What happens to the finds?

The short answer is that it varies enormously. Most finds – with the exception of 'treasure trove', which is covered by specific legislation requiring it to be offered for sale to the British Museum (or, via the BM, a local museum) – are actually the property of whoever owns the land on which they are found. This means it is up to the owners as to what happens to them.

In most cases, the owners of the land agree to the finds being deposited at a relevant museum or other body, where they can be made available for further study. There are many finds, however, that are not particularly rare, so you would not necessarily see them on display. Some would be retained by the landowner; others would be stored in archaeological archives. Yet others (for example, the mosaic uncovered in a back garden at Cirencester are covered with a protective layer (in the Cirencester case, of sand and plastic sheeting) and reburied.

The most interesting discoveries do tend to make it into public display in one form or another, even if only on loan from the owners. Many are donated permanently, usually to a local museum, and of course, in the case of publicly owned land, this would usually take place as a matter of course.