The Treasure Act of 1996 is an Act of Parliament designed to deal with finds of treasure in the United Kingdom. It legally obliges finders of objects which constitute a legally defined term of treasure to report their find to their local coroner within fourteen days. An inquiry led by the coroner then determines whether the find constitutes treasure or not. If it is declared to be treasure then the owner must offer the item for sale to a museum at a price set by an independent board of antiquities experts. Only if a museum expresses no interest in the item, or is unable to purchase it, can the owner retain it. This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body during its existence between 2000 and 2002 when it was suspended. ... This is a list of Measures of the National Assembly for Wales. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ... Treasure Originates from the Greek work the(from Greek θησαυρος; thesaurus, meaning a treasure of words, is a cognate) is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered. ... A coroner is either the presiding officer of a special court, a medical officer, or an officer of law responsible for investigating deaths, particularly those happening under unusual circumstances. ... The Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ...

'Treasure' is defined as being:

• All coins from the same hoard. A hoard is defined as two or more coins, as long as they are at least 300 years old when found. If they contain less than 10% gold or silver there must be at least 10 in the hoard for it to qualify.
• Two or more prehistoric base metal objects in association with one another
• Any individual (non-coin) find that is at least 300 years old and contains at least 10% gold or silver.
• Associated finds: any object of any material found in the same place as (or which had previously been together with) another object which is deemed treasure.
• Objects substantially made from gold or silver but are less than 300 years old, that have been deliberately hidden with the intention of recovery and whose owners or heirs are unknown.

Under English law a landowner has sole title to any archaeological artifacts found on his or her property. Legitimate metal detectorists come to an agreement with the owners of the land they detect on to share any proceeds from treasure sales. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... For the software, see hoard memory allocator. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Standard atomic weight 196. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Standard atomic weight 107. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Prehistoric man. ... In chemistry, the term base metal is used informally to refer to a metal that oxidizes or corrodes relatively easily, and reacts variably with diluted hydrochloric acid (HCl) to form hydrogen. ... Association in archaeology refers to a close relationship between two or more objects. ... Association in archaeology refers to a close relationship between two or more objects. ... Title is a legal term for an owners interest in a piece of property. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek: αρχαίος, archaios, combining form in Latin archae-, ancient; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... In archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ...

Successful cases involving the Treasure Act include that of the Ringlemere gold cup. Non treasure finds are the remit of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The Ringlemere gold cup is a Bronze Age vessel found in 2001 by a metal detectorist in a field near Sandwich in the English county of Kent. ... The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary programme run by the United Kingdom government to record the increasing numbers of small finds of archaeological interest found by members of the public. ...

See also

• Harrogate hoard
• Scheduled Ancient Monument

Harrogate hoard The Harrogate hoard is an undisturbed tenth-century Viking hoard discovered in 2007 near the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. ... A Scheduled Ancient Monument is defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the National Heritage Act 1983 of the United Kingdom government. ...

Sources and notes

• Treasure Summary at the Portable Antiquities Scheme site