The State of Florida has a Bureau of Archaeological Research under the Division of Historical Resources. This is the website: http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/bar/ In a past life I was in contact with the department about an exhibition that had been offered for exhibit that seemed to have questionable provenance. They can probably answer your questions. Good luck -- Kathy Clewell Agua Caliente Cultural Museum 219 S. Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of eireland Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 11:54 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: treasure hunting [student question] A friend of mine, a diver, recently approached me about off shore treasure diving in Florida. Usually as someone in archeaology, I am opposed to untrained treasure hunting because it destroys historical context, but I am not sure how to feel about this. Isn't it already out of its historical context if it is on the bottom of the sea? Does anyone know if objects found in this manner are accepted by museums? ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).