THE grant-funded charity responsible for the Island’s major historic sites, museums and public archives has welcomed the passing of Jersey’s first ‘treasure law’ and said it will set up a system to allow people to report finds online.
This week, the States Assembly unanimously backed a Heritage Law, which sets out how objects and sites of archaeological significance will be reported, recorded, investigated and preserved.
Progress towards the new law gained momentum after the discovery of a Celtic coin and jewellery hoard in Grouville in 2012, which started a complex series of negotiations which took almost a decade to resolve.
After the law was approved, Sarah Buckingham, Jersey Heritage’s director of historic properties and environment, said: “The approval by the States Assembly of the new Heritage Law is a fantastic step forward for the protection of Jersey’s precious archaeology.
“The Island has an incredibly rich and varied history and the legal requirement for people to report finds, whether they are made of stone, bone, ceramics or metal, will ensure this archaeology and the knowledge it can share with us is recorded and not lost.
“Our role at Jersey Heritage is to facilitate the legal obligation to report finds and we will have an easy-to-use online system ready for the public to use once the legislation comes into force.”
