METAL DETECTING

spectraman

Hi guys and gals. I was wondering if anyone out there could help me with this quote and question... (• Unlicensed detectorists who engage in general searches for archaeological objects run the risk of prosecution and the law provides for heavy fines and / or imprisonment of offenders. A number of successful prosecutions have been taken against individuals who have been found to have contravened this legislation.) Here's the Q... If there was someone out there who OWNED some land and they were fully aware that there was a monument or a historical building on their property, would they or myself, get into trouble from the boy's in blue, if i was given permission to MD the land?

Tordelback

The only person who can give you permission is the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht with the agreement of the National Museum, via an official application detailing appropriate research strategy and archaeological qualifications.

All archaeological remains are legally the property of the State, not the landowner or any private individual, and it is not in their power to grant consent for you to search for or retrieve them. Prospecting for remains on any piece of land without a specific licence to do so is illegal, but doing so on or near a monument would certainly lead to prosecution under the National Monuments Act if you were caught.

See here: http://archaeology.ie/News/Name,15124,en.html

It's pretty clear.

spectraman

The law really sucks on this subject..... so they mean to tell me or anyone in this country that "THEY" own it. A sovereign land means that we the people own the history that's buried beneath the soil etc. Its up to us the people to hand over our heritage to the state so they can display our findings to the rest of the world in the numerous museums dotted around the country. But, because of certain ministers in Dublin that are "AFRAID" we might keep the treasures for ourselves of sell them on the black market, our heritage might be lost forever. If Ireland has such a reputation worldwide for our history, culture and museums, why the hell do they insist it remains buried. There's 310,000 red dots on the map highlighting the archeological areas. How long in realistic terms, would it take for the archeologists here to get permission, then get the appropriate licenses etc to inspect just 5% of this land. Just a thought eh?

slowburner

Posters are require to read the forum charter. This and the next post have resulted in a one month forum ban as per the charter.