# Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, Section 42: Restrictions on use of metal detectors.

Extent: E+W

(1) If a person uses a metal detector in a protected place without the written consent of the Commission (in a case of a place situated in England) ... he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction or, in Scotland, on conviction before a court of summary jurisdiction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(2) In this section—
“metal detector” means any device designed or adapted for detecting or locating any metal or mineral in the ground; and
“protected place” means any place which is either—
(a)the site of a scheduled monument or of any monument under the ownership or guardianship of the Secretary of State or the Commission or a local authority by virtue of this Act; or
(b)situated in an area of archaeological importance.
(3) If a person without written consent removes any object of archaeological or historical interest which he has discovered by the use of a metal detector in a protected place he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or on conviction on indictment to a fine.
The reference in this subsection to written consent is to that of the Commission (where the place in question is situated in England) ...
(4) A consent granted by ... the Commission for the purposes of this section may be granted either unconditionally or subject to conditions.
(5) If any person—
(a) in using a metal detector in a protected place in accordance with any consent granted by ... the Commission for the purposes of this section; or
(b) in removing or otherwise dealing with any object which he has discovered by the use of a metal detector in a protected place in accordance with any such consent;
fails to comply with any condition attached to the consent, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable, in a case falling within paragraph (a) above, to the penalty provided by subsection (1) above, and in a case falling within paragraph (b) above, to the penalty provided by subsection (3) above.
(6) In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) above, it shall be a defence for the accused to prove that he used the metal detector for a purpose other than detecting or locating objects of archaeological or historical interest.
(7) In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) or (3) above ..., it shall be a defence for the accused to prove that he had taken all reasonable precautions to find out whether the place where he used the metal detector was a protected place and did not believe that it was.
(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/46/section/42 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/ancient-monuments-and-archaeological-areas-act-1979/section-42
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.