Portable Antiquities Scheme

Every year, all over the country, members of the public discover thousands of archaeological artefacts ranging from prehistoric axeheads to medieval coinage when digging their garden, out hiking or walking the dog, and often by searching with metal-detectors.

What is the Portable Antiquities Scheme?

The scheme was formed in 1997 and provides a service that allows members of the public to have their finds identified and archaeologically recorded.

The heart of the Portable Antiquities Scheme is its network of Finds Liaison Officers (FLO's). who promote the Scheme, and identify and record reported finds on an online database (see Related Links below). This is the largest database of its type anywhere in the world; in 2007, over 76,000 objects were recorded nationally.

• Northamptonshire Portable Antiquities Scheme

Do I have to record a find?

Recording finds with the Portable Antiquities Scheme is entirely voluntary, although finders of Treasure have a legal obligation to report such finds to the coroner within 14 days.

What counts as treasure?

Treasure includes all objects that are over 300 years old that have a precious metal content of 10% or more.   Collections of two or more prehistoric metal objects from the same findspot constitute hoards, and also class as treasure, as do collections of two or more gold/silver coins, or ten or more base metal coins from the same findspot.  

If you have a find that you think might be treasure, please contact the Northamptonshire FLO using the details on the right.

How do I record my find?

The Northamptonshire FLO will be happy to identify and record any of your archaeological finds, whether they were found in Northamptonshire or elsewhere in the country. 

The FLO will normally prefer to take the find in for examination and detailed recording, for which you will receive a receipt.  However, it is also possible to record finds on the spot, providing conditions are appropriate for photography, weighing, and measuring.

Further information

The Northamptonshire Finds Liaison Officer is happy to give advice on what type of artefacts are Treasure and what to do if you find any.

•  Advice for finders of archaeological treasure (pdf format 79kb)
  An explanation of how the treasure system works and basic information on recording non-treasure finds.
•  Conservation advice notes (pdf format (603kb)
  Help and guidance on: looking after ancient metal objects from preservation to recording details of the find; how to clean, package, store, and display the objects safely.
•  Responsible metal detecting (pdf format 476kb)
  Advice and guidance on what to do before, during, and after you go metal-detecting.

For further information and to look at some of the finds that have been recorded visit the Portable Antiquities Scheme website, see Related Links below.