Grave Robbing with a Metal Detector is a Bad Idea

Took my new metal detector to this old pioneer cemetery near Omaha thinking I'd find cool coins, but I kept hitting something 3 feet down. Turns out I was pinging a copper casket handle - my buddy still won't let me live it down lol. Has anyone else accidentally dug up something way too close to a burial site?

3 comments

3 Comments

oscar_ellis2mo ago

Grave robbing is a bad idea"? Sounds like gatekeeping to me, who decides what's off limits?

alexw752mo ago

Nah, what about the families who still visit those graves?

mark_thomas19d ago

Hold on, are we sure Oscar_ellis is serious about grave robbing being "gatekeeping"? That’s a bit of a stretch. Families visit those graves to honor their loved ones, not to guard trinkets for researchers. If someone dug up my grandmother's plot for a "study," I doubt the family would call it helpful science. Context matters a lot here, and I think we need to separate respectful archaeology from just digging up someone's memorial.