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Select Here to View the MDHTALK's March News Brief in Adobe .PDF
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| March 2020 | Metal Detecting Hobby Talk News Brief Volume 11 Number 120 |
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Support The Hobby I would like to point out to the News Brief readers that there are a number of organizations taking on the challenge against various types of legislation dealing with metal detecting and gold prospecting. MDHTALK's recommendation is to visit their website and give strong consideration to joining the fight. In some cases your support may be to send emails and / or write a letter to specific legislators or to provide funds to help with the fight. Here are the organizations and a link to their website. |
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MDHTALK News Pages U.S. & W.W. News U.K. News U.S. Archaeology U.S. Legislation W.W. Meteoritic Other Media MDHTALK Article Links Return Stories MDHTALK Find a Club Read Newsletters FaceBook Clubs MDHTALK Event Calendar March |
What is a News Brief? The news brief provides a brief look into any news event. The intent of the news brief is to provide you, the reader, with news clips on what was taking place in the hobby last month. To read the whole story select the Article Link or go to MDHTALK.org. There are more news stories placed on the MDHTALK website for Febraury the news stories listed in the MDHTALK News Brief are just a portion of all the hobby related news reported the past month. The news Brief is now available in Adobe PDF format, there is a link at the top of this webpage. The news brief is no longer emailed; it is only available on the MDHTALK website and can be downloaded. The Website's featured article for this month is: Why Should I Join or Start a Metal Detecting Club? Download and view the Complete Article You may be recently retired and looking for a new hobby or you may be a long time detectorist. In either case you may want to consider joining a metal detecting club. Metal detecting is a hobby that can be enjoyed without being involved with other detectorist, however, much can be gained by being an active part of the detecting community. The new hobbyist may want to learn about the hobby while the long time detectorist can bring his detecting skill and knowledge to a club. What are the reasons for joining or starting a club? 1) Meet Other Detectorist. Getting involved with a club provides the opportunity to meet others in the hobby. A club represents a place where one can develop new relationships and enjoy fellowship. people that have a common interest which is metal detecting. 2) Learn the Necessary Skills. If you are a newbie, joining a club can provide many opportunities to develop your metal detecting skill. Most clubs have training programs on how to pin point, recover targets and the proper methods and equipment to use for detecting different terrains. You may also be able to learn the skills needed to detect different types of targets such as: relics, gold, coins, jewelry, and how to detect fresh and salt water beaches. If you are an old timer at detecting but have never joined a club, your contribution to the club could be in transferring your skill and knowledge to others. This can be done by providing talks on different aspects of metal detecting. There can be a great sense of self-satisfaction in helping others achieve their goals by sharing one's knowledge. |
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General U.S. and World Wide Hobby News
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Other News Sources
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University of Pennsylvania Law School 3501 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania By: Mark Nakahara Web Link |
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“It belongs in a museum!” So says the young Indiana Jones in one of the hit movies from the 1980s after observing the unauthorized excavation of an
important artifact.
But the question of who has the right to artifacts found in the United States depends on a number of factors. Government agencies, Native American tribes, and private property owners may all have a claim to artifacts depending on where they were found. The first and most significant federal law governing archaeology is the Antiquities Act of 1906. This act was the first to establish penalties for illegal excavations, damage, or appropriation of American antiquities. These penalties, however, only apply when the illegal action takes place on land “owned or controlled” by the federal government. The act also authorizes the President to declare historic landmarks as national monuments. In addition, the Antiquities Act lays out a permitting process for archaeological excavations on government lands. The power to grant a permit lies with the federal agency that has jurisdiction over the lands in question. In most cases, the U.S. Department of the Interior is in control, but for excavations taking place in forest reserves or on military bases, the permitting authority is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Army, respectively. The act also grants these agencies rulemaking power for historic and archaeological sites within their jurisdictions. Although the Antiquities Act plays an important role in regulating archeology in the United States, it suffers from weak penalties and lax enforcement. To build on the act and focus further on the protection of archaeological sites, Congress passed the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) in 1979. The Antiquities Act protects any “object of antiquity” but does not define the term or give examples. ARPA addresses the ambiguity over what is protected by defining the term “archaeological resource” to include “any material remains” of archaeological interest. It also provides numerous examples, such as pottery, weapons, tools, structures, and human remains. ARPA does not consider items under 100 years old, or paleontological items such as fossils, to be “archaeological resources.” ARPA expands on the Antiquities Act in two other ways. First, it sets forth a more detailed permitting process for archaeological excavations on public lands. Applicants must describe the “time, scope, and location and specific purpose” of their proposed work to the head of the relevant agency. Native American tribes, however, are exempt from these requirements when excavating on their tribal lands |
Second ARPA expands both the prohibited activities and the penalties laid out in the Antiquities Act. It prohibits trafficking in artifacts excavated
illegally under either state or federal law. ARPA also increases the maximum criminal penalty for violations to $10,000 or up to one year in jail, and it
imposes even higher penalties for repeat offenders or if the value of the archaeological resources exceeds $500.
ARPA grants rulemaking authority to the secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, and Defense. One of the Interior Department’s major rules provides further details of the permitting process, limiting the recipients of permits to “reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions.” Other regulations outline the process for storing excavated items and arranging exchanges with museums and universities. The patchwork of laws governing archeological finds in the United States contrasts with the approach taken in other countries where the government asserts that it owns any object excavated within its borders. When it comes to artifacts found in other countries but brought into the United States, the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center oversees customs enforcement under agreements it has reached with these other countries. The smuggling of antiquities across borders continues to be a serious issue in the art world. Museums in dangerous areas have lost thousands of artifacts to looting and subsequent sales on the black market. Several groups within the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center work to counter these threats. The Cultural Property Advisory Committee negotiates with other countries to make bilateral agreements restricting the import and export of antiquities. The Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee works with diplomats and law enforcement to combat looting and smuggling. The Cultural Antiquities Task Force trains customs officials and law enforcement officers to identify smuggled artifacts and to enforce the laws concerning these items. These various groups also work with other agencies such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Federal law on antiquities could be changing. In 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Coordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Technology, and Examiner Reform Act of 2019. The bill focuses on bank security and money laundering but recognizes that archaeological looting has links to financial crimes. It includes a provision that would compel the Secretary of the Treasury to study “the facilitation of money laundering and terror finance through the trade of works of art or antiquities,” a tactic attempted by ISIS and other regimes. The House bill is currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. |
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Metal Detecting & Gold Prospecting Events.
Now is the time to start planning and getting your club's 2020/21 hunt information on the web. The sooner it is out and available to the metal detecting community the greater the chance for people to see it and give your event some consideration. the Complete Event Details for March
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