|
Select Here to View the MDHTALK's February News Brief in Adobe .PDF
|
 |
|
| February 2023 | Metal Detecting Hobby Talk News Brief Volume 12 Number 155 |
 |
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. |
|
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 February |
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 December 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: Volunteer Club Evidence Search Team This article is about creating and promoting a Volunteer Metal Detecting Evidence Search assistance team for law enforcement. There are law enforcement organizations (Police Departments, Sheriff Departments, State Agencies, Park Rangers, etc.) that from time-to-time need help from people who know how to operate / use metal detectors in the search for evidence. This is a great opportunity by which metal detecting clubs can achieve public service recognition that may be leveraged towards other community endeavors. Select here to Read or Download the Complete Article The article will cover four main areas associated with searching for evidence:
The Volunteer Evidence Team Leader's Responsibilities:
|
|
|
|
|
General U.S. and World Wide Hobby News
|
Other News Sources
|
|
BBy Liam Sunner, Queen's University Belfast Web Link |
|
Following his dynamic entrance onto the screen in Indiana Jones and the Raiders
of the Lost Ark, Dr Henry Jones has instilled a love of archaeology and treasure
hunting into the wider public. However, while the movies cover a great deal of
action and adventure, they rarely address the question of legal and moral
responsibility in relation to the treasures found. Instead, they went as far as
glamorising cultural looting and for-profit treasure hunting, bordering on grave
robbing. But how has Ireland, a country with a rich history of monuments, archaeological sites, and continued historical interests, addressed this moral and legal question? And what can be done to resolve the issue, but maintain interest and appreciation? Read More Following his dynamic entrance onto the screen in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Dr Henry Jones has instilled a love of archaeology and treasure hunting into the wider public. However, while the movies cover a great deal of action and adventure, they rarely address the question of legal and moral responsibility in relation to the treasures found. Instead, they went as far as glamorising cultural looting and for-profit treasure hunting, bordering on grave robbing. But how has Ireland, a country with a rich history of monuments, archaeological sites, and continued historical interests, addressed this moral and legal question? And what can be done to resolve the issue, but maintain interest and appreciation? To answer this, we must first examine what is meant by treasure. Treasure exists as a loaded and complex drawing on the relationship between places, practices and stories across the culture of a people, region, or country. As such, treasures can be viewed as "a complex nest of cultural and monetary values. These traditions and practices are drawn from deep-time historical traditions from the human past and our 21st-century regimes of enmeshing people and things". In continental Europe, much legislation follows the Hadrian Division on treasure found, where half goes to the finder and half to the land owner. This approach has since been the subject of centuries of civil law development across multiple jurisdictions. However, this wasn't the approach taken in the UK and Ireland. From the 1800s, the rules for treasure troves were granted to Ireland, where the value of the treasure is split between the owner or person in control of the land and whoever finds it, on condition they are permitted on the land and do so with good faith. The treasure trove rule was repealed under the current framework of the Free State and the subsequent National Monuments Acts 1936-2014, which explicitly removed this application. This rule still applies to a degree in the UK and their different "understandings" to finding treasure. But how has Ireland adapted its legislation to protect the historical sites within the State? According to reports, Ireland has over 130,000 such sites within its territory, including offshore shipwrecks with a cultural or historical association. It would be hard to imagine a town, parish, or collection of fields in Ireland that doesn't have some historical association. This is significant as the National Monuments Act focuses on what can and can not be done in areas considered to be heritage sites. Under the National Monuments Act, it is illegal to be in possession and make use of metal detectors or similar devices on such historical sites. If found to be in possession or using such devices, there are significant penalties "on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both". This can be increased "on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €10,000,000 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both". Additionally, in part as a result of the rich historical heritage of Ireland, there are a series of broader restrictions to prevent unlawful treasure hunting outside of these noted historical sites. In the general sense, it is illegal to use detection devices to search for items of archaeological value or significance within the State without the permission of the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. To address the vast question of what treasure is, the National Monuments Act 1930-2014 broadly defines items of objects, irrespective of age, material, or degree of antiquity. The State's definition includes the estimated 15,000+ shipwrecks off the coasts of Ireland, as both the shipwrecks themselves and their cargo would fall within the meaning of items of archaeological value. It is also prohibited to advertise, sell, or promote detection equipment for treasure hunting. But while we have focused on the legal aspect of treasure hunting, which implies the intention to search for archaeological items, the National Monuments Act includes a provision for the individual who happens upon an archaeological item without running into the above restrictions. They have 96 hours to report the find the National Museum of Ireland or the local museum. In doing so, they will be noted with the discovery and granted a token sum of the value of the item. Additionally, these prohibitions only govern private treasure hunting rather than organised excavation or work authorised by the state ahead of significant infrastructure development. The rationale for restricting the individual from treasure hunting has a multifaceted benefit. Firstly, it protects the archaeological from exploitation and sale on the black market. This is a significant issue concerning heritage sites as "the looting of archaeology sites has become what is probably the world's most serious threat to our archaeological heritage". Secondly, the restriction prevents the overzealous amateur from focusing on traditional items of value, such as coins or precious metals and damaging more mundane objects of cultural significance in their excavation. Finally, and in the inverse of restricting treasure hunting to authorised excavations, it can allow the organisers to present the excavation as a community event and offer additional information and expertise to those interested, in essence, educating the public and broadening the public understanding of the cultural value of objects. Dr Liam Sunner is a lecturer in the School of Law at Queen's University Belfast |
|
|
|
|
Metal Detecting & Gold Prospecting Events.
Now is the time to start planning and getting your club's 2023/24 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. |
|
|
|
An influx of 300 migrants forces closure of a national park in the Florida Keys
Web Link |
|
|
The U.S. National Park Service has closed Dry Tortugas National Park in the
Florida Keys after hundreds of migrants arrived on the islands over the New
Year's weekend. The NPS temporarily closed the park to public access on Monday morning after an estimated 300 migrants landed in the park, according to a news release. It said the park has seen an increase in people arriving by boat from Cuba. "The closure, which is expected to last several days, is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to attend to the migrants," the NPS said. First responders at the park are providing food, water and basic medical needs until the Department of Homeland Security arrives, the statement noted. Concession-operated ferry and sea plane services are temporarily suspended. Rear Adm. Brendan C. McPherson, director of Homeland Security Task Force - Southeast, said in a statement Sunday that the task force is aware of "multiple migrant landings this weekend" on the park. "They will be removed, provided food, water & basic first aid before transfer to federal [law enforcement] agents in the Keys for processing by [Miami Sector U.S. Border Patrol] to determine their legal status to remain in the United States or be processed for removal and repatriation to their country of origin," McPherson said. A former Florida resident camping on the park over the weekend captured footage of some of the migrant landings. Migrants can be seen leaping off their makeshift chug boats, hugging each other, and cheering with joy after making it to land. He told NPR member station WGCU that the migrants' supplies included life vests and bags of crackers. About 70 miles west of Key West, Fla., the 100-square mile park consists of seven small islands accessible only by boat or seaplane. It is about 100 miles north of Havana, Cuba's capital. Here is one chug landing ~8am New Year’s Day. The shouts of relief and tears of joy will stick with me for the rest of my life. As Cuba experiences its worst economic downturn in decades, Cubans are coming to the U.S. in record numbers. U.S. authorities recorded more than 220,000 Cubans at the U.S. southwest border in fiscal year 2022, a nearly 500% increase from the same period in 2021. Experts call it the largest exodus from Cuba in history. More than 160 refugees had landed mostly in the Middle and Upper Keys in addition to the 300 people in the Dry Tortugas, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Monday. Sheriff Rick Ramsay called it a "humanitarian crisis" created by "federal failure." "This shows a lack of a working plan by the federal government to deal with a mass migration issue that was foreseeable," Ramsay said. |
|
|
Metal Detecting Hobby Talk MDHTALK HOME PAGE http://www.mdhtalk.org |