4 actors are gone from the field. What will the effects of this be on the long-term reuse of hobbyistderived data? Trust is a vital factor to ensure the reusability and longevity of heritage data and distrust in the precision or reliability of the information given by hobby archaeologists is a commonly cited reason for not utilizing the data. In this presentation I will discuss why, and perhaps how, we should be working to ensure that a wider range of information is stored about the data that stem from hobby archaeologists. Raimund Karl (University of Vienna), An exercise in futility - the new Austrian "finds reporting" app In January 2024, the Austrian federal monuments protection agency (BDA) made available a new "finds reporting" app. The app, which aims to make the reporting of "portable archaeological monuments" by members of the public easier and thus improve the abysmally low reporting rates: over the last few decades, the average number of finds reports submitted by members of the Austrian public has been hovering in the range of c. 150-200. That is despite the fact that there are at least 6.000 (demonstrably) active metal detectorists, with the current estimates by detector shops suggesting that the actual numbers may be closer to 35.000. Yet, despite the fact that encouraging these detectorists to report their finds would be quite essential, the app simply isn't fit for the task; and doesn't address the real issue: that detectorists have no confidence that they will not be wrongly persecuted for lawful detecting. Lightning talks Emma Yskout (KU Leuven), Pieterjan Deckers (KU Leuven), Anouk Hazelof (Histories) Detector rallies: menace or manageable? Like elsewhere in NW Europe, detector rallies – large group events organized for, and usually by, detectorists – are a growing phenomenon in Flanders. Such events pose distinct challenges from the perspective of heritage management and policy. How can we ensure the proper treatment and recording of finds resulting from such large events? How can damage to archaeologically valuable remains be avoided? In this presentation, we report on an MA research project which explored the nature and impact of rallies, through fieldwork in collaboration with rally organizers and other heritage actors in Flanders. Based on this analysis, measures are assessed to mitigate the issues resulting from detector rallies and to create opportunities for productive collaboration between rally organizers and the heritage profession. Erwin Meylemans (Flanders Heritage), Mudlarkers as rescue archaeology: a case from the banks of the Scheldt river In 2018 an archaeological site was reported from the banks of the Scheldt river in Antwerp, which was subject to intensive riverine erosion. Because in situ preservation or a rescue archaeological excavation is near impossible at this location, situated in the intertidal zone, a collaboration has been set up with an enthusiastic group of ‘mudlarkers’. This resulted in thousands of archaeological finds,
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