Thursday, January 18, 2018

The PAS - Rescuing History

The metal detecting community in England and some of the more enlightened  practitioners of the actual art and science of real honest archaeology, as well as the British Museum no less, have come together to discover, document, recover, study, curate and display the neglected artifacts of an ancient age. And they are making fantastic inroads in mutual cooperation, as well as historic finds, with their marvelous Portable Antiquities Scheme or PAS for short. As a result, English history and the tangible remains thereof, have received a tremendous boost in popularity, with the citizens and certain savvy academics, sporting a newly renewed interest in the lives of those who lived thousands of years ago through their everyday objects and coinage.




Of course, none of this came easy, as the old guard, somewhat yellowed and musty, in archaeological circles, organizations and institutions fought tooth and nail against it...as they still do here in America. The sounds of tiny gnashing teeth, an amazing side job in hysterically dissing artifact and coin collectors, along with the infantile name-calling habit, are still heard in certain puddles of these folks who choose to live in the academic basement of archaeological origins and practices. Some 21st Century archaeologists, however, making use of the old adage "Work smarter, not harder!" have been turning to experienced metal detecting practitioners for help in racing the clock in recovering items being destroyed by chemical-based farming, road building, new structures and the like.

Another old saying "Old ways won't open new doors," seems to apply to those that seem to want to clutch at the old methods of doing archaeology, especially those who have lost sight of the goal of the supposed science, which was knowledge, not artifacts. They cannot understand (nor do some of them want to...hate and discord becomes a life choice, in some cases) that old ways of doing things are becoming extinct, and it is important, maybe even imperative, to initiate and embrace new ways to open doors into the future, and more importantly, new doors to the past. The PAS has done just that.

I roundly applaud the enlightened and intelligent purveyors of the PAS, archaeologists and metal detectorists alike, and the amazing database of knowledge it has spawned. Any process that adds 1,321,439 objects within 841,580 records that under the "old way" would not even exist, has my vote. Metal detectorists would do well to emulate this here in the United States before its too late. There is still time, but not much.
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6 comments:

  1. Hello Jim:
    What I find absolutely amazing is that there are some archaeologists along with others in the Heritage Circus who campaign AGAINST such a scheme.

    Perhaps it's all-out keeping archaeology 'under wraps' and away from prying eyes by keeping Joe Public at arms length so as to preserve what they see as some kind of heritage mystique.

    Best

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    1. John, I find there is no logical reason for this type of resistance from archaeologists, other than, as you allude, the removal of the academically-fabricated smoke and mirrors cast upon archaeology, the oft-regarded magic being found out to be a skill that regular, non-tenured, non-degree-ed folks can assist in. The lights are starting to change, and those who don't change with it are doomed to be left behind, crying their eyes out and stamping their feet. Tantrums do not make good science. Thanks for your comment John, always a pleasure to hear from you!

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  2. Great post Jim. You nailed it. Our detractors seem to think that by doing away with the PAS we will all disappear. Well we will not and what will result is a loss of information for generations to come.

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    1. Well, thanks Dick! Yes, we are not going anywhere...old ways die hard, somewhat like a decrepit steam locomotive finally loosing a few rivets and the loud, inconsequential hissing of a deflating boiler, soon to be silenced.I feel buggy whip manufacturers may have thrown fits of verbal steam in the same way, as motorcars came on the scene. I am still amazed by the temerity of those administering the PAS...we should be so bold here in the US along the same lines, but I feel it will probably never be so.Thanks for the comment Dick!

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  3. Hi Jim:
    The PAS goes from strength to strength. However, there are one or two trolls who denigrate every effort of public participation. These people are in need of urgent counselling as any sight of their blogs plainly shows.

    It's the nature of todays social media that it attracts people who're mentally insecure, or, are totally off their trolleys.

    Best

    John Howland

    WWW. detectingandcollecting.wordpress.com

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  4. I totally agree, John! Sorry for the delay in posting...forgot comments were set to "moderated."

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