I have a dilemma. I have a Guesthouse on a historic farm and am custodian of various heritage sites in our Winterberg area. Recently a guest brought a metal detector and proudly showed me his finds some from the ruins of the Settler homestead on my own farm. I was slightly taken aback that the guest proceeded to take his finds with him without any further conference with me.

I now have another booking, same guest with metal detector. This brings up my issue and questions around the removal of artefacts from historical sites. The sites are also declared heritage sites. What is the correct protocol? I'd appreciate any advice.

Thank you in advance.

Carl - ckritzinger@vodamail.co.za