[HN Gopher] Irish museum solves mystery of Bronze Age axe heads ...
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Irish museum solves mystery of Bronze Age axe heads delivered in
porridge box
Author : speckx
Score : 35 points
Date : 2024-09-10 15:24 UTC (3 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theguardian.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theguardian.com)
| scotty79 wrote:
| > "crucial to know the exact location where they were found" for
| "reasons that could range from ritualistic to supernatural"
|
| I wonder what they implied there.
| Loughla wrote:
| I had the same question. Anyone from Ireland here that might
| have any idea at all what that's about?
| darby_nine wrote:
| Idk about this specific thing, but this is much simpler than
| it sounds if it operates like other anthropology. Ritualistic
| means intentional, and supernatural means symbolically
| meaningful. In other words, this is less of a specific claim
| and more of an "idk but they were clearly up to _something_
| ".
| throwup238 wrote:
| Just that the discovery was missing something called context in
| archaeology. Where they were found geographically, the
| stratigraphy such as the dirt it was found in and the layers
| around it, where it was found in relation to the nearest
| settlement, what kinds of animal bones were found in the same
| general area, and so on. Archaeologists are meticulous about
| recording these little details because every any one of them
| could become important to the investigation.
|
| An artifact on its own is (relatively) scientifically useless.
| Without at least geographic location and a rough idea of the
| area it was discovered, most analytical methods will have a
| hard time getting accurate results and any conclusions are
| suspect.
| secondcoming wrote:
| Flahavans makes excellent porridge
| A_D_E_P_T wrote:
| > _It is against the law in Ireland to search for archaeological
| objects using a metal detector unless written permission has been
| given. Penalties can be up to three months in prison or a fine of
| up to EUR63,486 (PS53,435)._
|
| Written permission from who? He was on his own farmland. You have
| to write a plea to the government to request permission to use a
| metal detector on your own land? And, if that's the case, are
| such requests usually granted? What's the rationale here, and
| what harms does this permission-first system aim to prevent?
|
| > _It is understood, however, that Dunne will not face charges._
|
| If it's a bad law that they're making a point of not enforcing,
| why not repeal the law?
|
| So many questions.
| colmmacc wrote:
| The rationale is that while you may own the land, you don't own
| the artifacts, and the state has an interest in ensuring that
| history is recorded and preserved professionally. In effect,
| archeology is a licensed occupation, but then so is cutting
| hair in most US states.
|
| If the story about metal in machinery is true, then really no
| offense was committed. Using a metal detector to find what you
| think is a loose horseshoe is fine. The story might also just
| be a convenient cover, but no-one will really care. In Ireland,
| authorities tend to be good natured and mostly only out to get
| egregious offenders. Maybe the metal detector guy has been
| looking for coins without permission, and it'll be handled at
| the level of "ah here would you have a bit of cop on".
| cwillu wrote:
| "In effect, archeology is a licensed occupation, but then so
| is cutting hair in most US states."
|
| This doesn't strengthen the argument.
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