4. DEFINITIONS
Allocate/Allocation The final stage of the Crown claiming process of the Treasure Trove system is the allocation of a claimed item to an accredited/registered museum. This is deemed to transfer ownership to that museum.
Accreditated/registered To be eligible to receive allocated portable antiquities a museum must have formal accreditation/registration under the Museums, Libraries and Archives scheme administered in Scotland by MGS.
Archaeological context A stratigraphic entity within which it is reasonable to assume found objects are directly related to each other (see assemblage).
Archaeological site An archaeological site consists of a series of linked archaeological contexts, such that it is reasonable to assume that associated items form an assemblage. Delimiting the total extent of an archaeological site, particularly an unexcavated one, is often difficult and SAFAP members will exercise their best judgement (and make use, for example, of cartographic information) to assess whether particular finds are, or are not, a part of an assemblage from a particular site.
Assemblage A general term used for an associated group of portable antiquities. This term is used in a narrow sense to describe a group of finds from a single restricted archaeological context, or in a wider sense to refer to all the finds from a particular archaeological site or (in some cases) from an entire fieldwork project.
Assessing/Assessment The process of determining the significance of a reported portable antiquity with regard to claiming or unclaiming.
Bona vacantia A Latin term which is translated as 'ownerless goods'. The Crown has the right to claim bona vacantia, including portable antiquities.
Case All Crown-claimed material is allocated a case number by the QLTR. A single case number may cover a single object, a group of objects from the same findspot, or an assemblage from a fieldwork project.
Chance finds Refers to all portable antiquities other than those recovered by organized archaeological fieldwork. All discoveries made by users of metal detectors are regarded as chance finds, other than those made in conjunction with organized archaeological fieldwork. Chance finds are normally objects without an archaeological context.
Claim/claiming These terms refer to the exercise by the Crown through the QLTR of its right to own a portable antiquity under the Treasure Trove system.
The Crown This term refers to the entity entitled at common law to assert its right of ownership of apparently ownerless goods ( bona vacantia) and is represented in Scotland by the QLTR.
Data Structure Report ( DSR) The initial outcome of most archaeological fieldwork interventions is a DSR, which briefly describes the project and its results, and lists the contexts recorded and summarizes the site archive (drawings, photographs, finds, etc.).
Disclaim/disclaiming These terms refer to the action by the Crown through the QLTR in rejecting ownership of a portable antiquity previously claimed under the Treasure Trove system. By this means ownership is passed to the finder (see also unclaim/unclaiming).
Ex gratia payment This is an award made at the discretion of the QLTR to the finder(s) of a chance find. The payment takes into account the circumstances of discovery, the treatment of the object by the finder, the nature of the item(s) and any delays in reporting.
Finder/reporter The assumption is made in this document that the finder(s) and the reporter(s) of a portable antiquity is (are) one and the same, as in practice is the norm. When this is not the case with a chance find, it will normally be the finder, not the reporter, who is eligible for any ex gratia payment, for example when a third party such as a museum acts as reporter on behalf of a finder.
Findspot The exact location at which a portable antiquity is discovered.
Hoard (or cache) Two or more items in association which are judged to have been deliberately deposited together.
Local Authority archaeologist Local Authorities either employ archaeological staff directly or have contractual arrangements for the provision of professional archaeological expertise as required. The term Local Authority archaeologist in this Code is used to describe any person acting on behalf of a Local Authority in this way. This term does not normally include Local Authority museum staff.
Local museum/regional museum A museum will normally be considered local when its collecting policy specifies all, or part of, a single Local Authority area, and regional when the collecting policy extends beyond a single Local Authority area. On behalf of SAFAP the TTU maintains a library of the collecting policies of all accredited/registered museums in Scotland which are interested in acquiring Crown-claimed items.
Museum ready Refers to the state of an archaeological assemblage after the post-excavation process is complete and the assemblage is ready to be transferred to a museum collection.
Organized archaeological fieldwork Describes any field project undertaken to recover data according to recognized archaeological standards, whether involving professional archaeologists or not.
Portable antiquity This term in Scotland covers any ownerless item ( bona vacantia) which is portable, has been humanly manufactured or modified, is of any size, type or material, is not integral to a site or monument, and has been found in Scotland. Normally the human manufacture or modification of the item will have occurred more than 100 years before its discovery.
Reporting The legal requirement under the Treasure Trove system whereby any possible portable antiquities are formally notified to the TTU. (see Appendices C and I for standard reporting forms)
Scheduled monument An archaeological site or monument of national importance that Scottish Ministers have given legal protection under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The boundaries of scheduled monuments are defined in their legal documentation (which can be downloaded from www.pastmap.org.uk).
Significance This is the criterion used to determine whether a portable antiquity should be claimed or unclaimed. Significance is determined by the potential of any portable antiquity to contribute to the cultural record of Scotland.
Standard application This term describes a museum's expression of interest in the allocation of a Crown-claimed item (see Appendix K).
Treasure Trove Under Scots common law the Crown has ownership rights to treasure, in the specific sense of items wholly or partly composed of precious metal (gold and silver). This aspect of the law has given its name to the whole portable antiquities system described here. In practice, however, since the common law Crown rights pertaining to bona vacantia are all-embracing, those relating purely to precious metal items are rarely used separately from the general claiming and allocation processes.
Unclaim/unclaiming These terms refer to the action whereby the Crown through the QLTR (and delegated to the TTU) chooses not to claim a reported portable antiquity. In such cases a transfer certificate is issued by the TTU to the person, group or organization reporting the find, making them the owner of the object (see Appendix D).
Unreported An unreported portable antiquity cannot be owned legally by individuals or institutions.
Valuation The process whereby SAFAP determines for a chance find the ex gratia payment to recommend to the QLTR.