Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
A Royal crown jewel which may have been worn by William the Conqueror`s eldest son has been unearthed.
The 24-carat ring, discovered by a metal detector enthusiast in a muddy field, has Robert Curthrose`s seal engraved on it. Peter Beasley found the ring on land formally owned by William the Conqueror near Petersfield, Hampshire. The retired bricklayer, 67, said:"Everything is pointing towards the fact it was Norman and belonged to Robert Duke. It`s got his name on it and DVX which means Duke," Robert Curthrose was the Duke of Normandy, France, from 1087 till 1106. The ring has now been sent to the British
museum to be authenticated.
GOLD COLLAR "BEST IRON AGE FIND IN 50 YEARS"
A 2,200-year-old gold & silver collar valued at more than £350,000, which was unearthed by a metal detector enthusiast in a field in Nottingham, UK, has been described as the best find of its kind in 50 years.
The discovery of the Iron Age necklace or torc, which is made of eight twisted metal strands, is the most valuable single find in Britain in recent history.
"I was only in the field because a customer kept me late," said Maurice Richardson, a 59 year old tree surgen from Newark.
"Normally I`d never want to go into this field because a plane crashed there in the last war, and the whole place is littered with bits of metal," he told the Gardian.
The first beep from his detector in a field near Newark, an area not known for discoveries of this age and value, led him to a piece of wartime scrap metal but, as he bent down to discard it, his machine gave a louder signal.
Expecting to find a bigger chunk of fuselage, he instead discovered the ancient collar weighing 2lb and made of gold & silver mix called electrum.
The piece, a near match for one already in the British Museum, was the most spectacular of 1,257 finds reported over the last three years.
"Its a fabulous thing, the best Iron Age find in 50 years," said JD Hill, head of the British Museum`s Iron Age department.
"When I first saw a picture of it I thought somebody was pulling my leg because it is so like the Sedgeford torc in our collection that it must have been made by the same hand.
"What is fascinating about it is that it turned up where no torcs should be, to put it mildly, the Newark region is not known for major high-status Iron Age finds."
"This was not in a grave, was not on a hill top, it opens up a whole new chapter of the history of this area."
Richardson has received an undisclosed reward for finding the collar, which has now been aquired by the local museum in Newark, the Gardian reported.
Treasure reports have increased every year since the Portable Antiquities scheme was set up in 1996 to record finds made by the public in England & Wales.
Portable Antiquities Scheme website.
A BUS DRIVER FINDS BRONZE AGE AXE HEADS
HOARD WITH A METAL DETECTOR
A bus driver and metal detecting fanatic Tom Peirce is in for a bumper pay day after unearthing 500 Bronze Age artefacts, one of the largest ever ancient finds.
Amatuer treasure hunter Tom started combing a field after dropping off a school coach party at a farm, and now he could have a haul worth more than £80,000 on his hands.
Within a few minutes, his metal detector began beeping and the 60 year old dug 10 inches into the ground to find a partial axe head. He realised he had struck it lucky when he dug deeper and found dozens more.
Over the next two days, he and colleague Les Keith uncovered nearly 500 Bronze artefacts dating back 3,000 years.
The find prompted a Time Team style search of the area by excited archaologist. The hoard which included 268 complets axe heads, is one of the biggest of its kind found in Britain.
Mr Peirce will have to split any proceeds with landowner Alfie O`Connell.
Tom said; "We are extremely thrilled and excited because this was a one-in-a-lifetime find. It`s like winning the lottery, you don`t think it is going to happen to you. "If you speak to other detectorist, they will find a nice coin or something in 20 or years of treasure hunting. "You do it as a hobby, you don`t do it for the money but if you strike it lucky then so be it".
Tom stumbled upon the field after taking a group of schoolchildren for a day out at the farm near Swanage, Dorset.
He asked the farmer for permission to search the two acre field and later returned with a detecting buddy.
The hoard was found up to 2ft down in three holes spread 50ft apart. It is beleived there was a Bronze Age settlement nearby where the axe heads would have been manufactured.
Story taken from the FID magazine, Winter 2008.
FID member Dave MUlliner, 12046.
Well here we go again, its the silly season, for the powers that be; like English, & Natural England, & this one that I have only come across recently, Historic Environment Record (HER). They have been on TV going on about the so called nighthawks (scroates) raiding sites and farm land of ancient finds, OK yes I do agree they are breaking the law and giving you and I a bad name as detectorist. But in my veiw they are using this to gradually chip away at our right to detect legaly with permission from the land owner. They will chip away until they have detecting banned all together, that is why we must all stick together and show these self appointed gardians of our heritage that we have a right to follow our hobby.
I think its all to do with policing the nighthawks, if they are caught the courts do little to put them off, so if they make it illegal to metal detect in anyway shape or form then they believe the police and courts will come down on them harder, i.e. criminal offence. This is only my opinion for what its worth.
Dave Mulliner, Chairman/Secretary, Bridlington Quay Detecting Society.
Archaeologist unearth ancient houses in Bridlington
Photo by Bridlington Freeperess
Archaeologist unearth ancient houses in Bridlington, said to be the earlist ever found in the North of England. The site was is on Cottage Farm, the settlement was laid down there more than 5,000 years ago.
The team uncovered the remains of the houses along with fields, kilns and remains of people whilst excavating the area.
They found the remains of three houses 3500 & 3000 BC. It is possible that these are the first Neolithic houses to be found in the North of England.
The dig was carried out by Redrow, between 2000 & 2004 before they built 380 new homes on the site.
In one of the trenches near the farm house they found loads of broken flints & pottery, indicating it was Neolithic.
Neolithic houses are very rare in England, others have been found in Driffield in the 1980`s.
This article was printed in the Bridlington Freepress & the Scarborough paper. The reporter took it from the Coroners Court, we had no contact with either paper over the report. I did inform that the club members who found the hoard are from the Bridlington Quay Detecting Society, the home of detecting in Bridlington. The BQDS is the club to be a member of, with two hoards found by certain club members.
