to think it's fine to look in molehills?

[CollieFIower]

Took the DC and dogs for a walk today across some fields that are part of a known Roman site. The fields are open access, not ploughed etc, and well used by dog walkers. Occasionally grazed by sheep but no sheep there today.

There were molehills everywhere and the DC were knocking them over to see if they could find any Roman pottery etc in the soil. Just with their bare hands, no digging, no tools etc. It's all been excavated in the past (in fact, by Time Team once!) so anything special has presumably long since been discovered.

Another walker came along and said we shouldn't be doing that without permission and that the DC had to put back anything they'd found.

Obviously I'd have reported anything amazing to the right people, like coins etc, but the DC were very excited by their pottery fragments and a bit gutted to be told off. We often look in molehills when out walking and I never knew that wasn't something everyone agreed was ok!

So... WIBU to ignore this and carry on molehill poking? Or is it Not On?

There is a risk that it isn't just a spoil heap of soil but a cache of items that a mole has been building up in order to create a better life for themselves and their family, in the hope of escaping the miserable life of constant tunneling underground and eating worms.

Have you thought about that?

Leave the moles alone.

My in laws would be delighted with your children disturbing the miles and sifting and flatting the molehills. If you were crossing an extremely rural sheep farm in the borders, do crack on!

Leave only footprints, take only memories.

That's the way I was taught and how I'm taught DD.

I once had someone tell me off on a walk for adopting a rescue dog from abroad. She liked the dog until she found out he was forrin. Nowt so strange as folk!

Of course it’s fine! 🙄
The busybody probably also moans about the youth of today indoors on ‘computer games’ when they could be having adventures outdoors.