LA RESPUESTA DE UN PAÍS AL PROBLEMA DEL EXPOLIO: LA TREASURE ACT Y EL PORTABLE ANTIQUITIES SCHEME EN INGLATERRA Y PAÍS DE GALES

Abstract

Every country struggles to find ways of controlling the activities of amateurs who search for archaeological objects. England and Wales have developed a unique system of protection in the Treasure Act of 1996 and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The Act gives legal protection to a small group of finds that qualify as Treasure — precious-metal objects and hoards of coins — and these are offered to museums, while ensuring finders and landowners receive the full market value. The number of finds qualifying as Treasure has increased from about 25 a  year  before  1997  to  over  a  thousand  in  2014. The  Portable Antiquities  Scheme  consists of a national network of 45 archaeologists who encourage searchers — mainly metal detector users — voluntarily to report  their  finds,  and  the  information  is  recorded  on  an  online  data- base (https://finds.org.uk) which now includes details of over a million archaeological objects. The paper looks at how the Treasure Act and Portable Antiquities Scheme work, some of its problems,  and  explains  how  it  is  completely  changing  our  understanding  of  the  archaeology of England and Wales.