Website - Family tree hope to attract visitors (Nottinghamshire)

A NEW ancestral tourism campaign has been set up to help visitors to Notts explore their family roots.

Groups including Experience Nottinghamshire, the Notts Family History Society, and the city and county councils have joined forces to form the Notts Ancestral Tourism Partnership.

The group has set up research tools and a website - www.nottinghamshireroots.co.uk – to help visitors trace the history of the county and their family history here.

Previous research has shown that ancestral tourists spend ten per cent more when they visit a place, and stay for longer in their destination.

Mark Dorrington, team manager at the Notts Archives, said that 75 per cent of visitors to the archives were family historians travelling from across the UK and overseas.

He said: "Archives, libraries and museums all have a role to play in assisting these ancestral tourists who also support the local economy by paying for overnight accommodation, eating in pubs and restaurants and shopping in local retail outlets."

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Family-tree-hope-attract-visitors/story-13055178-detail/story.html

News - Crackdown on metal-detecting criminals who steal heritage and damage dig sites (Lincolnshire)

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to combat criminals who steal from historic buildings and wreck archaeological dig sites.

The initiative aims to clamp down on practices such as "nighthawking" where thieves use metal detectors to find buried historic objects.

It will also focus on damage caused to the historic environment by fire, graffiti and vehicles, and architectural thefts of items ranging from stone walls to vintage street signs and unlawful alteration and demolition of listed buildings.

The campaign is being led by Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police Richard Crompton, who is also the national lead at the Association of Police Officers in tackling heritage crime.

Mr Crompton said: "This is a really important step which will have a significant impact on the problem of crime and antisocial behaviour in and around our historic environment. A great many people care deeply about this sort of crime and I believe that we can tap into that concern and interest and work with communities to make a real difference."

Tom Lane, senior archaeologist at Heritage Lincolnshire, said: "Illegal metal detecting can cause damage apart from digging up fields.

"It can remove objects from their archaeological context so if, at a later stage, we did a proper excavation then there would just be holes and things.

"There's also the fact that what is in the ground, if it's not treasure trove, is the property of the landowner."

Those who illegally metal detect get information on where to look from ordnance survey maps which have Romano British Remains written on them.

Lincolnshire County Council finds liaison officer Adam Daubney said: "The majority of metal detectorists carry out their hobby legitimately, voluntarily reporting their finds to the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

"These enthusiasts have a genuine interest in the past and their finds are helping to advance knowledge of our heritage.

"In Lincolnshire alone, legitimate metal detectorists have reported 28,000 finds during the past ten years.

"These have led to the discovery of 175 new sites ranging from Roman temples to medieval markets.

"Unfortunately, there are those whose actions are criminal – damaging our fine heritage – and Lincolnshire County Council supports any initiative to tackle this and any other sort of heritage crime."

English Heritage, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service want to develop a nationwide network to include organisations such as the National Trust, the Church of England and the Woodland Trust to co-ordinate efforts to tackle heritage crimes.

From: http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/Detecting-nighthawks-steal-history/article-3217356-detail/article.html

yet again someone having a go at metal-detectorists!