Metalldetektion in Rumänien: Zwischen „Schatzsuche“ und einem staatsbürgerlichen Recht
Metal Detection in Romania: Between „Tresure Hunting“ and a Civic Right

Summary/Abstract: The theft of four treasure pieces from the Drents Museum in Assen has once again brought to public attention the issue of cultural heritage management in Romania. Unfortunately, it took a criminal act for citizens to become aware of the major dysfunctions in the regulation, funding, and security of this heritage. The lack of interest and vision among public institutions in Romania has led to the phenomenon of treasure hunting using metal detectors—which became difficult to quantify over the past 25 years, when the initial regulatory attempts were made—evolving in a direction that has proven to be highly detrimental to the archaeological and cultural heritage. The incomplete management and documentation of archaeological sites, the gaps and inconsistencies in legislation regulating metal detection, the trend of reducing the personnel in public institutions responsible for overseeing the relationship with metal detector users, the venality and lack of education among so-called “treasure hunters,” and, not least, the disappearance of a critical mass within society that would otherwise express interest and concern for the protection of the national cultural heritage—all these factors, as identified by the author, constitute a converging set of circumstances that has resulted in the largest and most systematic looting of the archaeological heritage in modern history.

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