Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2015
The Treasure Trove system in Scotland operates to protect portable antiquities and ensure their preservation in perpetuity for the benefit of the nation. A broad interpretation is taken of ‘portable antiquities’, encompassing those items of past material culture to which archaeological, historical and/or cultural importance may be attached. Objects which are ‘museumworthy’ might be another way of expressing this, though ‘worthiness’ applies not just to items with obvious display potential but also to those likely to reside in study collections as reference material.