Treasure hunting sounds interesting but, as someone who can never find the car keys or my wallet, even when they’re staring me in the face, I don’t see any point in trying to find something that’s well hidden. Some people can’t help themselves though.
There was a report on BBC recently about a current investigation taking place in Northern Ireland over the alleged removal of artefacts from a protected wreck of the Spanish Armada off the County Antrim coast.
Reports were received that divers may have taken objects from La Girona, an Armada warship, which sank off Portballintrae in 1588. Access to the site of La Girona is restricted under the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973) and anyone diving the restricted area without a licence may be prosecuted.
The wreck in Northern Ireland waters has special levels of protection under the law and people diving on wrecks around the coast have been asked to check the rules beforehand. The removal of artefacts without the proper authorisation could land you in hot water but it’s easy to see the attraction.
In 1942, the SS Tilawa was on its way to South Africa when it was sent to the bottom of the Indian Ocean by a Japanese submarine. With it went its cargo of 2,364 bars of silver valued at £32 million. The bars were headed for the South African Mint to be turned into coins.
They laid there undisturbed until 2017 when Ross Hyett, 67, a retired racing driver led a treasure-hunting mission to recover the bars of silver from the wreck and brought them to England where a dispute over ownership is being decided in court. Either way, Mr. Hyett will surely benefit financially from his find.
Metal detectorists like a good search too. I noticed a guy walking in the sea in front of me on the beach one day. The water was up to his knees, and he had a set of headphones on him. In one hand he had a metal detector and in the other he had what looked like a small sieve with a long handle. I don’t know what he was hoping to find but a days’ beach combing would hardly bring in enough to cover a mortgage. Unless you know the right places to look of course!
Charlie Parker wrote in the Times about the largest gold nugget ever found in Britain. It was a 22-carat piece of gold discovered in a Scottish river by a treasure hunter. The location of the find is being kept a secret because they want to avoid attracting large numbers of gold hunters to the area.
Weighing in at 121.3g, it is the biggest of its kind in the UK and is thought to be worth £80,000. It was in two pieces when he found it, but when they were put together, they formed a doughnut shape with a hole in the middle. One mineralogist suggested the piece is so old that the hole could have been made with a Neolithic antler pick, which was used by farmers in the Iron Age.
If that’s true, then it’s highly unlikely the original owner will come back to claim his nugget so the finder hopes it will be purchased by a museum, but it may have to be handed over to the Crown estate. The authorities must be notified about finds like these. Keeping quiet will land you in bother.
We’ve had finds in this country too. A father and son unearthed treasure with the help of a metal detector in what was called the “archaeological find of the century” back in 1980 when the Derrynaflan Chalice was found in Tipperary.
The chalice was discovered in a bog, and it is thought that the hoard was buried in the ninth or tenth centuries by Viking raiders. Michael Webb and his son were using metal detectors to hunt for buried objects at the site of a former monastery in County Tipperary when they found an item that reminded them of the Ardagh Chalice. They knew they were on to a good thing, so they removed the items and brought them home. They didn’t know what they should do with them, so they contacted an archaeologist in UCC.
That set things in motion and the site immediately became an official dig. More artefacts were unearthed, and the Webb’s were given an award of 10,000 Irish pounds. They thought that was too low, so they refused to accept it and went to court instead, and the High Court ruled in their favour. The value of the hoard was estimated at 5.5 million Irish pounds and the government had to pay that amount or return the objects to the Webb’s.
The government appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court who ruled the hoard belonged to the State, but the Government wanted to encourage other hunters to report finds to officials, so they made a payment of 50,000 pounds to the Webb’s.
Not all detectorists set out to find hidden treasure though. In 1992, Eric Lawes was using a metal detector in a farmer’s field in East Anglia, in the UK, helping a friend to locate a hammer that he had dropped earlier. When his machine beeped, he thought he had found the missing lump hammer but what he discovered was a little more valuable.
He found what is now known as the Hoxne Hoard, a priceless Roman “treasure chest” of 14,780 gold and silver coins, plus 200 pieces jewellery, ornaments, and tableware.
Eric received £1.75m for his find, and although there was no legal requirement to do so at the time, he shared the cash with the farmer on whose land he had been searching. He also found the elusive hammer.
Great article Trevor.
Thanks Mick.