It was only a matter of time. I have witnessed and written about the treasures that lie just beneath the surface in England. I have witnessed people finding Roman, Celtic, Medieval and items we would consider old in this country but that are common there. I received the annual newsletter from Discovery Tours this week and they had a very productive summer. Among their finds were two Bronze Age axes, roman buckles, many Roman and Medieval silver coins and four gold coins. Among the gold coins was a Celtic Stater, a gold angel (coin), from Henry VII and another gold angel from Henry VIII. It was a truly magnificent haul.

Then on Thursday came the word of a truly historic Anglo-Saxon military hoard that promises to open a wealth of information about the Anglo-Saxon culture.  Once again the grounds of England have given up their treasures.  In a field in Staffordshire, a man with a metal detector that he purchased at a rummage sale was hunting in a recently plowed field. He got a signal and immediately saw gold on top of the ground. Part of the treasure had been uncovered by the farmer’s plow. As he started excavating his finds, the numbers mounted. He uncovered more than 500 pieces before he called in archaeologist experts. They unearthed an additional 800 pieces.  All told, there were 11 pounds of gold and 5.5 pounds of silver. All items are Anglo Saxon and appear to be from a warrior, probably of great status. The gold and gold filigree items were set with perfectly cut garnets and included two crosses. The cheek piece of the helmet contains a Christian verse from the Book of Numbers and translates as “Rise up, O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed.”

One thing is certain. The pieces will be purchased by museums and displayed for the public. The Museum of England will likely display the majority of the finds but additional items may be displayed either as part of a traveling exhibit or purchased by smaller museums. Archeologists and historians will study every detail of the exquisitely crafted gold and silver work. Preliminary dating indicated either the 7^th or 8^th century but there is much to look at. It is not even certain who buried the pieces.

If you are wondering, this is where the English Treasure Act comes into being. By doing the right thing and calling in archaeologists, the finder helped justify the act which has recently come under some fire. The way that it works is that the pieces are studied and valued by officials. A fair “market value” is established and museums are offered the opportunity to purchase the items. If there are no takers, as with common gold coins, the finder keeps his finds. In this case, the finds will be purchased probably by the Museum of England and the money will be split between the finder and the land owner.

This country could learn from this. May wonderful artifacts continue to disintegrate into the soil under the protection of the Antiquities Act. Granted not everyone is honest, nor are they in England, but most detectorists are not out to rob the country of its heritage. Instead there would be more of a chance that significant finds would be documented and make their way into public displays. For now, many of the finds of detectorists find the public eye through programs given to civic organizations, schools, and social groups. Meanwhile many wonderful artifacts are in private collections of archaeologists (they have their black sheep also) or are stored away for only researchers to see in the deep dark dungeons of many small town museums. Not just opinion here. I have seen it with my own eyes.