Glittering_Ship4193 Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Hello everyone - new to the hobby here with a particular interest in detecting relics of major conflicts. I've been to Europe several times, and have local contacts in many of the places I've visited. Some detect and some don't. I know that it is generally quite difficult and bureaucratic to get permission to detect in many European countries, not to mention the many restrictions on areas, types of objects, etc. I'm curious from those who have done it, what countries have you found to be the most amenable and easiest to navigate legally? Do you find that it's better to do all the legwork yourself? Link up with a local group? Befriend landowners? I'm more than happy to compensate a landowner to look on their property but I doubt many just walk up to their door trying to do so. And yes, I am aware of the potential physical dangers such as XO as well as the myriad of possible penalties ranging from equipment confiscation, monetary fines and arrest. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palzynski Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Hi , You should read the law of the country where you plan to detect because the laws are very different depending on the country In France detecting is allowed at the condition you are not looking for archeological artefacts. Of course detecting is forbidden on archeological sites . Personally I always ask the authorization to the landowner and I never detect on archeological sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glittering_Ship4193 Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 34 minutes ago, palzynski said: Hi , You should read the law of the country where you plan to detect because the laws are very different depending on the country In France detecting is allowed at the condition you are not looking for archeological artefacts. Of course detecting is forbidden on archeological sites . Personally I always ask the authorization to the landowner and I never detect on archeological sites The laws at times can be ambiguous, Poland for example. You can get all the necessary approvals and still get in quite a lot of trouble because they don't have a specific definition as to what is considered a relic. Unfortunately I doubt a foreigner can just go up to a landowner and ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjtom Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 I wonder, what do laws in e.g. Poland actually say? Can one detect anywhere public? Are beaches off limits? Can one detect at all, as opposed to finding something of historical value that needs to be, idk, registered/returned? Is there a 'finders share' law in place? What happens if say, unlikely, a gold nugget is found on e.g. public land (or some other land)? Where to look for clarification on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glittering_Ship4193 Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 10 minutes ago, mcjtom said: I wonder, what do laws in e.g. Poland actually say? Can one detect anywhere public? Are beaches off limits? Can one detect at all, as opposed to finding something of historical value that needs to be, idk, registered/returned? Is there a 'finders share' law in place? What happens if say, unlikely, a gold nugget is found on e.g. public land (or some other land)? Where to look for clarification on this? The original law regarding Poland states: "Art. 109c. on monument protection Searching for hidden or abandoned monuments without a permit or contrary to the conditions of the permit Whoever searches for hidden or abandoned monuments without a permit or contrary to the conditions of the permit, including using all types of electronic and technical devices and diving equipment, shall be subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to years 2." Now if that's still valid, I'm not sure. There was this even from 2019: https://tvn24.pl/katowice/raciborz-zatrzymany-za-nielegalne-poszukiwanie-skarbow-ra930038-ls2296833 He did not know the law and did not have a permit and a local ratted on him to the police. Luckily the area he was in had no known archeological significance. I think seaside beaches may be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glittering_Ship4193 Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 Some interesting information here as well: https://ratuj-zabytki.pl/46_barford_EN.pdf https://ratuj-zabytki.pl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F350Platinum Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Here's some general info: https://detecthistory.com/metal-detecting-laws-in-different-countries/ Just general guidelines, it's difficult to say what really goes on. Lots of rumors and speculation, some you can do just about whatever you want, others will throw you in jail just to get you to pay to get out. 😵 It will depend on where you are and who sees you 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjtom Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 18 minutes ago, Glittering_Ship4193 said: He did not know the law and did not have a permit and a local ratted on him to the police. Luckily the area he was in had no known archeological significance. That's a bit of absurdity - the guy was arrested for using a metal detector! (as opposed to actually digging out anything, let alone damaging an archaeological site). I didn't know it was even possible. Would it be useful to have a section somewhere (perhaps something like a Google Sheet or a Doc where members could keep adding info and links to confirmed and current legal requirements/changes for different places in different countries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjtom Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 5 minutes ago, F350Platinum said: Here's some general info: https://detecthistory.com/metal-detecting-laws-in-different-countries/ You beat me to it...! I was thinking about something similar but with specific info/references to laws by members living or knowing about regulations/consequences or detecting/finding things in their countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glittering_Ship4193 Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 6 minutes ago, F350Platinum said: Here's some general info: https://detecthistory.com/metal-detecting-laws-in-different-countries/ Just general guidelines, it's difficult to say what really goes on. Lots of rumors and speculation, some you can do just about whatever you want, others will throw you in jail just to get you to pay to get out. 😵 It will depend on where you are and who sees you 🤔 Thanks for that link. Unfortunately some dead links, but that's up to the site owner to fix. I feel like countries make it ambiguous or difficult on purpose. 3 minutes ago, mcjtom said: That's a bit of absurdity - the guy was arrested for using a metal detector! (as opposed to actually digging out anything, let alone damaging an archaeological site). I didn't know it was even possible. Would it be useful to have a section somewhere (perhaps something like a Google Sheet or a Doc where members could keep adding info and links to confirmed and current legal requirements/changes for different places in different countries? Polish law is so vague a bottle cap could be subject to relic laws. @mcjtom I think that's a great idea if we could have a dedicated resource, kept up to date with links from countries laws. In the case above, it appears even the guy who was local didn't know the laws. I don't know the specific laws here in the US either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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