Beachcombing is an activity that consists of an individual “combing” (or searching) the beach and theintertidal zone, looking for things of value, interest or utility. A beachcomber is a person who participates in the activity of beachcombing.
Despite these general definitions, beachcombing and beachcomber are words with multiple, but related, meanings that have evolved over time.
The first appearance of the word “beachcombers” in print was in Herman Melville’s Omoo (1847).[1] It described a population of Europeans who lived in South Pacific islands, “combing” the beach and nearby water for flotsam, jetsam, or anything else they could use or trade. When a beachcomber became totally dependent upon coastal fishing for his sustenance, or abandoned his original culture and set of values, then the term “beachcomber” was synonymous with a criminal, a drifter, or a bum. The vast majority of beachcombers however, were simply unemployed sailors like Herman Melvillein Typee, or Harry Franck in the book Vagabonding Around the World.
After enduring a voyage of danger and hardship, it was not uncommon for a few whalemen to desert a ship when it arrived in Tahiti or theMarquesas and reside, at least for a while, in the South Sea islands of Polynesia. If another beachcomber was ready to take his place in order to get home, the captain might let the disgruntled crewman go; otherwise, the captain would offer the natives a reward to find and return the deserter, and deduct the reward, plus interest, from the deserter’s pay.
In other words, the deserter, if caught, would end up working the entire voyage for no pay at all, or even return home in debt to his employers.[2] InTypee, Melville deserted, not once but twice, before signing on as a crewman on a Navy frigate, without fear of repercussions.
Some beachcombers traded between local tribes, and between tribes and visiting ships. Some lived on the rewards for deserters, or found replacement crewmen either through persuasion or through shanghaiing. Many, such as David Whippy, also served as mediators between hostile native tribes as well as between natives and visiting ships.[3] Whippy deserted his ship in 1820 and lived among the cannibal Fijis for the rest of his life.[4] The Fijis would sometimes capture the crew of a stranded ship for ransom, and eat them if they resisted. Whippy would try to rescue them but sometimes found only roasted bones. Ultimately he became American Consul to Fiji, and left many descendants among the islands.[5]
There had always been a small number of castaways in the South Pacific since the earliest Spanish explorers, but the numbers increased dramatically in the early 19th century as the pre-requisite for a beachcombing in the Pacific was the era of whaling which began about 1819. It is estimated that 75% of beachcombers were sailors, particularly whalemen, who had jumped ship. They were predominantly British but with an increasing number of Americans, particularly in Hawaii and the Carolines. Perhaps 20% were English convicts who had been transported toAustralia and escaped from the penal colonies there.[6]
It is estimated that in 1850 there were over 2,000 beachcombers throughout Polynesia and Micronesia.[7] The Polynesia and Melanesia communities were usually receptive to beachcombers and castaways who were absorbed into the local community, usually by formal adoption or by marriage, with the beachcombers and castaways often being considered a status symbol of the local chief. The social and commercial role of beachcombers ended when missionaries arrived and with the growth of a commercial community with European (palagi) traders, resident on each island, that were the representative of trading companies.[6] Many beachcombers made the transition to become island traders.
Other languages
In Uruguay, the term has been naturalized into the Spanish form Bichicome, and refers to poor or lower-class people. The Spanish form also draws on the similarities to the Spanish bicho (small animal/insect) and comer (eat), Similarly, the term has entered the Greek slang through sailors, the word “pitsikómis” (πιτσικόμης). The Russian word бич (and a rarer form бичкомбер, бичкомер) appeared not later than 1930s, in the sense of temporarily unemployed sailor, hanging about in the port and living from hand to mouth; nowadays it means a vagabond or a hobo.
Archaeology
In archaeology the beachcombing lifestyle is associated with coastal shell-middens that sometimes accumulate over many hundreds if not thousands of years. Evidence at Klasies River Caves in South Africa, and Gulf of Zula in Eritrea,[8][9] show that a beachcombing option is one of the earliest activities separating anatomically modern human Homo sapiens from the ancestral subspecies of Homo erectus.
Modern usage
Many modern beachcombers follow the “drift lines” or “tide lines” on the beach and are interested in the (mostly natural) objects that the sea casts up. For these people, “beachcombing” is the recreational activity of looking for and finding various curiosities that have washed in with the tide:seashells of every kind, fossils, pottery shards, historical artifacts, sea beans (drift seeds), sea glass (beach glass) and driftwood. Items such as lumber, plastics, and all manner of things that have been lost or discarded by seagoing vessels will be collected by some beachcombers, as long as the items are either decorative or useful in some way to the collector. (However, this usually does not include the great bulk of marine debris, most of which is neither useful nor decorative.)
Sophisticated recreational beachcombers use knowledge of how storms, geography, ocean currents, and seasonal events determine the arrival and exposure of rare finds.[10][11] They also practice eco-conservation and do not kill mollusks for their shells, dig holes in the sand, or gouge cliff faces for fossils or reefs for coral specimens.[12] Many beachcombers serve as excellent stewards of the seashore, working with government agencies to monitor shore erosion, dumping and pollution, and reef and cliff damage, etc.
Recognized beachcomb experts today include oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer (Flotsametrics and the Floating World); eco-educator Dr. Deacon Ritterbush (A Beachcomber’s Odyssey); sea glass experts Richard LaMotte (Pure Sea Glass) and C.S. Lambert (Sea Glass Chronicles); geologist Margaret Carruthers (Beach Stones); shell specialists Chuck and Debbie Robinson (The Art of Shelling), and zoologist Dr. Blair Witherington and Dawn Witherington, (Florida’s Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber).
In films and television
Both the recreational and utilitarian aspects of beachcombing or “wrecking” were celebrated in the film The Wrecking Season, an award-winning film that portrays playwright Nick Darke’s passion for beachcombing on the coast of Cornwall, UK.
A popular Canadian family television drama, The Beachcombers, focused on the work of beachcombers in late-twentieth-century British Columbia.
In the James Bond film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, Bond gets two weeks leave, and when Moneypenny asks him where he is off to, he replies: “just some place to laze about. Beachcombing”.
See also
Strandloper
Wrecking (shipwreck)
Strandloper peoples
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Strandloper (people))
The Strandlopers is a colonial term for a San-derived people who live by hunting and gathering food along the beaches of south-western Africa, originally from the Cape Colony to the Skeleton Coast.
Most Strandloper communities did not persist in the face of demographic and economic changes occurring in southern and south-western Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries, and disappeared through assimilation.[1] The only tribe still distinguishable from their assimilating neighborhood are the Topnaar of the southern Namib who in 2005 consisted of around 500 members, distributed over 12 small settlements along Kuiseb River in central Namibia.[2] Although the other communities have disappeared, archaeological evidence of their existence remains in the form of middenscontaining seashells, pottery and the bones of whales and seals, as well as ash and charcoal.[1]
Etymology
The name is Afrikaans for “beach walker”.[3] The term has been extended by archaeologists to refer to coastal communities with subsistence economies based on beachcombing and a marine diet.[4] The term was also borrowed during South Africa’s apartheid era by some white South Africans, as a gesture of rejection of the government’s racial policies through self-identification with the native inhabitants of the country, and subsequently by those attracted by the beaches and beach lifestyle.[5]
See also
Beachcombing
Treasure hunting
In recent times, the early stages of the development of archaeology included a significant aspect of treasure hunt; Heinrich Schliemann’s excavations at Troy, and later at Mycenae, both turned up significant finds ofgolden artifacts. Early work in Egyptology also included a similar motive.[citation needed]
More recently, most serious treasure hunters have started working underwater,[citation needed] where modern technology allows access to wrecks containing valuables which were previously inaccessible. Starting with thediving suit, and moving on through Scuba and later to ROVs, each new generation of technology has made more wrecks accessible. Many of these wrecks have resulted in the treasure salvage of many fascinating artifacts from Spanish treasure fleets as well as many others.[citation needed]
Treasure hunting is condemned by a growing number of nations, and UNESCO issued a chart for the protection of the underwater cultural heritage in 2001: the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. This convention is a legal instrument helping states parties to improve the protection of their underwater cultural heritage.[1]
Metal detector
A metal detector is an electronic instrument which detects the presence of metal nearby. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal inclusions hidden within objects, or metal objects buried underground. They often consist of a handheld unit with a sensor probe which can be swept over the ground or other objects. If the sensor comes near a piece of metal this is indicated by a changing tone in earphones, or a needle moving on an indicator. Usually the device gives some indication of distance; the closer the metal is, the higher the tone in the earphone or the higher the needle goes. Another common type are stationary “walk through” metal detectors used for security screening at access points in prisons, courthouses, and airports to detect concealed metal weapons on a person’s body.
The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field. If a piece of electrically conductive metal is close to the coil, eddy currents will be induced in the metal, and this produces a magnetic field of its own. If another coil is used to measure the magnetic field (acting as a magnetometer), the change in the magnetic field due to the metallic object can be detected.
The first industrial metal detectors were developed in the 1960s and were used extensively for mineral prospecting and other industrial applications. Uses include de-mining (the detection of land mines), the detection of weapons such as knives and guns (especially in airport security), geophysical prospecting, archaeology and treasure hunting. Metal detectors are also used to detect foreign bodies in food, and in the construction industry to detect steel reinforcing bars in concrete and pipes and wires buried in walls and floors.
History and development
Early metal detector, 1919, used to find unexploded bombs in France after World War 1.
Toward the end of the 19th century, many scientists and engineers used their growing knowledge of electrical theory in an attempt to devise a machine which would pinpoint metal. The use of such a device to find ore-bearing rocks would give a huge advantage to any miner who employed it. Early machines were crude, used a lot of battery power, and worked only to a very limited degree. Alexander Graham Bell used such a device to attempt to locate a bullet lodged in the chest of American President James Garfield in 1881; the metal detector worked correctly but the attempt was unsuccessful because the metal coil spring bed Garfield was lying on confused the detector.[1]
Modern developments
The modern development of the metal detector began in the 1920s. Gerhard Fisher had developed a system of radio direction-finding, which was to be used for accurate navigation. The system worked extremely well, but Fisher noticed that there were anomalies in areas where the terrain contained ore-bearing rocks. He reasoned that if a radio beam could be distorted by metal, then it should be possible to design a machine which would detect metal using a search coil resonating at a radio frequency. In 1925 he applied for, and was granted, the first patent for a metal detector. Although Gerhard Fisher was the first person granted a patent for a metal detector, the first to apply was Shirl Herr, a businessman from Crawfordsville, Indiana. His application for a hand-held Hidden-Metal Detector was filed in February 1924, but not patented until July 1928. Herr assisted Italian leader Benito Mussolini in recovering items remaining from the Emperor Caligula’s galleys at the bottom of Lake Nemi, Italy, in August 1929. Herr’s invention was used by Admiral Richard Byrd’s Second Antarctic Expedition in 1933, when it was used to locate objects left behind by earlier explorers. It was effective up to a depth of eight feet.[2] However, it was one Lieutenant Józef Stanisław Kosacki, a Polish officer attached to a unit stationed in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, during the early years of World War II, who refined the design into a practical Polish mine detector.[3] They were heavy, ran on vacuum tubes, and needed separate battery packs.
The design invented by Kosacki was used extensively during the clearance of the German mine fields during the Second Battle of El Alamein when 500 units were shipped to Field Marshal Montgomery to clear the minefields of the retreating Germans, and later used during the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Allied invasion of Italy and the Invasion of Normandy.[4] As it was a wartime research operation to create and refine it, the knowledge that Kosacki created the first practical metal detector was kept secret for over 50 years.
Further refinements
Many manufacturers of these new devices brought their own ideas to the market. White’s Electronics of Oregon began in the 1950s by building a machine called the Oremaster Geiger Counter. Another leader in detector technology was Charles Garrett, who pioneered the BFO (Beat Frequency Oscillator) machine. With the invention and development of the transistor in the 1950s and 1960s, metal detector manufacturers and designers made smaller lighter machines with improved circuitry, running on small battery packs. Companies sprang up all over the USA and Britain to supply the growing demand.
Modern top models are fully computerized, using integrated circuit technology to allow the user to set sensitivity, discrimination, track speed, threshold volume, notch filters, etc., and hold these parameters in memory for future use. Compared to just a decade ago, detectors are lighter, deeper-seeking, use less battery power, and discriminate better.
Larger portable metal detectors are used by archaeologists and treasure hunters to locate metallic items, such as jewelry, coins, bullets, and other various artifacts buried shallowly underground.
Discriminators
The biggest technical change in detectors was the development of the induction-balance system. This system involved two coils that were electrically balanced. When metal was introduced to their vicinity, they would become unbalanced. What allowed detectors to discriminate between metals was the fact that every metal has a different phase response when exposed to alternating current. Scientists had long known of this fact by the time detectors were developed that could selectively detect desirable metals, while ignoring undesirable ones.
Even with discriminators, it was still a challenge to avoid undesirable metals, because some of them have similar phase responses e.g. tinfoil and gold, particularly in alloy form. Thus, improperly tuning out certain metals increased the risk of passing over a valuable find. Another disadvantage of discriminators was that they reduced the sensitivity of the machines.
New coil designs
Coil designers also tried out innovative designs. The original induction balance coil system consisted of two identical coils placed on top of one another. Compass Electronics produced a new design: two coils in a D shape, mounted back-to-back to form a circle. This system was widely used in the 1970s, and both concentric and D type (or widescan as they became known) had their fans. Another development was the invention of detectors which could cancel out the effect of mineralization in the ground. This gave greater depth, but was a non-discriminate mode. It worked best at lower frequencies than those used before, and frequencies of 3 to 20 kHz were found to produce the best results. Many detectors in the 1970s had a switch which enabled the user to switch between the discriminate mode and the non-discriminate mode. Later developments switched electronically between both modes. The development of the induction balance detector would ultimately result in the motion detector, which constantly checked and balanced the background mineralization.
Pulse induction
A pulse induction metal detector with an array of coils
At the same time, developers were looking at using a different technique in metal detection called pulse induction. Unlike the beat frequency oscillator or the induction balance machines which both used a uniform alternating current at a low frequency, the pulse induction machine simply fired a high-voltage pulse of signal into the ground. In the absence of metal, the pulse decayed at a uniform rate, and the time it took to fall to zero volts could be accurately measured. However, if metal was present when the machine fired, a small current would flow in the metal, and the time for the voltage to drop to zero would be increased. These time differences were minute, but the improvement in electronics made it possible to measure them accurately and identify the presence of metal at a reasonable distance. These new machines had one major advantage: they were completely impervious to the effects of mineralization, and rings and other jewelry could now be located even under highly mineralized black sand.
Uses
Archaeology
Metal detectors are widely used in archaeology with the first recorded use by military historian Don Rickey in 1958 who used one to detect the firing lines at Little Big Horn. However archaeologists oppose the use of metal detectors by “artifact seekers” or “site looters” whose activities disrupt archaeological sites.[5]
England and Wales
In England and Wales metal detecting is legal provided that permission is granted by the landowner, and that the area is not a Scheduled Ancient Monument, a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), or covered by elements of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
Items discovered which fall within the definition of treasure[6] must be reported to the coroner or a place designated by the coroner for treasure. The voluntary reporting of finds which do not qualify as treasure to the Portable Antiquities Scheme or the UK Detector Finds Database is encouraged.
Scotland
The situation in Scotland is very different. Under the Scots law principle of bona vacantia, the Crown has claim over any object of any material value where the original owner cannot be traced.[7] There is also no 300 year limit to Scottish finds. Any artifact found, whether by metal detector survey or from an archaeological excavation, must be reported to the Crown through the Treasure Trove Advisory Panel at the National Museums of Scotland. The panel then determines what will happen to the artifacts. Reporting is not voluntary, and failure to report the discovery of historic artifacts is a criminal offence in Scotland.
France
The sale of metal detector is allowed in France. The first use of metal detectors in France which led to archaeological discoveries occurred in 1958 : people living in the city of Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt who were seeking copper from world war I bombshell with military mine detector found a roman silver treasure.[8] The French law on metal detecting is ambiguous because it refers only to the objective pursued by the user of a metal detector. The first law to regulate the use of metal detectors was Law No. 89-900 of 18 December 1989. This last is resumed without any change in Article L. 542-1 of the code of the heritage, which states that “no person may use the equipment for the detection of metal objects, for the purpose of research monuments and items of interest prehistory, history, art and archeology without having previously obtained a administrative authorization issued based on the applicant’s qualification and the nature and method of research. ” Outside the research of archaeological objects, using a metal detector does not require specific authorization, except that of the owner of the land. We often read, from some archaeologists, that the use of a metal detector is itself prohibited without official authorization. This is false. To realize this, one must look to the legislative intent in enacting the Law No. 89-900 of 18 December 1989. Asked about Law No. 89-900 of 18 December 1989 by the member of parliament mister Calloud, Jack Lang, Minister of Culture at the time, replied by letter the following: “The new law does not prohibit the use of metal detectors but only regulates the use. If the purpose of such use is the search for archaeological remains, prior authorization is required from my services. Apart from this case, the law ask to be reported to the appropriate authorities an accidental discovery of archaeological remains.” The entire letter of Jack Lang was published in 1990 in a French metal detection magazine,[9] and then, to be visible on internet, scanned with permission of the author of the magazine on a French metal detection website.[10]
As a hobby
This 156-troy-ounce (4.9 kg) gold nugget, known as the Mojave Nugget, was found by an individual prospector in the Southern California Desert using a metal detector
There are various types of hobby activities involving metal detectors:
Coin shooting is looking for coins after an event involving many people, like a baseball game, or simply looking for any old coins. Some coin shooters conduct historical research to locate sites with potential to give up historical and collectible coins.
Prospecting is looking for valuable metals like gold, silver, and copper in their natural forms, such as nuggets or flakes.
General metal detecting is very similar to coin shooting except that the user is after any type of historical artifact. Detector users may be dedicated to preserving historical artifacts, and often have considerable expertise. Coins, bullets, buttons, axe heads, and buckles are just a few of the items that are commonly found by relic hunters; in general the potential is far greater in Europe and Asia than in many other parts of the world. More valuable finds in Britain alone include the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold, sold for £3,285,000, the gold Celtic Newark Torc, the Ringlemere Cup, West Bagborough Hoard, Milton Keynes Hoard, Roman Crosby Garrett Helmet, Stirling Hoard, Collette Hoard and thousands of smaller finds.
Beach combing is hunting for lost coins or jewelry on a beach. Beach hunting can be as simple or as complicated as one wishes to make it. Many dedicated beach hunters also familiarize themselves with tide movements and beach erosion.
Metal detecting clubs across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada exist for hobbyists to learn from others, show off finds from their hunts and to learn more about the hobby.
Politics and conflicts in the metal detecting hobby
Hobbyists often state that professional archaeologists’ resource limitations results in the loss or damage of many artifacts by plows, development, erosion and livestock. The language and breadth of legislation regarding artifact collection is also an issue, as the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 excludes scattered coins, the main target of inland hobbyists. Many hobbyists take issue with the breadth of metal detecting bans, marking large swaths of property off-limits which are either well-documented already or unlikely to ever receive professional attention.[citation needed] Suggestions to certify or offer limited permits for detecting at historic sites have been attempted in some areas of the United States.The metal detecting community and professional archaeologists have different ideas related to the recovery and preservation of historic finds and locations. Archaeologists claim that detector hobbyists take an artifact-centric approach, removing these from their context resulting in a permanent loss of historical information. Archaeological looting of places like Slack Farm in 1987 and Petersburg National Battlefield serve as evidence against allowing unsupervised metal detecting in historic locations.[11]
Recently, productive efforts for cooperation between professionals and metal detecting hobbyists have begun, including the Montpelier Archeology Project and Battlefield Restoration and Archaeological Volunteer Organization (BRAVO) and many more. In these programs, skilled detector hobbyists work with experienced professionals with common goals of accurate, efficient site discovery and excavation. Away from supervised sites, hobbyists using improved record keeping and employment of global positioning system, GIS, logbooks, photo scales and online databases may aid professionals in evaluating possible sites. When searching for a site, hobbyists can aid with electronic scanning, reducing the need for test holes. Some land managers, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority have cited a role for amateur archaeologists in protecting sensitive sites from illegal looting[12] and metal detector hobbyists have aided in the location and preservation of many sites.
Security screening
Metal detectors at Berlin Schönefeld Airport
A series of aircraft hijackings led the United States in 1972 to adopt metal detector technology to screen airline passengers, initially using magnetometers that were originally designed for logging operations to detect spikes in trees.[13] The Finnish company Outokumpu adapted mining metal detectors in the 1970s, still housed in a large cylindrical pipe, to make a commercial walk-through security detector.[14] The development of these systems continued in a spin-off company and systems branded as Metor Metal Detectors evolved in the form of the rectangular gantry now standard in airports. In common with the developments in other uses of metal detectors both alternating current and pulse systems are used, and the design of the coils and the electronics has moved forward to improve the discrimination of these systems. In 1995 systems such as the Metor 200 appeared with the ability to indicate the approximate height of the metal object above the ground, enabling security personnel to more rapidly locate the source of the signal. Smaller hand held metal detectors are also used to locate a metal object on a person more precisely.
Industrial metal detectors
Industrial metal detectors are used in the pharmaceutical, food, beverage, textile, garment, plastics, chemicals, lumber, and packaging industries.
Contamination of food by metal shards from broken processing machinery during the manufacturing process is a major safety issue in the food industry. Metal detectors for this purpose are widely used and integrated into the production line.
Current practice at garment or apparel industry plants is to apply metal detecting after the garments are completely sewn and before garments are packed to check whether there is any metal contamination (needle, broken needle, etc.) in the garments. This needs to be done for safety reasons.
The industrial metal detector was developed by Bruce Kerr and David Hiscock in 1947. The founding company Goring Kerr[15] pioneered the use and development of the first industrial metal detector. Mars Incorporated was one of the first customers of Goring Kerr using their Metlokate metal detector to inspect Mars bar.
The basic principle of operation for the common industrial metal detector is based on a 3 coil design. This design utilizes an AM (amplitude modulated) transmitting coil and two receiving coils one on either side of the transmitter. The design and physical configuration of the receiving coils are instrumental in the ability to detect very small metal contaminates of 1mm or smaller. Today modern metal detectors continue to utilize this configuration for the detection of tramp metal.
The coil configuration is such that it creates an opening whereby the product (food, plastics, pharmaceuticals, etc.) passes through the coils. This opening or aperture allows the product to enter and exit through the three coil system producing an equal but mirrored signal on the two receiving coils. The resulting signals are summed together effectively nullifying each other.
When a metal contaminant is introduced into the product an unequal disturbance is created. This then creates a very small electronic signal that is amplified through special electronics. The amplification produced then signals a mechanical device mounted to the conveyor system to remove the contaminated product from the production line. This process is completely automated and allows manufacturing to operate uninterrupted.
Civil engineering
In civil engineering, special metal detectors (cover meters) are used to locate reinforcement bars inside walls.
Portable Antiquities Scheme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary programme run by the United Kingdom government to record the increasing numbers of small finds of archaeological interest found by members of the public. The scheme was begun in 1997 and now covers most of England and Wales.
It is primarily focused on private metal detectorists who through their hobby regularly discover artefacts that would otherwise go unrecorded. Members of the public can also report objects they have found and finds of non-metallic objects are also covered by the scheme. Finds that legally constitute treasure are dealt with through the Treasure Act, 1996. This however concentrates on precious metals, prehistoric base metal, and finds inassociation with them. Non-prehistoric base metal and non-metal finds would not be recognised as treasure and therefore be unrecorded. The PAS exists to fill this gap.
The scheme funds the posts of Finds Liaison Officers (FLOs) at county councils or local museums to whom finders can report their objects. The FLO is qualified to examine the find and provide the finder with more information on it. He or she also records the find, its function, date, material and location and places this information into a database which can be analysed. The information on the findspot can be used to organise more research on the area. Many previously unknown archaeological sites have been identified through the scheme and it has contributed greatly to the level of knowledge of the past. FLOs maintain close links with local metal detecting societies and have contributed to a thaw in relationships between the detectorists and archaeologists who often previously disdained one another.
The find remains the property of the finder or the landowner who are free to dispose of non-treasure finds.
Other Activities
The PAS engages widely with the professional and amateur archaeological community through conferences, workshops and public activities.[1][2][3] It also provides host servers and technical support for the Day of Archaeology.[4]
History of the Programme
In March 1996, during the run-up to the passing of the new Treasure Act, what was then the Department of National Heritage (DNH) (now theDepartment for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)) published Portable Antiquities. A discussion document. The aim of this document was to complement the impending Treasure Act, address the issue of non-treasure archaeological finds and to propose solutions for dealing with these.
The general response to the DNH’s proposals was that the recording of all archaeological finds was important and that a consistent voluntary scheme to record finds should be established. As a result, in December 1996, the DNH announced that funding would be provided for two years for a programme of six pilot schemes, starting in September 1997. The main aim of the pilot schemes was “to enable an accurate estimate to be made of the resources that would be needed to extend the scheme across the whole of England” (DNH 1997). The essential aim was to advance knowledge of history and archaeology.
The project was ultimately overseen by the DCMS and administered by the Museums and Galleries Commission (later Resource, now Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA))
Expressions of interest in hosting the pilot schemes were then invited and host organisations chosen. The schemes were based in museums and archaeology services in Kent, Norfolk, the West Midlands, North Lincolnshire, the North West England and Yorkshire. A Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) was put in place as part of each pilot scheme. The six posts and schemes were co-ordinated by a further post which was based at, and funded by, the British Museum.
These six regions were chosen for the pilot schemes in consultation with the Council for British Archaeology (CBA), and were representative of the existing diversity in recording finds systems. Some areas, such as Norfolk, had already established a tradition of recording finds and developed good relationships with finders and in particular among these, metal detectorists. Other areas, such as the North West, did not have systems in place for recording such finds.
A database was devised and put on the web in July 1999 to enable wider access to the information collated by the scheme. During the first year of the pilot scheme, over 13,500 objects were recorded. The scheme was very successful, but further funding was needed to extend the scheme nationally. Therefore, bids were successfully put forward to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to fund five more FLO posts plus an Outreach Officer post for eighteen months, starting from January–March 1999. The DCMS agreed to fund the existing posts during this period. The five new FLO posts were based in museums and archaeology services in Dorset and Somerset (one post covering two counties), Hampshire, Northamptonshire,Suffolk and Wales. The Outreach Officer was based at the British Museum, working alongside the Co-ordinator.
Shortly after this, further funding was applied for from the HLF to establish a comprehensive national scheme covering the whole of England and Wales. However, before awarding funding to extend the scheme nationally, the HLF required an independent evaluation of the work of the scheme and its impact. This delayed the progression of the application considerably and as an interim measure, while the evaluation was being undertaken, funding was ultimately secured from the DCMS and the HLF for the existing posts until September 2001. The HLF questioned the long-term sustainability of such an ambitious scheme, particularly in consideration of its funding. While a decision was being reached, funding for the existing posts was provided once more by the DCMS as an interim measure until March 2003.
However, in April 2002, the HLF decided to support the bid for three years starting in April 2003, bringing about the scheme as we know it today. As from April 2006 the scheme secured full funding from the DCMS, until March 2008. Administration of the scheme changed hands from MLA to the British Museum. Also in April 2006, the Portable Antiquities Scheme central unit became an official department within the BM, the Department of Portable Antiquities & Treasure.
The scheme continues to grow and now consists of a network of:
thirty-six FLOs
a part-time illustrator
six Finds Advisers
an ICT Adviser
a Resources Manager (formerly administrator)
a Deputy Head and
the Head of Portable Antiquities & Treasure
The work of the scheme is supported by many temporary assistants and volunteers, working with FLOs and Finds Advisers.
Florida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the U.S. state of Florida. For other uses, see Florida (disambiguation).
Florida 
i/ˈflɒrɪdə/ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida. Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 3rd most populous,[5] and the8th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state capital is Tallahassee, the largest city isJacksonville, and the largest metropolitan area is the Miami metropolitan area.
[show]Florida state symbols
Much of Florida is a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. Its geography is notable for a coastline, omnipresent water and the threat of hurricanes. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), and is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south.[9] Some of its most iconic animals, such as theAmerican alligator, crocodile, Florida panther and the manatee, can be found in the Everglades National Park.
Since the first European contact was made in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León – who named it La Florida ([la floˈɾiða] “The Flowery”) upon landing there during the Easter season, Pascua Florida[10] – Florida was a challenge for the European colonial powers before it gained statehood in the United States in 1845. It was a principal location of the Seminole Wars against the Indians, and racial segregation after the American Civil War.
Today, Florida is distinguished by its large Hispanic community and high population growth, as well as its increasing environmental concerns. Its economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, andtransportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also known for its amusement parks, the production of oranges and the Kennedy Space Center.
Florida culture is a reflection of influences and multiple inheritance; Native American, European American, Hispanic and African American heritages can be found in the architecture and cuisine. Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway andTennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes. It is internationally known for golf, tennis, auto racing and water sports.
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