The responsible prospector's charter
Every OEPR member undertakes to respect the following principles on every detecting outing:
- Only detect on land for which I have the written permission of the owner or rights holder.
- Respect the regulations in force: official permits where required, prohibited areas (protected sites, scheduled monuments, nature reserves).
- Never detect on a known, protected or currently excavated archaeological site.
- Report without delay any find of archaeological, historical or artistic interest to the competent authorities.
- Never clean, restore or sell an object whose heritage value has not been assessed by a specialist.
- Always fill in my holes and leave the land as I found it.
- Behave respectfully towards landowners, walkers and the natural environment.
- Share my knowledge and help new members learn responsible detecting.
By joining OEPR, every member acknowledges having read this charter and undertakes to respect it in their recreational detecting.
Reporting a find: the procedure
In most European countries, any chance find of an object that may be of archaeological, historical or artistic interest must be reported. Here is the general procedure to follow:
- Do not move or clean anything. Leave the object and its context (soil, immediate surroundings) intact: this information is valuable to archaeologists.
- Photograph the find in situ, with a scale reference if possible, and note the exact location (town, locality, GPS coordinates if available).
- Contact the competent authority in your country (archaeological service, heritage authority or local council — in England and Wales, your local Finds Liaison Officer or the coroner for potential treasure).
- Make the official report to the authority contacted, so that the find can be recorded and, if needed, assessed or protected.
- Keep a copy of your report and of any receipt from the authority: these documents prove your responsible approach.
- Do not sell or give away a reported object before the official procedure has been completed.
This summary is for information only and does not replace the laws in force in your country. If in doubt, OEPR can help you with your procedures.
Archaeological find report form
Fill in this OEPR form to prepare your report to the competent authority. Once completed, a PDF ready to print and sign is generated automatically — remember to attach a map extract, a land registry extract and photographs of the find.
