PAS secures future funding
HLF grant for volunteer-led initiative will put archaeological finds scheme on a more secure financial footing. Gareth Harris reports
A volunteer-led initiative launched by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) has secured a substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), putting the archaeological finds scheme on a secure footing in England and Wales.
Five hundred trained volunteers will be recruited as part of Past Explorers, a five-year project being backed by £792,000 from the HLF.
The move will boost the profile of the PAS, with volunteers sharing information through the organisation’s database. Successful applicants will also help host public events and sessions on handling finds.
Volunteers will work together in community finds recording teams led by local finds liaison officers. The teams will be divided into 10 regional training centres countrywide.
The PAS is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; 36 local partners, including museums and councils; and the British Museum, which also manages the scheme. The PAS received £1.3m in funding this year.
Roger Bland, who is responsible for the PAS, says: “The Past Explorers project is important because it will enable us to achieve a step change in the way in which the PAS is able to harness the energy and enthusiasm of volunteers in trying to keep up with the ever-increasing demand from finders to record their finds.”
But he adds: “The 38 finds liaison officers, six national finds advisers and three other PAS staff struggle to keep on top of all the finds that come in and we are not going to be able to expand the network – rather, the opposite.”
The HLF grant will nonetheless support four new roles in the organisation, which is based at the British Museum, including two project officers and an outreach officer.
Crucially, Past Explorers will also cover Wales. Concerns had previously been raised after funding for the PAS was reduced for the 2011-15 period.
Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales), Cadw and Cymal: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales will, however, fund the scheme in equal proportions, “taking full responsibility from 2015-16 when the British Museum funding ends”, according to National Museum Wales’s website.
Archaeology specialists have broadly welcomed the initiative. Dan Hicks, an associate professor at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology, says: “Over the past two decades, the PAS has been significantly ahead of its time in pioneering new ways of doing public archaeology.
“Working with volunteers has always been central to the PAS, and my understanding is that the HLF funding will give this work proper recognition by making the interactions between volunteers and the network of PAS finds liaison officers more coordinated and sustainable.”
Finding favour
The Past Explorers scheme is significant for several reasons, argues Mike Heyworth, the director of the Council for British Archaeology, who is also on the PAS advisory board.
“First and foremost, it will help spread good practice; reporting finds is fundamental,” he says.
“There are also incredibly knowledgeable detectorists out there who can add value to the work of the find liaison officers.”
Heyworth points out that it can be difficult to secure funding for such projects.
“These sort of national outreach projects can be perceived as being expensive by funding bodies such as the HLF, but such schemes, which focus on good-quality outcomes, are often very intensive,” he adds.
Comment: Protecting the future of archaeology
The find is declared Treasure by the coroner and provisionally valued by one or more independent expert valuers. The find is seen at a Treasure Valuation Committee meeting, where it is looked at alongside the provisional valuation(s).
Don’t panic when you receive the provisional valuation. From the point you receive it, you will have at least two months in which to prepare your application.
Approach your local sources of funding, such as the friends of your museum or local historical societies, in good time.
Check with national funding bodies to see how long it might take for them to make a decision.
Source: www.finds.org.uk
Five hundred trained volunteers will be recruited as part of Past Explorers, a five-year project being backed by £792,000 from the HLF.
The move will boost the profile of the PAS, with volunteers sharing information through the organisation’s database. Successful applicants will also help host public events and sessions on handling finds.
Volunteers will work together in community finds recording teams led by local finds liaison officers. The teams will be divided into 10 regional training centres countrywide.
The PAS is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; 36 local partners, including museums and councils; and the British Museum, which also manages the scheme. The PAS received £1.3m in funding this year.
Roger Bland, who is responsible for the PAS, says: “The Past Explorers project is important because it will enable us to achieve a step change in the way in which the PAS is able to harness the energy and enthusiasm of volunteers in trying to keep up with the ever-increasing demand from finders to record their finds.”
But he adds: “The 38 finds liaison officers, six national finds advisers and three other PAS staff struggle to keep on top of all the finds that come in and we are not going to be able to expand the network – rather, the opposite.”
The HLF grant will nonetheless support four new roles in the organisation, which is based at the British Museum, including two project officers and an outreach officer.
Crucially, Past Explorers will also cover Wales. Concerns had previously been raised after funding for the PAS was reduced for the 2011-15 period.
Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales), Cadw and Cymal: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales will, however, fund the scheme in equal proportions, “taking full responsibility from 2015-16 when the British Museum funding ends”, according to National Museum Wales’s website.
Archaeology specialists have broadly welcomed the initiative. Dan Hicks, an associate professor at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology, says: “Over the past two decades, the PAS has been significantly ahead of its time in pioneering new ways of doing public archaeology.
“Working with volunteers has always been central to the PAS, and my understanding is that the HLF funding will give this work proper recognition by making the interactions between volunteers and the network of PAS finds liaison officers more coordinated and sustainable.”
Finding favour
The Past Explorers scheme is significant for several reasons, argues Mike Heyworth, the director of the Council for British Archaeology, who is also on the PAS advisory board.
“First and foremost, it will help spread good practice; reporting finds is fundamental,” he says.
“There are also incredibly knowledgeable detectorists out there who can add value to the work of the find liaison officers.”
Heyworth points out that it can be difficult to secure funding for such projects.
“These sort of national outreach projects can be perceived as being expensive by funding bodies such as the HLF, but such schemes, which focus on good-quality outcomes, are often very intensive,” he adds.
Comment: Protecting the future of archaeology
How to fund Treasure acquisitions
The find is declared Treasure by the coroner and provisionally valued by one or more independent expert valuers. The find is seen at a Treasure Valuation Committee meeting, where it is looked at alongside the provisional valuation(s).
Don’t panic when you receive the provisional valuation. From the point you receive it, you will have at least two months in which to prepare your application.
Approach your local sources of funding, such as the friends of your museum or local historical societies, in good time.
Check with national funding bodies to see how long it might take for them to make a decision.
Source: www.finds.org.uk