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What European Countries Have You Found To Be The Least Complicated To Detect In?


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Here's a general site for the United States and some other countries can be found there as well:

https://www.mdhtalk.org/maps/fp-map-regulations.htm

Nothing is all that great, but this gives you some general guidelines.

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18 hours 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).

It is illegal to simply be in possession of a functioning metal detector in many U.S. National Parks and other locations.

Agency: National Parks, Monuments, Seashores, Forests, and Public Property
Law: Title 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property

PART 2 RESOURCE PROTECTION, PUBLIC USE AND RECREATION
§ 2.1 Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the following is prohibited:
(1) Possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing from its natural state:
(iii) Nonfossilized and fossilized paleontological specimens, cultural or archeological resources, or the parts thereof.
(iv) A mineral resource or cave formation or the parts thereof.
(3) Tossing, throwing or rolling rocks or other items inside caves or caverns, into valleys, canyons, or caverns, down hillsides or mountainsides, or into thermal features.
(5) Walking on, climbing, entering, ascending, descending, or traversing an archeological or cultural resource, monument, or statue, except in designated areas and under conditions established by the superintendent.
(6) Possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing a structure or its furnishing or fixtures, or other cultural or archeological resources.
(7) Possessing or using a mineral or metal detector, magnetometer, side scan sonar, other metal detecting device, or subbottom profiler.

This paragraph does not apply to:
(i) A device broken down and stored or packed to prevent its use while in park areas.

(ii) Electronic equipment used primarily for the navigation and safe operation of boats and aircraft.
(iii) Mineral or metal detectors, magnetometers, or subbottom profilers used for authorized scientific, mining, or administrative activities.


In many if not most other countries other than the U.S. metal detecting is highly restricted or outright illegal, though there are exceptions.

 

There are entire websites and other resources available for determine laws, rules, and regulations. Some were already linked to here. And if a person has contacts in other countries - ask them. Long story short I find the subject to be rather depressing and so have no desire to have a section of the website dedicated to it. It would be impossible to keep it up to date and accurate. Google is your friend.

Federation of Metal Detector & Archeological Clubs, Inc.

The Federation of Metal Detector and Archaeological Clubs Inc. (FMDAC) was organized in 1984 as a legislative and educational organization and incorporated, as a non-profit, non-commercial, non-partisan organization.

The FMDAC's Mission: The FMDAC is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and protection for the hobby of recreational metal detecting and prospecting.

The FMDAC's Purpose: To unite, promote and encourage the establishment of metal detecting clubs.  To preserve the sport / hobby of recreational metal detecting and prospecting.  To make available to FMDAC clubs and Independent members information pertaining to the hobby and to keep members informed as to active legislation.

The FMDAC's Goal is to Educate and inform the public as to the merits of recreational metal detecting.

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On 4/1/2024 at 9:02 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

It is illegal to simply be in possession of a functioning metal detector in many U.S. National Parks and other locations.

Agency: National Parks, Monuments, Seashores, Forests, and Public Property
Law: Title 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property

PART 2 RESOURCE PROTECTION, PUBLIC USE AND RECREATION
§ 2.1 Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the following is prohibited:
(1) Possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing from its natural state:
(iii) Nonfossilized and fossilized paleontological specimens, cultural or archeological resources, or the parts thereof.
(iv) A mineral resource or cave formation or the parts thereof.
(3) Tossing, throwing or rolling rocks or other items inside caves or caverns, into valleys, canyons, or caverns, down hillsides or mountainsides, or into thermal features.
(5) Walking on, climbing, entering, ascending, descending, or traversing an archeological or cultural resource, monument, or statue, except in designated areas and under conditions established by the superintendent.
(6) Possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing a structure or its furnishing or fixtures, or other cultural or archeological resources.
(7) Possessing or using a mineral or metal detector, magnetometer, side scan sonar, other metal detecting device, or subbottom profiler.

This paragraph does not apply to:
(i) A device broken down and stored or packed to prevent its use while in park areas.

(ii) Electronic equipment used primarily for the navigation and safe operation of boats and aircraft.
(iii) Mineral or metal detectors, magnetometers, or subbottom profilers used for authorized scientific, mining, or administrative activities.


In many if not most other countries other than the U.S. metal detecting is highly restricted or outright illegal, though there are exceptions.

 

There are entire websites and other resources available for determine laws, rules, and regulations. Some were already linked to here. And if a person has contacts in other countries - ask them. Long story short I find the subject to be rather depressing and so have no desire to have a section of the website dedicated to it. It would be impossible to keep it up to date and accurate. Google is your friend.

Federation of Metal Detector & Archeological Clubs, Inc.

The Federation of Metal Detector and Archaeological Clubs Inc. (FMDAC) was organized in 1984 as a legislative and educational organization and incorporated, as a non-profit, non-commercial, non-partisan organization.

The FMDAC's Mission: The FMDAC is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and protection for the hobby of recreational metal detecting and prospecting.

The FMDAC's Purpose: To unite, promote and encourage the establishment of metal detecting clubs.  To preserve the sport / hobby of recreational metal detecting and prospecting.  To make available to FMDAC clubs and Independent members information pertaining to the hobby and to keep members informed as to active legislation.

The FMDAC's Goal is to Educate and inform the public as to the merits of recreational metal detecting.

Thanks for all the information. It seems your best bet is to either not bring your detector or keep it broken down in your bag if passing through an area you suspect may be subject to restrictions.

Sadly, many of my EU friends don't know their own laws. And because in the case of Poland, you can do all the right things and still be in trouble i.e. loose definitions of what is a relic

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I have a suspicion that the only reason it is complicated, in all the European countries, is because we md'rs have spent decades running around to bureaucracies there, asking "Can I ?".   As if it needs permission.    And then presto :  This "Pressing question" gets bandied about, desk to desk.   Till it finally lands on the desk of a purist archie.  🙄 And presto :  Another law or rule is born.    😡

 

And meanwhile, the old timers md'rs  in those very countries, WHO HAD NEVER HAD A PROBLEM BEFORE, hear of supposed "no's".  And are left scratching their heads, saying "Since when ?" and "Says who ?".    Or they say "Nonsense !  No one cares !".  But the skittish folk show them the wonderful answers they received when they had gone to make their wonderful compendiums.   And when the long-timers insist that it's a non-issue and no one cares, guess what someone else is *sure to do* to "get to the bottom of this" ?  Yup, you guessed it :  Go ask a bored desk-bound official.  🤢

 

Can anyone else see the self-fulfilling vicious circle that is going on ??   Can we see that all we have done for decades now is "swat hornets nests" ?  Thinking "everyone hates us" .  And "we need to grovel".   When in fact the ONLY reason it ever got like this, is because we became our own worst enemies🙄

 

I can tell you this :  If it were me going to Europe, I would "read between the lines" on the dire sounding stuff that these compendiums assert.  Because when you look at how they got their information, it's exactly the evolution that I speak of.   And I can tell you for a fact that there are md'rs in those countries.   OH SURE you/they don't go tromping on obvious historic sensitive monuments while wearing bright orange.   SURE !  🙄   But the same can be said of the USA too.   🤪  

 

Just go help farmer Bob, in those countries, to look for the wedding ring his wife lost in the field.   Presto, problem solved.

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Hey guyz, and cheers from southern Europe.

Let me tell ya few thingz..

1. one thing is on paper - and the other thing is in real life. - This list on the link listed above is incomplete ( I don't mean the list of countries, but the details ).

2. In most of European country the law about metaldteecting is undefined! That means that is allowed, but under million of circumstances. Undefined depth, undefined history landmark circle, goverment permissions...

3. There are several countries inwish REALLY detecting is forbidden in ALL SITUATIONS, even tha sale or import of detectors are not allowed! And that countries, foreginers should avoid by all means!

4. UK is the best organized country for metaldetecting, and it's safe, ut still you should check all things before planing to go there..

5. There are always situations with curious neighbors, that dont know what are you doing, under the impression, thinking in a bad way, as usually the media spreads nonsense that detectorists are thieves, or jellous collegues detetorists.. or if u have such a bad luck to ran onto some hunting guard or cop with lower IQ or with same thinking under the impression from the media ( stated above ), then you can even get arrested. (Of course, we all know that law enforcement agencies do not have to know the entire law by heart).

6. There are places where there were some roberies happened of some historical site. and over there people hate detectorist, and they live underimpression, that detecorists are thievs, going out with giant caterpillars.. and stole the ancient gold fromRomans, or whatewer..

7. Foreigners in some countries will maybe get license before domestic people, in some other countries no way..

 

So,, it's all about traveling, googleing, and detecting.. and if you do it with passion..  and spend a lot of time in it.. you will probably figure it out!  Bt always, always RESPECT THE LAW!!!

 

Good luck!  aND CHEERS FROMSOUTHERN eUROPE!

 

 

 

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On 4/4/2024 at 12:19 AM, Heavy Metal said:

1. one thing is on paper - and the other thing is in real life. - 

 

 

Bingo.  This is what I was aiming at in my post above yours.

 

Yes:  If you ask enough people if you can pick your own nose, or jaywalk, someone's going to tell you "no".   The real question is :  Did anyone ever give 2 sh#ts until you and I asked ?   Are we merely swatting hornets nests ?

 

By all means, sure, avoid obvious off-limits sensitive monuments (the same thing that can be said of the USA and the UK), but.... seriously now.

 

I will post a story about this in the next post .....

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Back in the early 2000s, an elderly md'r friend of mine in my town, had a Fisher 1265 for sale.  He asked me if I would use my Ebay handle to list it for sale.  I agreed and floated the for-sale ad.

 

When the bid deadline came and went, I was dismayed to see that an md'r from SPAIN (yes Spain) had been the winning bidder.  I had failed to stipulate that it would only be available for sale in the USA (or "lower 48" or whatever).   Ugghh.   But lo & behold, the winning bidder quickly sent me the $$ via paypal.  Including handsome overseas shipping costs paid up front.  

 

So I figured : "Ok , then I guess this won't be a hassle after all"

 

As the buyer and I exchanged communication, he explained to me that the Fisher 1265 (which Fisher had stopped producing/manufacturing by then) was very popular among md'rs in Spain.  And since American goods were hard to come by in Spain, they had no choice but to scout for them on Ebay.   

 

Then, my curiosity got the better of me : I linked him to some of the wonderful compendium lists .  Where persons had tried to make one-stop-shopping for all the European country laws,  pertaining to md'ing.   To show him that Spain was amongst those, on the list, with .... uh .... very dire sounding.  Ie.:  As if it wasn't allowed there.   And .... being the devils' advocate asked him "So how can you guys metal detect ?"

 

He explained to me that you have to .... uh ... "read between the lines" on those compendiums.  For example :  Whatever you might be reading might pertain to PUBLIC land.  Yet have no bearing on private land. Eg.:  Farmer Bob, with permission, can do WHATEVER THE HECK HE WANTS on his own land.   Yet the way those compendiums can be incorrectly read, is as if it applies to all land, border to border.  When in fact it means all PUBLIC land (not all land), border to border.  Yet since the compendium doesn't specify, people just assume "all land".  Or assume "the entire country". 

 

Or that while it might *sound* dire yet truth be told, it's meant to apply to obvious historic sensitive monuments.   Not run of the mill parks, beaches, or farmer bob's field.  

 

Now is that to say that a purist archie might disagree ?  And might not have given his "whimsical answer" to whomever was compiling the dandy compendium ??    Do you see the psychology going on here ?

 

And lastly he told me that ...... uh ... quite frankly ... he and his buddies are so far out in the woods and boonies that , quite frankly .... there's no one around to care or notice IN THE FIRST PLACE.  🙄

 

So it occurs to me that the psychology of those compendiums might be like this :  If a European md'r were to ask various USA bureaucrat desk jockies or purist archies here in the USA : "Is md'ing allowed in the USA ?" you might get odd ball answers like being referred to ARPA.  Yet, as we know, only applies to federal land.   And even then-so, only-ever applied to sensitive monuments.    Or  you might get directed to Lost & Found laws.  Or harvest & remove laws.  Or alter and deface laws, etc.....  And by the time you're done you might come away thinking "Oh my gosh, md'ing in the USA is illegal".  Yet we all know you can detect here till you're blue in the face.

 

And to add to the misery, guess what any skittish person will do after reading a post like this in order to "clarify" the matter in any particular European country ?  Yup , you guessed it : Go ask a bored purist archie desk jockey.  Can anyone here see the self-fulfilling vicious loop ?  

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Here in Spain things are not very good, what can we say.  Spain is divided into communities and the heritage protection laws were at the National level and were old and inconclusive.  In Andalusia, which is my community and where I live, was a pioneer in passing a law regulating metal detectors, regulating if not prohibiting, since you had to ask permission from the administration 3 months in advance of the day you wanted to go out to detect.  They went for years without answering, that is called administrative silence and it is the same as denying.  After years we managed to get permits only for beaches and not all, only the ones they had authorized and valid for one year which you had to renew.  Well, after many years of this, it turns out that last February they made a decree law and they banned it suddenly.  The other communities will begin to copy the Andalusian law and many already have an updated bill.  So depending on the community you are in, you are a little better off or screwed like us.  Right now, if you want to use my detector on the beach, I'm a poacher or a plunderer, which is the name they've been calling us lately in the news.

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20 minutes ago, Luis said:

Here in Spain things are not very good, what can we say.  Spain is divided into communities and the heritage protection laws were at the National level and were old and inconclusive.  In Andalusia, which is my community and where I live, was a pioneer in passing a law regulating metal detectors, regulating if not prohibiting, since you had to ask permission from the administration 3 months in advance of the day you wanted to go out to detect.  They went for years without answering, that is called administrative silence and it is the same as denying.  After years we managed to get permits only for beaches and not all, only the ones they had authorized and valid for one year which you had to renew.  Well, after many years of this, it turns out that last February they made a decree law and they banned it suddenly.  The other communities will begin to copy the Andalusian law and many already have an updated bill.  So depending on the community you are in, you are a little better off or screwed like us.  Right now, if you want to use my detector on the beach, I'm a poacher or a plunderer, which is the name they've been calling us lately in the news.

 

And I have a sneaking suspicion of why things became-the-way-you describe, in Spain, after my chat with the Spain guy ~20 yrs. ago (described in my post).   Care to take a guess why it got to what you're describing now ?  I bet I know.

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4 minutes ago, Tom_in_CA said:

 

And I have a sneaking suspicion of why things became-the-way-you describe, in Spain, after my chat with the Spain guy ~20 yrs. ago (described in my post).   Care to take a guess why it got to what you're describing now ?  I bet I know.

The problem more than 20 years ago, as you say, was that there was no regulation and a completely obsolete law and people took advantage of that by getting into places they shouldn't have but if the guard saw them they wouldn't say anything either. But I can tell you an anecdote.  I am 44 years old and I already had a detector before I turned 16, Ami, that same civil guard that denounces you now many years ago told you where you had to go, if you wanted to get some money

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