Incredible Metal Detecting Discoveries: True Stories of Amazing Treasures Found by Everyday People Read Online Free PDF Page A

Develops
    Cliff
believed this site was Anglo-Saxon, but archeologists kept saying
otherwise. Every other archeologist on the site said there was just
no possible way this could be an Anglo-Saxon burial site. They all
insisted it was a Bronze Age Barrow, but Cliff refused to believe
them. He knew better. This controversy went on for a period of three
years. Of course the professional archeologists knew better than some
“amateur” swinging a metal detector.

    This
would all change in 2004 when other Anglo-Saxon burials were found on
the same site just south of where Cliff made his original find. It
seems he was right all along.

    I
almost forgot to mention. That golden cup he found was declared
treasure. The value of this treasure was £270,000 or $520,000.
Not bad for an “amateur” archeologist with a metal
detector, huh?

    As of
this writing, the Ringlemere cup was on display at The British
Museum.

Hoards
    Hoard : A
stock or store of money or valued objects, typically one that is
secret or carefully guarded.

    By
definition alone, a hoard is something that every person with a metal
detector is looking for. Wouldn't you agree? It can be great finding
one or two older coins, but finding a hoard is something that most of
us dream of!

    It
just so happens that people lucky enough to live in Europe are the
ones finding these long lost treasures, and you will be amazed when
you learn just how many hoards have been located and unearthed using
nothing more than a metal detector.

    My
first guess would be in the neighborhood of maybe a dozen or so. As
of this writing, there have been over 50 documented hoard discoveries
over the years. If this many have been found and documented, just
imagine how many hoards must still exist out there. You could be the
next person to find one! What follows are some of the best metal
detecting hoard finds.

The Hoxne Hoard
    This incredible find has a really great story behind it.
A local farm hand by the name of Peter Whatling lost a hammer while
working. He decided to get in touch with a friend who owned a metal
detector to help him find his lost hammer.

    His friend, a retired gardener by the name of Eric Lawes
was the obvious choice. What they found would wind up changing
history.

    During their initial search of the field, they
discovered silver spoons, several pieces of gold jewelry, gold coins
and silver coins as well. The two knew they had made a huge discovery
so they called in the local authorities.

    A team of archeologists was dispatched to the area and
the entire hoard was removed in one day. The archeologists also used
metal detectors to help them uncover the final pieces of the hoard.

    Why this huge hoard of treasure was buried will never be
known.

    What
Was Found ?
    This is a big one! 14,865 gold, silver and bronze Roman
coins. The hoard also included over 200 additional pieces of treasure
which included tableware and gold jewelry. In total, the Hoxne Hoard
equaled 3.5 kilograms (That is 7.7 pounds for the Americans) of gold
and 23.75 kilograms (That is 52.4 pounds) of silver. Could you
imagine finding this with your metal detector? Here is a breakdown of
this incredible find.

569 gold coins
14,272 silver coins
24 bronze coins
29 pieces of gold jewelry
98 pieces of silver tableware (spoons and ladles)
An intricate silver tigress
4 silver bowls and one small silver dish
one silver beaker
a silver vase
4 pepper pots
2 silver locks
a small ivory pyxis (a small round box used to hold
women's cosmetics)

    Check out the pictures of this incredible find!

    This image is a reconstructed version of the box the
hoard was originally found in.
    Image courtesy of Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).

    Four golden bracelets that were part of the hoard.
    Image courtesy of Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).

    The intricate silver tigress
    Image
courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindas_pictures/

    A
fabulous gold body chain that was also part of the hoard.
    Image courtesy of Mike Peel