Portable Antiquities

Every year objects of archaeological importance are discovered by members of the public. Many of these finds are unearthed by people using metal detectors, but chance finds are also made by people whilst working, digging their gardens or out walking. In the past little of this material was recorded by museums or archaeologists, and a great deal of potential information about our past was lost.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a project to encourage the voluntary recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. Such discoveries offer an important source for understanding our past.

If you have discovered any finds you think may be of archaeological interest, then please contact your local reporting centre (see below), whether the finds were made here or elsewhere in Britain. Staff at the centre will be pleased to identify your finds and tell you what they were used for in the past. They will also be able to offer you advice on how to look after them.

For further details about the Scheme for Recording Archaeological Finds in Wales please contact:

Mark Lodwick Department of Archaeology & Numismatics, National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Cathays Park Cardiff. CFIO 3NP Tel: 02920 573226. Or visit the Scheme's website: www.finds.org.uk