As you may have seen, the Welsh Assembly Government has today opened consultation on the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites 1979 Act, with regard to the criminal offences and defences in sections 2, 28 and 42.
The sections in question relate to work being carried out on historical monuments; to intentional damage or destruction, and to metal-detecting (another hot topic of late!). You can read the Act here.
I would urge you all to make your views felt NOW - I have!
Remember, we only have one historical environment, and it is irreplaceable. Any damage that is done to it can currently be excused because the person involved "didn't know" this was the case. However, ignorance of the law should never be an excuse. I believe the law already gives adequate protection to people who legally have a reason to, say, take a hammer to a historic site. Section 42 in particular appears to me to be giving undue protection to illegal metal-detecting.
So go on, drop them an email now!
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