which will be shared with the landowner.

Sounds like standard archaeology to me....

a reply to: Thorneblood


You are missing the point. Of course it is standard archaeology. EDIT: May you furnish me with the response that the future proved I know you are capable of (hahahaha). That's the cool thing about having an editing window.

I have a problem with this behavior as I would hate them digging me up like that and destroying my resting place when I had made such detailed arrangements for the next world.

Read more carefully what I have written. I am trying to raise awareness of the border lines, where a crime becomes no longer a crime. It is a crime to dig up some dead, but not others. Why is that? Who decides? Where is the line?

a reply to: Revolution9


Wil it be okay some time if I come to America and start digging up all the Presidents and Hollywood actors for their treasure?

Would you be offended? Why was it okay for the Europeans to utterly loot Mayan artifacts and Egyptian artifacts, African artifacts and Aboriginal artifacts, native American artifacts; destroying graves and digging up their noble people from the past?

Can I dig up the graves in Jerusalem for the gold they might have?

I have friend who is an archeologist, i always refer to her as a grave robber! S+f

The other thing that gets me, is when find something that they dont know what is is. They make some crap up, and becomes fact.

Do you want ghosts?
This is how you get ghosts.

a reply to: Revolution9

The line?

The coins, which showed no sign of wear, dated the burial to between AD650 and AD675.

The grave is over a 1000 years old and was on someone's property....are you honestly telling me that we have no right to examine our own history when we stumble upon it?

Should we just leave it all in the dirt?

Look, the guy in this story did the right thing....it's not like he sold the stuff on Ebay...he donated it to the British Museum so they could further expand their understanding of local history.

Is that response good enough for you?

Tim Pestell, senior curator of archaeology at Norfolk Museums service, which is to begin fundraising to acquire the items, said: “This is one of those rare finds which really does rewrite history: a burial of the highest stature, in a part of Norfolk where we would not have expected to find it, with objects imported from the continent and which connect her to finds at other sites. “The garnet work is of the highest quality – not quite as good as Sutton Hoo, which stands alone, but certainly comparable to the Staffordshire hoard.” Work continues at the site, which has been identified as a cemetery, possibly with a nearby settlement, evidence of which has been almost obliterated by centuries of farming.

Shall we just let farmers and construction workers destroy the past to satisfy your ethics?

Wil it be okay some time if I come to America and start digging up all the Presidents and Hollywood actors for their treasure?

If, a 1000 years from now, you stumble across it then by all means knock yourself out.

Grave robbing in the name of archeology makes it 'okay'.

As far as time goes, bury a watch today and in a thousand years it becomes priceless.

Who would discover King Tuts tomb and reseal it instead of plundering it?

A federal statute states that garbage becomes public property once it hits the curb. I've found a lot of neat stuff over the years, I only recall one time I gave something back to the home owner I found in his curb side recycle pile.

Another time something I found in a dumpster. Dumpster diving is forensic archeology from a certain perspective. People think when they throw something away it vanishes from the earth.

Finders keepers is been excluded from the law now.

If you discover a valuable hoard in a grave the Gubment will lay claim, by force if necessary. Collectors will rip you off if possible, thieves will steal it if they have opportunity.

a reply to: Revolution9

well dont bury yourself somewhere where they can dig you up and dont bury yourself with earthly possessions !

I think its unfair to disturb any remains even for archaeological reasons , but at the same time it does help advance a lot of studies

I think 100 years is what they would state given its the length of one generation

www.abovetopsecret.com...

This is why all the worlds aflame over something, like here on graves. It don't even quit when your in the ground.

a reply to: Revolution9

from that article I linked to:

I have excavated numerous such sites, all ancient and except for the reasons stated above, cannot imagine why I would excavate anything other than ancient. Personally, “social acceptability” is not an issue with me - the law and professional ethics are.

See what I mean. This archaeologist does not give a hoot personally about who is offended by what they do as long as they doesn't get their ass kicked by the Law. Lol, typical academic and scientist approach. If we left morality to them we would all be a continual lab rat experiment and kept in jars, hahahahaha!

It does cause offense though. It causes huge offense that sometimes has to be settled in International courts. It causes cultural offense because it is a kind of looting that happens when armies invade and colonization happens. Every treasure hunter knows that tombs are the place you find treasure. I would say most of the treasure we find, the little pots of gold, are graves. People do not "lose" and "misplace" treasure like that, not in any age. It is the lie we are told to make it socially more acceptable.

a reply to: Thorneblood

Yes, that is MUCH BETTER!

I love you now!

Here is my amendment to the above:

EDIT: May you furnish me with the response that the future proved I know you are capable of (hahahaha). That's the cool thing about having an editing window.

originally posted by: sapien82

I think 100 years is what they would state given its the length of one generation

An average generation is 25.5 years, not sure where you get 100 from, hope this helps.

a reply to: Revolution9

As a detectorist before it became fashionable, I must ask you if this statement of yours makes sense in any form:

"I would be fuming if somebody did that to my grave and my cherished accompanying items."

Sure, there are lines of demarcation to be drawn, but on a larger than personal level, we learn about our history in much of this reclaiming of long buried and totally forgotten materials unearthed. Written history is often biased and incomplete. Actual history is finding what the long gone peoples used and lived with and under during their time on earth. Whether it is a cache of gold, Roman coins or a bit of a copper implement. Is it better for such items to never be found, or some young kid with a detector?

originally posted by: Revolution9
a reply to: Revolution9


... I would say most of the treasure we find, the little pots of gold, are graves. People do not "lose" and "misplace" treasure like that, not in any age. It is the lie we are told to make it socially more acceptable.

I would say that you're wrong; in these types of cases at least.

www2.le.ac.uk... about-iron-age-and-roman-britain

And, you'll not see any real accounts of this stuff being found with a body/bodies:

en.wikipedia.org...

There were no banks.

The Templars hadn't started their wealth storage scheme yet.

People buried shiiit to keep it safe in times of upheaval.

I am sorry but this is ridiculous!

These "modern day grave robbers" work in an industry, that does not pay vast amounts of money.

Archaeologists study and work in the industry for the love of our civilisations history, and all for peanuts.
It is an extremely important job, because it allows to understand our ancestors and helps shape our future.

These people work very hard for very little financial reward. This is a rare case, and I think its nice to hear about a big reward for all their hard work for once.

I sense bitterness and jealously, because it was not you that made the 'find'

a reply to: djz3ro

well it makes sense to me hahah since the average age for males in scotland 71

I just thought one generation was how long it took for you to live and die then your kids

so its only one person as a generation

learning new things all the time , look at me go!

a reply to: Revolution9

What does it matter to the dead if there tomb is robbed? Very little im sure. Its the family of the. Deceased you have to worry about. The dead decomposing body is just an empty shell.

a reply to: Revolution9

Exactly. No respect.

Well alest some people have graves to rob .
think about this science estimates apx 100 billion people have lived all through out the time Our type of Humans have been on the earth .
Now out of that 100 billion how many do you think even got buried and a grave ? half ? not likly 25 % doubtful .
10 % maybe but a stretch . 1 % at most is a reasonable amount and even that number is probly high because if it is that amount there will be over 1 billion graves on earth now .

Betetr yet think about this assuming there are 1 billion buried name 10,000 . No ? ok 5000 . No again .
darn this is such a pain name 1000 out of 1 billion people who are buried .

Now in a 100 years who will be able to name you ?