Archaeological heritage legislation aims to ensure the best possible protection for the archaeological heritage, yet it remains the case that legislation can remain ineffective through other practical considerations. Some consideration may be legal or procedural, such as difficulties in enforcing legislation or in preventing crimes or damage or archaeological monuments. However other problems may be less obvious and harder to address, and require solutions which go much further than the simple application of the law.The aim of this volume is to address several issues surrounding the management of archaeological heritage comparing and contrasting which laws 'work' and which ones do not, and ignoring other issues which might effectively present the transplantation of an 'ideal system' to another country or political climate. Or the cultural attitudes which might prevent a law working in the legal system for which it was designed.The contributions are from various international jurisdictions and address a variety of subjects - from the protection of archaeological monuments to dealing with and controlling chance finds made by members of the public.

Discusses the intersection of law and ethics, and the relationship between legal protection on paper and the realities of heritage management on the ground

1. Introduction.- 2. Wreck of the Dutch merchant ship Vrouw Maria: Protection & management of underwater cultural heritage in Baltic waters.- 3. Norwegian archaeological heritage - legislation and reality.- 4. Archaeological Heritage Resource Management in Romania & Moldova: a comparative view.- 5. Archaeological Heritage, Treasure Hunters, Metal Detectors and Forgeries in the Centre of Europe; Archaeology and Law in Slovakia.- 6. Legislation and Persuasion; Portable Antiquities and the Limit of the Law. Some Scottish and British Perspectives.- 7. Continuing Conflicts over the Excavation, Retention and Display of Human Remains.- 8. Archaeological metal detecting by amateurs in Flanders: Legislation, policy and practice of a hobby.- 9. No room for good intentions? Private metal detecting and archaeological sites in the plough layer in Norway.- 10. Archaeological heritage and metal detectors: should we be managing supply or demand?.- 11. Conclusion.