Mouthy CPAT? The Debate on Preservation in Wales

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A few days ago some bloke from the Wrexham Heritage Society got irate that I pointed out that they were really just a metal detecting club. He thought he'd stick the knife in:

We are supported by the PAS, C.P.A.T & The National Museum of Wales. I would like to ask, why an archaeologist that we have recently worked with called you Paul barford "a mouthy twat"?? This i found very amusing.

No doubt. This archaeologist of course will only say such things behind people's backs, never to their face - let alone justify what issues they have with what I am saying about artefact hunting and the preservation of the archaeological record. Metal detectorists may find such behaviour "supportive", but is it going any way to fulfilling the aims of collaboration with artefact hunters simply to dismiss the sort of concerns raised here? Personally, I think an archaeologist should be addressing the wider issues of artefact hunting and collecting in their dealings with the public. Here however we seem to be observing how it is in practice, with the archaeologist shying away from saying anything his or her metal detecting "partners" might find controversial or unpalatable - so they just play along with the "we are on your side' ploy. Or perhaps this person really believes that archaeology is just about hoiking the stuff out?

Is it the archaeologists of the National Museum of Wales that have such a low opinion of somebody who urges we take a closer look at the way we treat the archaeological record and are telling the Wrexham Heritage Society artefact hunters of this?

Now interestingly enough, we know that in their collaboration with metal detecting clubs in northeast Wales, two of these bodies mentioned by the bloke from Wrexham, the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust and the Portable Antiquities Scheme are actually represented by the same person. He is named on the PAS website. If we Google this guy's name he turns out to be a weedy young guy with long hair and a beard and who seems to spend most of his time talking to Womens' Institute meetings. If it is this gentleman who as part of his "archaeological outreach" to the public is expressing such an opinion of his older and more experienced colleagues, then he might at least have the decency to make such comments first to my face and say why he is "supporting" artefact hunters in this particular way and why he thinks the issues raised by myself (and my colleagues?) are just so much "mouthy twattery".

I do not expect he will. Still, if the gentleman concerned is the local FLO, we can take comfort from the fact that this sort of "outreach" about matters of concern will soon be ending, the Portable Antiquities Scheme is being closed down in Wales next year, and outreach to the public (if any) will take place through other avenues.

A li'l bitta Persn'l Divelopment Needed

Over on my other blog I got an odd comment to a very old post ("Looking Over Artefact Hunters' Shoulders: Blaydon ..."). It was from a couple calling themselves "Norman and Linda Kennedy" and it read:

When i hear some of you so called archaeological diggers comment,it shows me how ignorant you guys are.
I would love one of you so called archeolgists to say to me" bad comments then i would have a chance bury you for one of your future arseholes" to dig you up.
What you have to realise is you are getting my tax payment towards your job" so shut your mouth,
the quicker the goverment gets rid of you archies the better,save us all millions,N

Then I received a second in like vein, this time to the post "UK "Metal Detectorists" and the (Continued) Unhol...":

About 24 years ago or there about that time a Archioligist was cought stealing artifacts and selling them,
Over many years these guys have pludered treasure and sold it.
Its time to get rid of archaeologist’s and replace them with a none profit making society, as you can see on Time team BBC what a joke" we dont need these scruffy thick people who talk like peasants,arr arr come on you got to laugh at that thick guy with hat on,and the scruffy guy with the pink jumper,and dirty hair,

Well it is perhaps better to talk like peasants (that's a regional accent of course) than write like one I suppose. "Mr and Ms Kennedy" were not finished however, back on the Blaydon post again:

Highley skilled archaeologist’s,your having a laugh after many years of going on digs i realised that the worst people i have ever seen destroying historic artifacs are you guys the so called expert archaeologist’s,
Most archaeologist’s are university dropouts hippies like Barfoot scrating around in Poland'
Most the people that come on the digs are learners not highley skilled archaeologist’s,
Metal detector people have turned up more valuble artifacs and are highley skilled people,N

I do not "scrate", never scrated in my life. I can use apostrophes and commas though.

Now what is curious about all this is that the comments are posted from a profile which (atypically) is not hidden and it has links to a website and a blog of Norman and Linda Kennedy who run some kind of a personal coaching service, motivational speaking and all that. In Australia. Take a look at the texts there and say if they look as if they are written by the same people as the semi-literate foul-mouthing above. There is quite a clear mismatch.

Anyhow these somewhat coarse-speaking detectorists are apparently using computers in two places in the UK, and claim off-list to be the same people as on the Ozzie website and blog, so obviously despite their obvious linguistic shortcomings they claim the ability to be in two different places at the same time.

Customers of this rather shadowy firm 'Personal Development Top Earner' might like to take a critical look at the Kennedys' comments on my blog posts before deciding to ask for their help in their own personal development.

Photo: Apparently Norman and Linda Kennedy from the 'Personal Development Top Earner' website.