Article in Today's NY Times

[OxShoeDrew]

A metal detecting op-ed in today's New York Times-
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/03/opinion/open-season-on-history.html?hp

[del]

interesting story Drew to bad its so one sidely written by a relic hunter hating archaeologist. :rolleyes:

[Hunt4Fun]

Oh, so I was not alone in sensing a bias from one of the academic intellectual elite.

[OxShoeDrew]

Oh, so I was not alone in sensing a bias from one of the academic intellectual elite.

No, I don't think Dan meant to disparage people who are brighter than average or excel in academia.

[del]

Oh, so I was not alone in sensing a bias from one of the academic intellectual elite.


unfortunately there are some in the collective community that think this way Hunt4Fun but i know for a fact they are not all like this in their beliefs. We as hobbyists have an obligation to better our reputation with our actions before the public and the archaeology world , it will take time but all must be good ambassadors for the hobby.

[nicklehead]

unfortunately there are some in the collective community that think this way Hunt4Fun but i know for a fact they are not all like this in their beliefs. We as hobbyists have an obligation to better our reputation with our actions before the public and the archaeology world , it will take time but all must be good ambassadors for the hobby.


Like those two wild and crazy guys from Diggers who return to your TV screen on August 7th at :crazy:m est?

[del]

Like those two wild and crazy guys from Diggers who return to your TV screen on August 7th at :crazy:m est?


can't help about the idiots on television Nicklehead , i'm sure you've swam against the current before . Its never easy . :rolleyes:

[coinnut]

I read that article and all the comments below it. Both sides have valid points and both sides counteract the other side's good points. After detecting for as many years as I have, and enjoying the thrill of discovery, and also now working with Archaeologists, I can see both sides. It really is two sides that want the same thing but are unable (or unwilling) to find a way to work out a compromise. It is easier to try an ban it that to work it out. Sad, because the sites are dissapearing at an alarming rate.

[OxShoeDrew]

I don't know why archaeologists don't use metal detectors themselves. It seems like it would be a useful tool for them.....or work WITH detectorists as they do with Geo and Del.

Example- my property was the site of a archaeological dig 40 yrs ago. It was sponsored by an ivy league school and the artifacts they found are in a museum. Not on display mind you, but in storage. They were trying to locate the original 17th century home site. One of the first small mill areas in the country. They dug many test pits and kept precise notes. They concluded that there are two possible sites for this dwelling. They guess this more out of map study than actual digging.
35 years later, with my first metal detector, I find an area BETWEEN the two possible dwelling sites that screams with old nails.
I can see how detectors wouldn't be part of their arsenal in 1970 but today..? :dontknow:

[coinnut]

It takes fresh blood in the archaeological world to even be open to using detectors. For years detectorists were taboo and their machines unnecessary compared to a properly trained and schooled professional :rolleyes: So it was never considered. Archaeologists will very soon learn to use them on their own. For now, the experience we have is appreciated by those who use seasoned detectorists. Dan and I are probably the luckiest detectorists in the country to be treated the way we are when we hunt with them. Some archaelogists understand that it is simply ridiculous to not use a detector. It is just another tool to use in solving the puzzles that are presented before them. In time, collaboration between the two species will be common place lol We may even mate rofl

[ChrisinCT]

It annoys me that the writer implies that we're all in it for the money and nothing else.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

I think its fair to say if it was money we were after we would spend the time working than metal detecting.

I don't know about you but I don't come close to making minimum wage with the time spent detecting.