Holland

[soren68]

Hello everyone,
I was wondering what are the laws pertaining to searching for war relics in Holland. I do know that using a metal detector is illegal. Would it be ok to dig in a forest with a small shovel? Also where are the best areas around Arnhem and Nijmegen for such searching? Thanks to everyone for your help and thanks for this wonderful website.
Tommy

[Steve T]

It is illegal in holland.

Check out my replies here https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/battl...-relics-2.html

relichunter

PS remember....the law doesn't have to refer to Metal detectors. It normally refers to the act of digging.

[appie]

I was searching in Holland for relics alot, and never one time had problems with the law. There are some places you simply can not go, like Arhnem, everybody knows that. In Holland there is not one law for the hole country, but they have council-rules. If a council decides you can't use a detector there, then you simply cant. Another vilage is Nymegen for example. In forests you are not aloud of the tracks, what makes things a bit difficult for searching for wwII relics, but like I said I never had any trouble.
One day I came across a nice m42 helmet, with some seriuos battle damage. A round hit the lid from behind (I think it was a .303). The liner was still inside, but around the foxhole the detector didn't detect any metal. It puzzeled me a bit, so I started digging out the foxhole. The first find was a canteenbottle at about 2 feet deep, followed by a gasmask container, a K98k rifle, and as I went deeper down I found the complete soldier at about 5 feet down. At that point the landowner showed up, giving me a hardtime about the hole I had dugg on his land; by this time it was about 2 by 2 yards, and 2 yards deep! What a mess I had made after hours of digging, but I just couldn't stop. In phoned the local authoreties about the human remains I had found, I some while later there were about 8 people of police and council there to be sure it was a wwII soldier and not a homicide victim. I helped searching for the lads ID tag, but none was found, I only know his initials because he had engraved it on all his gear, and probaly the regiment he belonged to. The remains went into a box to be burried somewhere in Holland, leaving me at the site with a pile of rust that didn't seem to interest anybody, so I loaded it all into my car and that was it. Oh yes, I did close the hole after that for the farmer. On that same plot of land there are still many foxholes to be opendend, and later on I learned there was some serious battle going on there, so I think there is much more to be found there.

[ironcross1]

Sounds great to me , cheers Raymond