ABSTRACT
This paper discusses two initiatives undertaken by the UK government, the Treasure Act 1996 and the accompanying initiative to promote the voluntary recording of all other archaeological finds. Even after the passage of the Treasure Act the legal protection afforded portable antiquities in England and Wales is at the same time more limited in scope and more permissive and also more liberal in its treatment of finders than in virtually any other country in Europe. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
