So the cops came to the dump today...

[jgas]

I'm on both sides of the fence so to speak with this one. I sure hate it when someone tells us we have to leave. Oh and get this, I'm a cop with my car parked next to the area we are searching. Now mind you, it rarely happens, but it does happen. Usually by moronic "Real" archaeologists that see our hobbies as an insult to them. Even though you know for a fact they will never ever dig the way we do. I would hit up the town council person that you may know the best, ask 1 person and 1 person only. No need for excuses by a boat load of politicians. They will most likely let you dig. Heck, don't even use the word "Dig." Use something like Hunt around, search around. Scraping the surface for bottles etc. Then have at it. Give him a business card or whatever. Don't pull out the liability form until the last ditch effort comes. No one likes those, especially people that think they will be on the hook if you get hurt. I have been dispatched on my friends digging. Ha, you know how that turned out. I stood and watched while I waited for another dispatch of another moronic person calling in the police for a dog crossing street unattended! Crazy world of nosy people we live in. I hope you get the permission. If not have the police present you with a no trespass order. Thats what we have to do, otherwise do your thing. But be polite to the police please. We are reasonable people with the same great hobby interests as others. Good luck, I hope it works out for you. jgas

 

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[Goldenplug]

It is a crazy world jgas. Yeah I definitely won't be back until I get my permission. Thanks for the tips. The officer was nice about it thankfully. He was looking around like he had entered another planet! I was polite trust me. I actually felt a little bad (not much though) because he was standing on all my overburden in his clean blue uniform and shoes!

 

[CoilyGirl]

Love the little pig! Sorry you had to encounter a nosy busybody.

 

[Goldenplug]

Love the little pig! Sorry you had to encounter a nosy busybody.

Thats ok. Some people just are that way. That same person probably goes speeding through school zones on their cell phone. Self-righteous busy body is right. If I'm not hurting anybody or anything, mind your own business.

 

[undertaker]

Had a encounter with state police while arrowheading a couple of days ago. My brother looks up and tells me we are not alone. We are told by a Vermont state police officer that he had a call in of two suspious people in a corn field. Told him about our arrowheading collecting and finds which at first he totally didn't believe because he had no idear what a indian artifact was, mean while back up was call in so here comes another. Showed him pics on my cell phone and explained some history. He finally caught on and off he went. Not his fault he got a complaint and checked it out , he was very young and had no clue what a arrowhead was. Surprised that we hunted that field on a well traveled highway for 15 years and was never confronted until then. Through the years of looking we had meant one other officer and he stopped to see what we had found because he was a avid artifact hunter and collector.

 

[Plumbata]

I've been visited by the cops several times but have only been ran out of 1 spot, which I believe has good potential though I didn't get through the 30s stuff before they found me. I think it was the dump of a huge 1860s mansion so will need go back at a time of year more appropriate than February, when I was rather visible to the nosy retired neighbors. Thankfully the cops didn't mind at all about my activity in the primary spots, just had to check up on calls to make sure I wasn't burying bodies or illegally hunting deer. One even had some basic knowledge and told me about a bottle someone in his family found in a creek and sold for 400 bucks.

If I were you I'd probably just be more careful, choose a new parking/entry spot and hope that if a 2nd cop visit occurs it is a different person. Permissions might work; I got written permission from the City Manager to dig a big town dump while at university (had no trespassing signs everywhere due to the homeless/drug addict presence) but approached it from the position of being an archaeology student and used fancy disingenuous language to make the granting of permission seem appealing. Don't get discouraged; get more creative!

 

[bsibiski]

Goldenplug it seems that some people have too much time on their hands, as you have found out. Anyway after reading your posts and replies, I looked up (on the net) a website with permission forms that can be printed out. What I did was print one out , then make copies for future digs. The URL is: http://www.tc-rc.com/Docs/permission form.pdf Bill in NJ

 

[AnthonyCoil]

Goldenplug it seems that some people have too much time on their hands, as you have found out. Anyway after reading yoIt ur posts and replies, I looked up (on the net) a website with permission forms that can be printed out. What I did was print one out , then make copies for future digs. The URL is: http://www.tc-rc.com/Docs/permission form.pdf Bill in NJ

It is to my understanding if this dump is on state land you will not be granted permission.