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Search for Lost Hammer Led to Largest Cache of Roman Treasure Ever Found in UK

111 points by diodorus 9y ago

lettergram 9y ago
I feel like this needs a [1999] added, as that is when the cache was found and there are no new discoveries.
- jaas 9y ago
  According to the article the cache was found in 1992.
LiamPa 9y ago
For anyone who has watched the detectorists on the BBC: > The metal detector he’d received as a retirement gift was meant to find a hammer lost on the farmland.
- croon 9y ago
  Apropos of the show (from last week): http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-42887063 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-42887063 I feel a bit bad for these guys, but it's also very funny. Delightful show for anyone who likes muted English humor.
billpg 9y ago
"At this time, a friend shall lose his friend’s hammer and the young shall not know where lieth the things possessed by their fathers that their fathers put there only just the night before around eight o’clock"
- Radim 9y ago
  Slightly OT, isn't that Monty Python movie ageless? In fact, like good wine, it only gets better with time. I gave The Life of Brian another view earlier this week (it's on Youtube!) and was awed by its prescience.
hanoz 9y ago
Here's a lidar map of the cache location https://houseprices.io/lab/lidar/map?ref=TM1723675711 https://houseprices.io/lab/lidar/map?ref=TM1723675711 - right on the edge of coverage unfortunately. Lots of evidence of medieval field systems in the surrounding area. I bet there's lots more to be found around there, although I'm sure the area has seen plenty of detectorist activity since this find.
smcl 9y ago
I'm impressed with the guy's honesty - he stopped after finding only a few coins and phoned the police and local archaeological society. I can imagine it would've been tempting to scoop it all up and try to find a buyer. I'm glad he was rewarded for leaving it intact, and that he split his reward with the farmer.
- celticninja 9y ago
  There are UK treasure trove laws that requires a split I believe.
  - ljf 9y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996 Quote: For the purposes of the Act, 'Treasure' is defined as being: All coins from the same find, if it consists of two or more coins, and as long as they are at least 300 years old when found. If they contain less than 10% gold or silver there must be at least 10 in the find for it to qualify. Two or more prehistoric base metal objects in association with one another Any individual (non-coin) find that is at least 300 years old and contains at least 10% gold or silver. Associated finds: any object of any material found in the same place as (or which had previously been together with) another object which is deemed treasure. Objects substantially made from gold or silver but are less than 300 years old, that have been deliberately hidden with the intention of recovery and whose owners or heirs are unknown.
    - cletus 9y ago
      That Act is from 1996. The hoard was found in 1992. I, too, am impressed the guy reported it not knowing if he’d get anything and I’m super glad he did.
      - timthorn 9y ago
        Treasure Trove goes back much earlier than 96. That act was just the latest
      - 9y ago
andrewstuart 9y ago
My favorite metal detecting story of all is the guy who goes out with his metal detector for the first time ever, hops out of the car, turns on the metal detector behind the car and instantly finds one of the most fabulous hoardes ever found. "I parked up and got the metal detector out. There was an area of flat ground behind the car, and I thought, I’ll just scan this first, before I head out into the field. Literally about seven steps behind where I had parked, I found them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_torcs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_torcs
ilamont 9y ago
The story mentions 98% of the coins were "clipped" but the photo only shows a few that would fit the description.
andygcook 9y ago
For anyone else curious, £1.75M in 1992 is about $4.7M today.
vidanay 9y ago
Whenever my wife and I watch the show Time Team, we always joke that in the UK, you can just grab a shovel, walk out into just about any random field, dig a hole, and you will find at least _some_ sort of artifact.
Pigo 9y ago
Maybe it's my heritage, I'm not sure. Whenever I read about the Visigoths winning battles or killing a Roman Emperor, there's a part of me that is like "Hell yeah, you better watch yourself when you go strolling on Gothic territory. Roman Empire, we'll see about that."
JoeAltmaier 9y ago
“The Roman Emperor wasn’t supplying Britain with new gold and silver coins, and in light of that, the population tried to get over this sudden cutoff in the supply of precious metals by making the existing supplies go further,” Guest said. It was simple counterfeiting. One of the most frequently found objects hidden in old ruins is coin stamps - illegal counterfeiting equipment that got left behind when folks moved out/got overrun. They'd clip (or even melt down) old coins, cast new coins with a lot of tin mixed in to extend it, and re-stamp an image. Or what they thought was the image; after 1000 years old coins were largely illegible. Folks would make up new images to match what they thought the old ones might be. So emperors turned into badgers or whatnot. You can even date some caches by the dates certain counterfeits started showing up?

111 points by diodorus 9y ago

lettergram 9y ago

I feel like this needs a [1999] added, as that is when the cache was found and there are no new discoveries.

jaas 9y ago
According to the article the cache was found in 1992.

LiamPa 9y ago

For anyone who has watched the detectorists on the BBC: > The metal detector he’d received as a retirement gift was meant to find a hammer lost on the farmland.

croon 9y ago
Apropos of the show (from last week): http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-42887063 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-42887063 I feel a bit bad for these guys, but it's also very funny. Delightful show for anyone who likes muted English humor.

billpg 9y ago

"At this time, a friend shall lose his friend’s hammer and the young shall not know where lieth the things possessed by their fathers that their fathers put there only just the night before around eight o’clock"

Radim 9y ago
Slightly OT, isn't that Monty Python movie ageless? In fact, like good wine, it only gets better with time. I gave The Life of Brian another view earlier this week (it's on Youtube!) and was awed by its prescience.

hanoz 9y ago

Here's a lidar map of the cache location https://houseprices.io/lab/lidar/map?ref=TM1723675711 https://houseprices.io/lab/lidar/map?ref=TM1723675711 - right on the edge of coverage unfortunately. Lots of evidence of medieval field systems in the surrounding area. I bet there's lots more to be found around there, although I'm sure the area has seen plenty of detectorist activity since this find.

smcl 9y ago

I'm impressed with the guy's honesty - he stopped after finding only a few coins and phoned the police and local archaeological society. I can imagine it would've been tempting to scoop it all up and try to find a buyer. I'm glad he was rewarded for leaving it intact, and that he split his reward with the farmer.

celticninja 9y ago
There are UK treasure trove laws that requires a split I believe.
- ljf 9y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996 Quote: For the purposes of the Act, 'Treasure' is defined as being: All coins from the same find, if it consists of two or more coins, and as long as they are at least 300 years old when found. If they contain less than 10% gold or silver there must be at least 10 in the find for it to qualify. Two or more prehistoric base metal objects in association with one another Any individual (non-coin) find that is at least 300 years old and contains at least 10% gold or silver. Associated finds: any object of any material found in the same place as (or which had previously been together with) another object which is deemed treasure. Objects substantially made from gold or silver but are less than 300 years old, that have been deliberately hidden with the intention of recovery and whose owners or heirs are unknown.
  - cletus 9y ago
    That Act is from 1996. The hoard was found in 1992. I, too, am impressed the guy reported it not knowing if he’d get anything and I’m super glad he did.
    - timthorn 9y ago
      Treasure Trove goes back much earlier than 96. That act was just the latest
    - 9y ago

andrewstuart 9y ago

My favorite metal detecting story of all is the guy who goes out with his metal detector for the first time ever, hops out of the car, turns on the metal detector behind the car and instantly finds one of the most fabulous hoardes ever found. "I parked up and got the metal detector out. There was an area of flat ground behind the car, and I thought, I’ll just scan this first, before I head out into the field. Literally about seven steps behind where I had parked, I found them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_torcs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_torcs

ilamont 9y ago

The story mentions 98% of the coins were "clipped" but the photo only shows a few that would fit the description.

andygcook 9y ago

For anyone else curious, £1.75M in 1992 is about $4.7M today.

vidanay 9y ago

Whenever my wife and I watch the show Time Team, we always joke that in the UK, you can just grab a shovel, walk out into just about any random field, dig a hole, and you will find at least _some_ sort of artifact.

Pigo 9y ago

Maybe it's my heritage, I'm not sure. Whenever I read about the Visigoths winning battles or killing a Roman Emperor, there's a part of me that is like "Hell yeah, you better watch yourself when you go strolling on Gothic territory. Roman Empire, we'll see about that."

JoeAltmaier 9y ago

“The Roman Emperor wasn’t supplying Britain with new gold and silver coins, and in light of that, the population tried to get over this sudden cutoff in the supply of precious metals by making the existing supplies go further,” Guest said. It was simple counterfeiting. One of the most frequently found objects hidden in old ruins is coin stamps - illegal counterfeiting equipment that got left behind when folks moved out/got overrun. They'd clip (or even melt down) old coins, cast new coins with a lot of tin mixed in to extend it, and re-stamp an image. Or what they thought was the image; after 1000 years old coins were largely illegible. Folks would make up new images to match what they thought the old ones might be. So emperors turned into badgers or whatnot. You can even date some caches by the dates certain counterfeits started showing up?