‘A great increase in reported, provenanced, archaeological finds’: A History of Recording in Norfolk Before the Portable Antiquities Scheme

Abstract

Finds recording has a long history in Norfolk. It received a boost in 1973 from the foundation of a full-time archaeological unit, which worked closely with the county Museums Service. Despite difficulties from certain quarters, the goodwill of many metal-detector users was gained, and as a result a very large, geographically based pool of data was amassed. From all of this there arose many significant discoveries, field projects, and subsequent publications. The Portable Antiquities Scheme joined in the process during 1997, but a full commitment to upload all new records to the Scheme’s database did not begin until 2012. An attempt is made to outline the development of finds recording in the county, and point the way to the future.