Latest news with #metaldetecting
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Centuries-old ring found 'gleaming in the sunshine'
A metal detectorist has discovered a gold mourning ring dating from the 18th Century "gleaming in the sunshine". Malcom Weale, 53, unearthed the ring in a field near Thetford, in Norfolk, in August. The piece of jewellery, linked to an ancestor of Gawdy Hall Estate in Harleston, is believed to have been created in memory of Sir Bassingbourne Gawdy, the 3rd Baronet of Harling, who died in a hunting accident in 1723, aged 56. Describing the moment he spotted it, Mr Weale said: "I knew this was something very special and I did a bit of a dance." Mr Weale, who has been a detectorist since he was seven years old, found the piece, that was crafted in gold and enamel, after searching the area for 18 months. He also discovered "some medieval silver coins from King Stephen to Henry VII, some modern coins, some vape ring pulls and shotgun caps". The ring has been declared treasure at Norfolk Coroner's Court and will now be taken to the British Museum for valuation, to see how much money the finder and landowner will get. Mr Weale said: "Over the years I've found all sorts of treasures including a hoard of late Roman coins, gold rings and jewellery. "Last year was a particularly good year for detecting as, thanks to the rainfall, the moisture levels in the ground were very high. "With metal detecting you can spend days, weeks or months searching, or sometimes just 20 minutes and make an amazing discovery." 'Six inches down in the mud' On the day of the discovery, he said: "There it was, a glint of pure gold, shiny as the day it was dropped, six inches down in the mud. "It's very rare to put a name to anything you find, but I knew this was something very special and I did a bit of a dance." He also discovered "a gold memorial ring, a medieval silver ring fragment, and the first and only Viking penny minted for Guthrum - a Viking warlord who became the first Viking king to convert to Christianity and ruled East Anglia in the 870s". The Gawdy family is believed to have been descended from Sir Brews Gawdey, a French knight who was captured during the Hundred Years War. After being taken prisoner in 1352, it appears he was naturalised and settled in Suffolk, although the Gawdy Hall estate is just north of the River Waveney in Norfolk. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Fox News
11-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Man stumbles across hoard of priceless coins while out for nature walk: 'Face to face with history'
An ordinary spring day quickly became extraordinary after a nature-loving metal detectorist unearthed a cache of ancient treasure. Marius Mangeac confirmed the discovery to Fox News Digital. He said he found the hoard in a field near Letca Veche, a small village in southern Romania. In a Facebook group, Mangeac said that he found the coins "on a beautiful Saturday that didn't foreshadow anything of what was to come." "I took my detector and went out alone, as I often do, for exercise and to relax in the fields and forests," he wrote in his post, which was translated from Romanian to English. "I didn't think this day would surprise me and bring me face to face with history." But suddenly his metal detector began beeping – and soon, Mangeac was looking at a hoard of 1,469 Roman coins. Seeing the silver denarii, Mangeac said that his heart "[was] beating quite hard." "[I] even thought about pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming," the hobbyist said. "Whose were these coins, and what were they intended for?" Speaking to Fox News Digital, Mangeac estimated that the coins are at least 2,000 years old. After two strenuous days of photographing the coins, he handed them over to the town hall in Letca Nouă. The metal detectorist concluded, "I hope that one day I can take my child to the museum and explain to him how I was lucky enough to discover a page of our people's history." Mangeac's discovery comes weeks after a pair of metal detectorists found ancient treasure in the Romanian commune of Breaza in Transylvania. The treasure dated back to the Dacians, who unsuccessfully warred against the Roman Empire in the second century A.D.
CBC
10-05-2025
- General
- CBC
'I did not expect to find a shipwreck!' says boy whose treasure is being excavated
Lucas Atchison found metal spikes on a Lake Huron beach with a metal detector Caption: Lucas Atchison stands in front of a shipwreck he discovered in August of 2023 on the beach at Point Farms Provincial Park, north of Goderich. The yellow measuring tapes help a crew of volunteers to do scale drawings of the wreck. (Andrea Bellemare) During a family trip to Point Farms Provincial Park north of Goderich, Ont. in 2023, Lucas Atchison was using a metal detector that he got as a gift for his birthday, when he found something big and old. "We were on the beach, we got our metal detector out, and as soon as we set it up, ding! It was a spike from the shipwreck," Lucas said, who is now 10. He recalls alerting his dad, who at first thought the spike may have been used to tie up a boat. But Lucas wasn't convinced, and the pair started digging deeper. What they found was more spikes attached to wood. "Then Dad told me, 'Lucas this is a shipwreck,'" the boy explained. "When I woke up that morning I did not expect to find a shipwreck!" Image | Marine archeologists Caption: Hailey Sterling, left, and Lorna Miessner remove more sand from the shipwreck. Both are first-year grad students in anthropology at Trent University, and were being trained to do scale drawings of the wreck by archaeologist Leslie Curry. (Andrea Bellemare) Open Image in New Tab Dad Jason Atchison said they reported the find to provincial parks staff, and then reached out to the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee (OMHC), a non-profit volunteer group dedicated to recording and preserving marine history. This week, with Lucas keeping a close eye on the work, excavation on the shipwreck began with an OMHC team digging to see exactly what Lucas found. Excavation work begins Image | Scarlett Janusas Caption: Scarlett Janusas, a recently-retired marine archaeologist with the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee, stands in the parking lot of the beach at Point Farms Provincial Park. Janusas says that piece of the wreck Lucas found is likely a schooner, a two-masted sailing ship. (Submitted by Scarlett Janusas) Open Image in New Tab The approvals process to dig takes time, with regulatory requirements needing to be met, according to marine archeologist Scarlett Janusas and marine historian Patrick Folkes. They first met the Atchisons in the fall of 2023 at the beach to show them where they should be looking. Then, on Wednesday, a group of volunteers from the OMHC arrived with heavy machinery supplied by the provincial park, and then switching to hand shovels, trowels and brushes to see what the sand had buried. So far, Janusas said they found a smaller portion of the ship than they had hoped, but determined the section was frames from the side of the ship. "We had double frames, which seems to suggest that it was stronger-built ship and we believe that it was a schooner," said Janusas. "A schooner is usually a two-masted sailing vessel, usually wooden." Maybe the St. Anthony? There wasn't enough of the ship to definitively determine its identity, but Folkes says one candidate is the schooner St. Anthony. "[It] was wrecked in October of 1856 on a voyage … from Chicago to Buffalo, New York with a load of grain," he said. "It was described as having gone ashore four miles north of Goderich, which fits about where this wreckage is, and this would only represent a very small piece." Image | Shipwreck digging Caption: Jason and Stephanie Atchison, with Lucas, left, watch as volunteers measure and document the wreck. Note that much of the sand was moved around with a digging machine to make it easier to access the wreck, and the sand will be replaced after. (Andrea Bellemare) Open Image in New Tab The volunteers will complete scale drawings of the wreck, including a plan view (from on top) and profile (side view) of the wreck. Folkes says that 19th century insurance requirements would specify how many fasteners, or spikes, should be placed in the frames and at what distance. Those details, he said, will help help determine the ship's age. What comes next might be surprising. The volunteers will then rebury the ship to preserve it. "We fill the hole back in, bury it and create an anaerobic environment, i.e. without oxygen, so you don't have any kind of parasites in there or any other organisms that will eat or destroy the wreckage," said Janusas. "It's not a perfect solution but it does maintain the structure of that ship probably for at least another 50 years."
BBC News
08-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
'I found a 4,000-year-old axe head with my new metal detector'
A metal detectorist has described his amazement after finding all three parts of what is believed to be a Bronze Age axe head in a field at his family Anderson, 45, made his initial discovery near Turriff in Aberdeenshire last week, then found the two other missing pieces in the following has alerted experts about the axe head, which is thought to be about 4,000 years old."This is by far the oldest and most important thing I have found," Mr Anderson told BBC Scotland News. He has been a metal detector enthusiast for about 20 years - but said getting a new, more advanced detector from his wife for Christmas had greatly improved what he was able to find. Mr Anderson, who works in the oil and gas industry, lives on the farm which is run by his described how he made the find on Wednesday last week."I go from field to field, and I got a really good signal so started digging down," he he didn't find anything, he passed over the area again, then started to think it had maybe just been a bit of ploughing metal, so started to fill in the hole and stamp it down."Then I got a good display reading, so thought 'there's something there'," he said."There's a saying with metal detectorists - 'if in doubt, dig it out'." Mr Anderson said he dug down about half-a-metre through sandy soil."There was the axe head, I knew immediately what it was," he said. "I thought 'wow'."He went back the next day to resume searching, and found another piece of the bronze axe head at the opposite end of the field."I realised there was a third small part missing, and I thought maybe I had missed it. It was a needle in a haystack, but I then found that third shard on Sunday."The jigaw was complete after 4,000 years."He has since contacted Treasure Trove Scotland at National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh, which deals with important finds, as well Aberdeenshire Council. 'Fascinating glimpse into life' Bruce Mann, the senior historic environment officer with the local authority, was able to confirm the find was an early Bronze Age flat axe head, likely around 3,800 to 4,200 years said such axes appeared in Scotland at the start of the introduction of metalwork and described them as "prestigious items". "The change between the old world of stone to the new one of metal would have had a profound impact on communities at the time," he said."Whether cast locally or traded from elsewhere, it is a fascinating glimpse into life at the time. "By taking the time to report this find, Mr Anderson has added a little more to the understanding of our shared past." Finder Mr Anderson said one theory was the axe head he dug up may have been deliberately broken up and sacrificed."The farm has been in the family for generations," he said."It's our own history here."He said he hoped that after assessment by Treasure Trove Scotland it could eventually find a home at a museum in the north east of Scotland, so it remains in the local area for future generations to see.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Metal detectorists unearth dazzling Anglo-Saxon gold-and-garnet raven head and ring: 'It's unbelievable — I'm a bit emotional'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Metal detectorists found these two gold-and-garnet objects in a field in England. | Credit: Chris Phillips While searching a field in southwest England, metal detectorists stumbled on the "find of a lifetime": two gold-and-garnet objects dating to around 1,400 years ago. Paul Gould, a new detectorist with the Ninth Region Metal Detecting Group, hit on a flat metal object toward the end of a long day of detecting on Jan. 8. He thought the gold band, inlaid with triangular garnets and studded with tiny beads of gold , was an Anglo-Saxon ring. But as fellow detectorist Chris Phillips searched nearby, he hit on something even more extraordinary: a decorated raven's head. "It's unbelievable — I'm a bit emotional," Phillips said in a video of the discovery posted to his YouTube channel. The raven's head, also believed to be Anglo-Saxon and date to the seventh century, included a stunning garnet eye and tiny gold spheres outlining the garnet-flecked "feathers." Phillips estimated it weighed about 2 ounces (57 grams). Related: 'Exceptional' hoard of 800 Iron Age artifacts found mysteriously burned and buried in UK field Ravens were often seen as harbingers of death and darkness in early European historical and mythological writings, and Germanic and Viking Age people associated two ravens with Odin , the Norse god of war and death. But it is unclear what the gold-and-garnet raven's head was meant to represent. After discovering the two gold objects, the group contacted the landowner and the local finds liaison officer, who is part of the U.K.'s Portable Antiquities Scheme . The program encourages members of the public to report the discovery of archaeological objects to enhance the understanding of England's history. Paul Gould and Chris Phillips hold the Anglo-Saxon gold-and-garnet objects they discovered while metal detecting. | Credit: Chris Phillips "The finds will go through the treasure process now, which will take a while," Phillips told Live Science in an email. According to the U.K.'s Treasure Act , artifacts crafted from precious metals that are at least 300 years old can qualify as treasure. As a part of the "treasure process," the objects are being cleaned by experts at the British Museum, where Phillips and Gould went to visit their finds earlier this year, documenting the journey in another video . Initial cleaning revealed the right side of the raven's head, which is missing a garnet eye, as well as incised nostrils on its beak. Phillips noted that, with the dirt removed from the inside of the raven's head, small pins could be seen. Those may have attached the decorative head to a drinking horn, he thinks, similar to an example found in the Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo . RELATED STORIES —Hoard of silver Roman coins found in UK — and some date to reign of Marcus Aurelius —'I was shaking when I first unearthed it': 11th-century silver coin hoard unearthed in England —1,700-year-old Roman hoard includes gold coins depicting illegitimate emperor The ring that Gould discovered was also cleaned by experts, but it is still unclear if it was a piece of jewelry or a decoration that became detached from its original context. Given the discovery of two remarkable pieces of gold, the spot where they were found is now being investigated as a potential archaeological site, Phillips said. "We hope to be involved in any further investigation of the site, and we will continue to detect with all the correct procedures in place," he said.
