AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Treasure Chest Of Gold Found On Ambergris Caye

Pardon my naivete in advance...would artifacts from an existing or potential archaelogic site be "protected"? How are loose coin, silver, etc. not associated with a wreck or site held in the eyes of the GOB? Are they considered property of the government?

I just want to know if I should put the 23 gold reales back where i found them...

also wth do you do with a metal detector that customs dudes wont let pass thorugh with once you've arrived at the airport?

Amanda, that is a start and you definitely have the potential for being my kind of companion adventurer. How about dinner on Friday night so you I can interest in going along with me on my next trip to the jungles of Borneo to hunt for a long lost large ruby eye the size of a grapefruit? It is valued at two million dollars. Be sure and take plenty of mosquito repellant with you.

Amanda, and everyone reading this... I need to give you all some very expensive advice but it comes for FREE from those of us who learned it the hard way.... The advice is this: If you ever find any of the artifacts mentioned above or anything old for that matter: DO NOT CLEAN IT. Because doing so can ruin the value of the article and thus the resale price of it if you ever want to sell it. You must leave everything in the condition you found it in so that it can retain its value.

Hey my Mom is from Borneo - yes, really.

Thanks for the tip on not cleaning the treasures.

I will be enjoying a delicious Indian meal at Crave Restaurant this friday night! But thank you for the offer.

http://www.biodiversity.bz/downloads/laws/ancient_act.pdf
Looks like this would apply to 5-1800's era Spanish Ships Deck Cannon.If anyone happen to have them in their back yard cleaning them up, I would try and keep it off the internet ;-)

Today 6:30 am

That's a shame those canons aren't in a museum where they belong. They belong to the Belizean people. Even if the items stay in country. Who ever is going to display these should be ashamed of themselves. The looting of Belize must stop.

What museum? The Dept. of Archaeology just sticks 'em in the vault where they "mysteriously" disappear...

Its way not OK to loot the reef. Removing canons, anchors and such have jail sentences attached to them. After they are in someones possession, however acquired, they can't be bought or sold under the law.
No one is going to put two tons of old canon in a government vault. If the person in possession manages to get them registered the government usually allows them to stay on the property. The trick is gona be registering them with out incriminating your self.
http://www.biodiversity.bz/downloads/laws/ancient_act.pdf
Having them cleaned in you back yard is going to hard to explain.
It would eliminate excuses like 'been in the family a long time'.

Its seems the ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ANTIQUITIES ACT is another law without any enforcement at all.

.... like the immigration act, helmets in traffic, not paying taxes and and ...


Or how can so many places have canons on display?