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Appendix M: Scottish portable antiquities acquired by museums since 31 December 1999 (extract from the notice issued jointly by the QLTR and the Chair of SAFAP, Edinburgh, 7 December 2005)
In 1999 formal guidance on the Treasure Trove system was issued by the Scottish Executive. Museums which acquired any Scottish portable antiquity or archaeological assemblage after 31 December 1999, without either any such item having been claimed by the Crown and allocated or, it having been reported, without the Crown having intimated that it is not to be claimed ('unclaim'), must report that item through the Treasure Trove system before 31 December 2007. Where the portable antiquity is a chance find, reporting must include details of the finder (and museums must inform the finder they are doing this), since an ex gratia reward payment to the finder may fall to be paid.
The current position may therefore be summarized as follows:-
- Scottish portable antiquities or archaeological assemblages which have been both acquired and formally registered/accessioned by museums on or before 31 December 1999 without having been reported through the Treasure Trove system will be deemed to have been acquired lawfully by those institutions and will not require to be notified to the Crown.
- Scottish portable antiquities or archaeological assemblages acquired by museums after
31 December 1999 other than by Treasure Trove allocation or following unclaim or disclaim by the Crown are the property of the Crown and must be reported through the Treasure Trove system. This requirement also applies to items acquired by museums prior to this date but which have not been formally registered/accessioned by 31 December 1999. Museums cannot lawfully acquire such items unless and until the Crown has been given the opportunity to exercise its right to claim them or not through the Treasure Trove system.
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