The Treasure Act 1996

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Ian Richardson, Dept of British and European Prehistory, BM
May 2014		 Recent Lecture

Ian Richardson has been the Treasure Registrar of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) since 2007. His core job is administering the finds under the Treasure Act of 1996, which came into force in 1997. Before that, it was “Treasure Trove”, a very old law – the first reference to it is in the reign of Edward I. Originally intended to stop people hiding wealth from the Crown, it was later used to protect the national heritage. Finds had to be reported to the Coroner. As early as the 1930s the market value started to be paid to finders (rather than just the bullion value, i.e. what it would be worth if melted down). Ostensibly all Treasure finds still belong to the Crown unless disclaimed by the Crown. An object would be Treasure Trove if made of gold or silver, the original owner was unknown and it had been buried with the intention of recovering it later – with these criteria, very few finds were claimed as Treasure Trove. Objects deemed to have been “lost” did not qualify, so did not tend to be reported. Even the finds at Sutton Hoo were not Treasure Trove – as the objects were grave goods, there had been no intention to recover them; it was only through the generosity of the landowner that they now belong to the British Museum.

After WWII metal detecting grew in popularity. Many more finds are being made, with potential damage to the archaeological record. After the notorious looting of the temple site at Wanborough, Surrey, there was a big campaign to reform the law of Treasure Trove. Lord Perth in the House of Lords in 1994 introduced new legislation and the Treasure Act came into being in 1996 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Metal detecting can take place with the landowner’s permission, and only finds that come under the Treasure Act need be reported. The current Treasure Act not only (hopefully) ensures that finds do not slip through the net, but that background information about them is disclosed to the relevant authorities. Many thousands of finds have been registered under this system including vast hoards of coins. Less than 50% of these finds are acquired by museums, but at least they have the record.

The definition of Treasure has been rewritten. All objects, other than coins, at least 300 years old with at least 10% gold or silver qualify as Treasure. The Crosby Garrett helmet was not Treasure - obviously a loophole in the law. Coin hoards qualify if two or more coins contain precious metal or at least ten of the coins are at least 300 years old. Another loophole to be closed: the pot that a coin hoard was contained in could be kept by the landowner as it was not Treasure, but it was obviously very important. Natural objects (e.g. flint tools) or animal or human remains (bones) are not Treasure. Objects from wrecks found below low tide are not Treasure, but if buried on land and ending up underwater, they can qualify as Treasure.

It is an offence not to report a Treasure find to the Coroner within 14 days after the find. The maximum penalty is three months in prison and/or a fine of £5000. The Treasure Act has been successful in getting people to report finds, and there has been a huge increase since 2003, when PAS got under way. The Treasure Act and PAS work together. Both entail voluntary reporting. There are Finds Liaison Officers (FLOs) in all the counties of England and Wales. Usually the FLO reports the find on behalf of the finder and if necessary notifies the Coroner. When a female (most of them are) FLO is on maternity leave, the number of reported finds in their area goes down – probably because they build up a good relationship with the public. FLOs go out to meetings of metal detecting clubs etc. An expert such as a British Museum specialist Curator or the FLO will write a report on a find. If it meets the criteria for Treasure a museum can acquire it (if not wanted, it is “disclaimed”) but it then has to be valued. The find goes before a Treasure Evaluation Committee, which is an independent, impartial, committee. Its value on the open market is determined – the equivalent of what it would fetch at auction.

A find is valued in its original found state, i.e. before it is cleaned. If a finder does not agree with this report, they can bring in an independent valuer. But the Evaluation Committee can “abate” the financial reward if the finder did not act “properly” in reporting the find.

An acquiring museum must foot the bill for the award to the finder and any other interested party such as the landowner – they have to raise the money through various funding bodies, e.g. the Art Fund, the HLF, the Headley Trust, the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The most expensive find so far has been the Staffordshire Hoard. If the British Museum is not interested in an object, local museums might be as they would have less of a collection of a certain type. The British Museum tends to collect objects primarily for research, whereas a local museum may acquire an object to enhance its display. The British Museum therefore does have first claim on an object of national importance under the Treasure Act, but may defer to a local museum near to where the object was found. Archaeologists have an obligation to report Treasure, but do not get any reward, although the landowner does.

PAS still produces a yearly report (but these are now smaller) of the most significant finds and they appear on the PAS website. The given location for objects is the Parish (this helps keep sensitive findspots unpublicised). There is a review of the Treasure Act going on now to tighten it up. One suggestion is that there be just one Coroner for Treasure. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport website will have progress reports on this.

Yvonne Masson