Nighthawking

'Nighthawking' is a term used in the United Kingdom to describe illegal metal-detecting on archaeological sites or other areas of archaeological heritage, usually in order to recover treasure or other items of value. Such treasure-hunts ruin fragile finds like mosaics.^[1] The name refers to the fact that such illegal metal detecting is usually performed at night, to avoid arrest^[2].

Nighthawking and the law

Nighthawking can break the law on a number of points:

1. Trespass: Nighthawking is often performed on private land where permission to survey and dig has been refused.
2. Digging on Scheduled Sites: Digging on any sites which are Scheduled Ancient Monuments without Scheduled Monument Consent from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is illegal.
3. Declaration of Treasure: The Treasure Act 1996 requires all finds that are legally defined as treasure to be declared to a local coroner or the police within 14 days. Nighthawkers rarely declare their finds due to the method of acquisition. Breach of this law can result in a £5,000 fine, a term of imprisonment up to three months or both.^[3]
4. Theft: In Britain, ownership of finds on private lands, unless declared treasure, rests with the land owners. As many nighthawkers take finds to sell on to private dealers^[1], this counts as theft under British Law.

Impact on metal detecting in the United Kingdom

Nighthawkers are considered to be separate from law-abiding metal detectorists^[4], as they do not follow the codes of practice laid out by such hobbyist groups as The National Council for Metal Detecting^[5] or the Federation of Independent Detectorists^[6]. However, it has been claimed that nighthawkers use such groups as a method of obtaining information about archaeological sites.

Despite the difference between the two groups, nighthawking has had a detrimental effect on the reputation of legitimate metal detectors.

Nighthawking and the Oxford Archaeology study

Nighthawking is currently the subject of a study^[7] being undertaken by Oxford Archaeology and collectively funded by English Heritage, Cadw, Historic Scotland, National Museum, National Museum of Wales and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The primary aim of the study, which is to be titled: 'Nighthawks and Nighthawking: Damage to Archaeological Sites in the United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies caused by illegal searching and removal of antiquities' , is to assess the level of damage caused by Nighthawking to British archaeological heritage and to study the adequacy of current law in dealing with Nighthawking. In this it is seen as a more detailed continuation of more general studies such as the CBA's report: 'Metal Detecting and Archaeology in England' ^[8], which dealt with independent metal detecting in general rather than the specific practice of nighthawking.

Other relevant bodies associated with the study are Archaeology Guernsey, Jersey Heritage Trust, Manx National Heritage, National Museums Scotland and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} BBC Inside Out - Nighthawkers, the illegal metal detectorists
2. ^ NightHawks - Home Page
3. ^ www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1996/1996024.html
4. ^ NightHawks - more info
5. ^ http://www.ncmd.co.uk
6. ^ The Federation of Independent Detectorists
7. ^ Nighthawks Study
8. ^ Metal detecting and archaeology in England: Contents