findspots will be made available to the Finds Liaison Officers, the Sites and Monuments Record,and other statutory bodies such as English Heritage, Cadw and the Royal Commission on theAncient and Historical Monuments of Wales.PAS hide the findspot by asking the finder if they would like to have the details hidden. If theanswer is yes, then the FLO will enter an alias into a database field entitled "known as". Whenthis field is filled in, you will see the findspot displayed as above (hidden). If left blank then thefindspot is 4 figure, and will say SU XX YY [limited].
Q: Who can see findspot details in full?
A: If you report a findspot with a level of precision which is higher than 4 figures (which is thecase for 73.5% of our finds during 2003 - 2004), then the only people with access rights to seethese full NGRs are:1) Finds Liaison Officers (35)2) System admin (1)3) Finds Advisers (4)4) Management (4)5) ResearchersAll users with an account are asked to fill in an agreement that states any publications that makeuse of the data that you provide, MUST be published to 4 figure NGRs or less. The ICT Managerconstantly audits who is looking at what, and they flag up with FLOs if substantial searches arebeing made on specific parishes. If somebody breaks this agreement, access rights arewithdrawn.Large bodies of data cannot be downloaded from our database on purpose. The only person whocan give out this data is the ICT Manager, therefore, they know where this data is going firsthand.
Q: Should I withold the NGR?
A: That is entirely up to the individual and the landowner. The FLO recording your data shouldnot pressurise you in to giving up information you are not willing to give. If you state that youwant the NGR hidden, then it should be hidden. If the FLO forgets to do this, it is a really easything to do. Contact Dan Pett at the British Museum directly if you need this doing and youcannot contact the FLO in question. If you do give the FLO a grid reference, the integrity of thefind is far more useful to other archaeologists or heritage professionals.The information that you give PAS is providing others with a huge corpus of information, thatwill allow the next generation to perhaps change our perceived or inherited view of a region.
Data Transfer PAS to HER’s
The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), the National Council for Metal Detecting (NCMD) andthe Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO) have now been able toagreed the terms and conditions for the transfer of PAS data to Historic Environment Records(HERs) and Sites and Monuments Records (SMRs).
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