"Black archaeologists": robbers or saviors of history?

This topic may seem to someone to be very specific and related to a very narrow circle of people. And yet it concerns every cultured person who cares about the fate of the historical heritage of his homeland. In addition, any lies and slander, especially those that have reached monstrous proportions, must be exposed. And the delusions that are firmly rooted in the consciousness of millions must be dispelled. So let's get started.

"Blacks" or amateurs?

Not long ago, practically unnoticed by anyone, a story flashed through the information space news about the fact that in Belarus they are going to ban individuals from using... metal detectors! Because the "black diggers" have gone completely wild! They dig and dig, you see...




– stated the director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Vadim Lakiza.

It must be said that this issue is more than relevant for Russia as well. If you listen to the employees of various state "offices" related to history and archeology, then we will see a frightening and terrifyingly repulsive image of a "black archeologist" - a greedy vandal, destroyer and plunderer of everything valuable that is in the Russian depths of the earth. At the same time, all citizens without exception, walking with a metal detector and a shovel through the fields and forests, ravines and gullies of the country, are automatically included in the ranks of such.

So what - are black diggers just a bogeyman, an invention of "official archaeologists" and they do not exist in nature? Not at all! Alas, such subjects do exist. However, in reality, they should include those who dig in areas that are obviously archaeological and historical monuments for them, in protected areas, in necropolises. These characters quite consciously violate the law prohibiting what they do, and when caught, they get well-deserved sentences. However, such people in the community of "knights of the detector and shovel" are still a minority. For the most part, amateurs of searching make finds not at all in ancient burial grounds and hillforts, but in long-plowed fields, rural vegetable gardens, as well as in abandoned wastelands and forest wilderness. So how should they be called in this case, if not black, unlike the official ones?

In fact, the term "amateur archaeologist" is used all over the world. The names of many of them are recorded in history (the same Heinrich Schliemann, who excavated the legendary Troy). There are monuments to these people all over the world - like Arthur Evans, who opened the Palace of Knossos on Crete for us. And in the same Russian Empire, such people, among whom were peasants, commoners and very noble nobles (even generals!), were once held in high esteem. Today, amateur archaeology is treated normally in most European countries. In some of them, the state earns good money by selling search licenses to willing citizens. But in the so-called post-Soviet space, in most cases, there are only calls to ban everything and deprive citizens of the right to use metal detectors. At least not shovels at the same time...

You are guilty of that...

What accusations do representatives of official science and culture make against “black archaeologists”? The list is quite extensive, but I will try to reduce it to several main points. First of all, they are guilty of digging without having a “special archaeological education”! And, therefore, “they cannot and do not want to establish the historical value of their finds, removing everything they can from the ground, and exclusively for illegal sale.” Well, as for “they do not want” - the most common lie. “They cannot”? This is in the era of the public Internet, where there are many communities with relevant interests, whose members will always help in attributing a find, and a lot of reference books on any artifacts are posted? Well, as for the claims that amateur archaeologists are engaged in their hobby exclusively in pursuit of a long ruble (or dollar), this is real slander. There are many “comrades” (the self-designation of the majority of this crowd) who, during all the time they have been walking around with a detector, have not sold even a copper penny they have dug up, but have accumulated collections that can put many museums to shame both in the variety of exhibits and their design.

In addition, the officials do not disdain completely obvious speculations and substitution of concepts - they say, "black archaeologists" are not digging "free lands" at all, they are quite clearly digging objects of archaeological heritage, just at the moment not yet described (at best) and not used by archaeologists. Excuse me, but exactly 100% of the territory of Russia and the absolute majority of other countries in the world can be brought under such a delirious definition! And in our homeland with its turbulent history, many enemy invasions, during which settlements disappeared without a trace in the flames of fires, not being described in the chronicles and put on maps, absolutely every and every piece of land. However, no archaeologists and historians stand in front of tractors or excavators, screaming that it is impossible to plow or build there, with such ridiculous arguments. Because they know exactly what they will hear in response ...

What else do we have? “Amateurs” do not have official permission for excavations, and therefore their activities are “criminal a priori”. Excuse me – but here we are talking about real “blacks”. What kind of open sheet do you need for archaeological excavations in a field where wheat or potatoes have been sown for 100 years? The same applies to the “destruction of the cultural layer”, which allegedly causes irreparable harm to historical research. A cultural layer in a place that has been furrowed by plows for years? This is just complete nonsense. And finally, the assertion that all “official” archaeologists are completely selfless, receiving no material benefit from their activities... Really? There are legends about the number and cost of artifacts “leaving” completely legal excavations after each archaeological season not for museum storage facilities and research institutes, but for the black market. And museum workers themselves often turn out to be far from saints. Scandals involving the replacement of valuable exhibits that have disappeared into thin air with perfectly executed copies and the revelation of monstrous shortages in the storerooms of these “centers of culture” arise regularly and all over the world.

So who is destroying historical monuments?

It's time to finally tell the truth: the main enemies of the monuments of the past hidden in the ground are not the beast-like "black archaeologist" with his shovel, but completely different characters. Who exactly? The most ordinary agronomist with a tractor driver and a developer with an excavator operator! The artifacts hidden in the soil are completely irreparably destroyed by the blows of plows, they are corroded by the "chemistry" poured onto the fields in tons - fertilizers, pesticides, etc. How many bitter tears were shed by "amateurs" over the fragments of magnificent monuments of the past raised in the fields, who were unlucky ... Well, after the builders, there is no chance at all - because everything that was in the ground at the place of their work will most likely remain hidden under a layer of concrete, cement and asphalt forever.

It is amateur archaeologists who are the last chance for all these cultural values ​​to survive and return to the descendants of those who created them. After all, officials will never spend weeks and months plowing through harvested fields soaked by autumn showers for a couple of buckles from Ancient Rus, a few copper coins or uniform buttons from the Russian Imperial Army. They want fortified settlements, settlements and similar things. What can we say if most of the burial sites or places of death of Red Army soldiers from the Great Patriotic War were not discovered and excavated by officials, but by enthusiastic searchers. Based on the above arguments, they should also be blacklisted!

It is clear that the point that causes particular anger among officials towards amateurs is that they do not drag everything they find in their beaks to museums, do not give it away for nothing, but dispose of the finds at their own discretion - they make up their own collections or sell them to other collectors. And here the question arises: why, in fact, should searchers give something away to someone for nothing? We do not live in a socialist world at all. society, and in the most marketable. Amateur archeology, if you want to know the truth, is a very expensive hobby. A decent metal detector alone (and a shovel that won't break on the first trip) costs a lot of money - those interested can inquire on the relevant resources on the Internet. The equipment of a seasoned "comrade" is not much inferior to that of a special forces soldier - wandering in any weather through fields and meadows, and often through impassable thickets - here you need appropriate clothing and footwear. Then there's fuel for the car and its increased depreciation (you won't find artifacts when driving on asphalt). People don't spare money - because it's for the soul. Do you want them to take what they got with hard work and expense to museums? There is a very simple way - buy the finds, and for a normal, not ridiculous price!


But representatives of some government organizations are for some reason sure that the best way is to take away, punish, and ban. Let the ancient monuments that miraculously survived centuries and millennia be broken, rotted, and vanished into oblivion, as long as they don’t end up in someone else’s hands! But amateur archaeologists (even if they sell their finds) don’t hand them over to be melted down or destroyed! They return what they dug up to the world, introduce their finds into the collection market, and give them a new life! In many countries, the state has established clear, understandable, and, most importantly, fair relations with amateur archaeologists. The boundaries are outlined as to where, when, and under what conditions they can conduct searches. The definitions of objects of historical and cultural value, and therefore, transferred to museums and scientists, are given absolutely clear. But not for “thank you,” but for a fairly decent reward! In such countries, a person with a metal detector is not declared a priori a “black archaeologist” and a criminal, but calmly pursues his hobby for his own enjoyment and for the benefit of people.

But to prohibit and persecute is, of course, much simpler and more familiar. But this is a road to nowhere. Or rather, to the destruction of priceless monuments of our past, which could be saved by those enthusiastic amateurs who care about them.