What should I do if I make any archaeological finds?

Archaeological finds (new FAQ)

What should I do if I make any archaeological finds?

Many people who are not qualified archaeologists find artefacts every day. These can be chance finds made while browsing junk shops, digging the garden or clearing out the attic; or they can be the results of deliberate searches – for example, by a metal-detecting enthusiast. If you have found an artefact, what should you do with it and how do you find out about it?

What's an artefact?
Before we go any further, let's just clarify what an artefact is. An artefact is any item that has been made by a person in the past. It is a piece of evidence for past human activity. Of course this encompasses a huge range of items from prehistoric stone tools to Victorian gas lights, but all artefacts are important in their own context. Each one is a piece of evidence that helps us to put together a picture of our past.

What NOT to do
There are lots of 'urban myths' about the best way to treat finds: cover them with brown sauce, drop them in a fizzy drink, get out the Brasso or put them in a dish washer. All of these suggestions are seriously bad news for artefacts.

If you find an artefact, often the first instinct is to clean it – DON'T! Many modern household cleaners contain powerful chemicals and abrasives that can easily damage old fabrics. There are also lots of 'old wives tales' encouraging us to rummage through the cupboards and make up concoctions of spices, ketchups and even toothpastes to bring artefacts 'back to life'. These are misleading, sometimes dangerous and often ultimately damaging to anything they are applied to. Even if they don't cause damage to the artefact itself, they can destroy some of the information that could have been obtained from it. Many artefacts can themselves contain important evidence. For example, an old ceramic beaker can still carry traces of the elements it contained or a brooch could still have some delicate applied decoration in place. These things can be lost completely by over-zealous cleaning.

Finding out about your artefact
So how do you find out about your artefact? Ask the old bloke down the pub who knows everything or search the treasure-hunting sites on the internet? Not quite.

By far the best resource is your local museum. Homer Simpson once complained that 'Nothing interesting ends in "eum".' However, if you actually go to one, you may be quite surprised (as was Homer). Museums have access to a wide range of specialists. They can also identify a huge variety of items from our past, and will have a detailed knowledge of artefacts that may only be known in your local area.

When you take the artefact to your museum, ask to see the curator or curatorial assistant. They will be able to tell you what it's made of, if it's rare, where there are other examples and how it was used, as well as giving you an estimated date for when it was made and advising you on how to look after it. If the curator is not a specialist in the same area as your particular artefact, they can still get the item identified for you by drawing on the experience of other specialists within the museum.

The museum may want to record your artefact for the archaeological record. As stated above, every artefact is a piece of evidence that helps us to build a picture of the past. If you find something and keep it on your mantelpiece without showing it to a museum nobody else will be able to share the knowledge of the find. Every bit of evidence enhances our cultural heritage and there are many gaps in our story. You never know, your artefact could be a very important find: share the knowledge.

Portable Antiquities Scheme
In December 1996, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (Buildings, Monuments and Sites Division) announced that it would fund a programme of pilot schemes to encourage people to show their finds to museums so that they would not be lost to the wider community. The Portable Antiquities Scheme was launched and in its first year officers recorded over 13,500 archaeological objects that would otherwise not be known about. The scheme even held a 'finds surgery' at the Time Team Live in York and recorded over 250 artefacts brought in by members of the public. This just serves to give you an idea of the number of artefacts still out there held in private collections or hidden in a drawer that are never recorded and add nothing to the archaeological record.

Finally, many people worry that if they show any find to a museum they will want to take it away from them. This is not true. Museums want to record information about finds so that everyone can find out about their past. Only if your find is classed as treasure under the Treasure Act will a museum have the right to acquire it (and even then they will have to pay for it). Remember a trip with a find to your museum can benefit archaeology as a whole and also be a great help to you.

Information and leaflets on the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the Treasure Act and a Treasure Act Code of Practice handbook are available from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport by calling 020 7211 6200. Internet users can see the Portable Antiquities website at: www.finds.org.uk.

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