>>608807As someone who has first-hand experience in working on archaeological sites from uni, I can confirm that 99% of archaeological digs are nothing but institutionalized treasure hunting. Sites of scientific importance are extremely rare, particularly in the Americas.
That stuff belongs just as much to you as a group of people with make-believe pieces of paper that claims that things they don't know exist belong to them.
Also, there is literally nothing wrong with building a cairn, building a brick wall or dropping a garbage bag full of trash in the middle of the woods. If it bothers you, knock down the cairn/wall and pick up the trash. None of these things actually damage the environment they just subjectively appear ugly to you, and because the world revolves around your opinions people should do everything your way.
As for the OP topic, I only use metal detectors when looking for certain kinds of resources, rock hounding stuff. Not too interested in digging up people's trash from the 1800s.
