Free Republic

A new study, published in the journal Numismatic Chronicle, suggests that the village of Vindelev in Jelling, Denmark, likely had connections to a network of European elite.In 2020, one of the largest gold hoards ever found in Denmark was discovered at Vindelev by a metal detectorist.The hoard consists of 23 gold objects dating to the Migration Period during the Germanic Iron Age (a period seen by some researchers as a prelude to the actual Viking Age), which includes: 13 gold bracteates from the 5th century AD, a granulated gold fitting from a sword or knife, and four mounted Roman medallions...

A copper dagger more than 4,000 years old was found in a forest near the town of Jarosław on the San River in south-eastern Poland. This discovery is the oldest dagger made of metal found in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship.In the 3rd millennium BC, objects made of copper were extremely rare in the area, Dr Elżbieta Sieradzka-Burghardt, an archaeologist from the Jarosław museum, told PAP.This valuable object, dating back over 4,000 years, was discovered last November by Piotr Gorlach of the Jarosław Historical and Exploration Association, who – with the permission of the Podkarpacie Regional Historical Monument Conservator in Przemyśl –...

Archaeologists want permission to carry out a new survey of the site of Jersey's largest coin hoard to stop people illegally searching and looting.The Le Catillon II hoard was discovered in the east of the island in 2012 by two metal detectorists after a similar find on the site in 1957.The hoard contains about 70,000 coins as well as valuable Iron Age artefacts.Societe Jersiaise is seeking planning permission to carry out archaeological surveys in the same area of the island.Plans submitted online said the move had been "prompted by recent instances of nighthawking and archaeological looting, which have been reported...

In June 2012 metal detectorists Reg Mead and Richard Miles uncovered a hoard of a staggering 70,000 late Iron Age and Roman coins. They were searching in Grouville in Jersey when they came across their incredible find that has since turned out to be the largest hoard ever found in the island. The Hoard The coins, which had fused into one solid mass, were found using a deep-scanning metal detector. They were searching the area after Reg and Richard had uncovered a smaller hoard of 120 coins the previous year. As soon as they realised the size of their find,...

those metal detecTwo men using metal detectors discover hoard of 50,000 Iron Age Celtic coins Great news for all you hopeful amateur metal detectorists: Two men, who'd been searching the same field for nearly 30 years, have stumbled upon the largest hoard of Iron Age coins ever discovered in northern Europe. Inspired by legends that a local farmer once discovered silver coins on his land, the men unearthed the congealed chunk of 50,000 silver and gold coins after following a trail of pieces — that turned out not to be related to the cache. Reg Mead and Richard Miles found...

June 30, 2012 For more than 30 years, Richard Miles and Reg Mead scoured the fields of their native Jersey with metal detectors, hoping to one day come across an ancient coin or two. Earlier this week, the detector beeped and they found the world's largest-ever stash of Celtic coins. Host Scott Simon speaks with Reg Mead about their find. Copyright © 2012 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Reg Mead and Richard Miles began to scour a field on their home island of Jersey...

A group of Republicans is calling for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be fined after they say she failed to abide by newly implemented rules requiring members to go through metal detectors before entering the House chamber. Republicans on the House Administration Committee sent a letter to Acting Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett on Friday requesting the fine, arguing Pelosi should have to abide by the new rule that she pushed to implement. "Yesterday, at approximately 9:59 am, multiple members observed the Speaker of the House entering the House Chamber without completing security screening,” the Republicans wrote on Friday. “What was observed...

A metal-detecting couple have found one of the biggest treasure hoards in British history which is believed to be worth around £5million. Adam Staples and partner Lisa Grace unearthed the 'once in a lifetime' find of almost 2,600 ancient coins that date back 1,000 years. Although the find is smaller than the famous Staffordshire Hoard - the biggest collection of buried coins and artefacts discovered in Britain - it is thought to be at least £1million more valuable.

(CNN) - A 14-year-old Danish boy doing research for a history class found the wreckage of a German World War II plane with the remains of the pilot in the cockpit. Daniel Kristiansen and his father, Klaus, discovered what's believed to be a Messerschmitt fighter plane buried in a field on their farm near Birkelse in northern Denmark. "We went out to the field with a metal detector," Klaus Kristiansen told CNN. "I hoped we might find some old plates or something for Daniel to show in school." Instead, they found bits of plane debris. So they borrowed an excavator...

Now they’re electrified. One day after a dim-bulb worker caused chaos at JFK Airport by failing to notice a metal detector was unplugged, the TSA cracked down on its security screeners at the international aviation hub yesterday. “The supervisors are not happy,” one screener told The Post. “They’re coming by double- and triple-checking us.” The screener also said red-faced bosses were “blaming everything” on TSA agent Alija Abdul Majed, whose alleged bungling caused the stunning lapse in security. Terminal 7 was evacuated and two planes were called back from the runway after the metal detector was found to have been...

WASHINGTON, - U.S. President Barack Obama set off metal detectors Friday as he inspected a gatehouse on his way back to the White House from a party at Blair House. "I just wanted to see what it was like getting in here," Obama said. "I think I beeped a couple of times." Obama shook hands with gatehouse guards at the Northwest Gate and talked football as he returned to the White House from a holiday party with National Security Council staff across Pennsylvania Avenue at Blair House. As Obama walked through the metal detector, it went off. A guard told...

Five days after he took delivery of a metal detector and seven steps into his first treasure hunt, a novice archaeologist has helped to rewrite Scottish history and may be a millionaire after he unearthed four 2,300-year-old torcs made of pure gold a few feet from his parked car. David Booth, a game warden at Blair Drummond Safari Park, in Stirlingshire, bought his £240 detector from a website that claimed “treasure need not be an idle dream”. What then seemed an absurd sales puff has proved strangely prophetic. The hoard he discovered at the edge of a field was described...

A SAXON brooch and skull uncovered by a metal detecting enthusiast may point to a 1,500-year-old royal grave hidden beneath a farmer’s fields. The Home Office has ordered the exhumation of an early sixth century skeleton found in West Hanney, near Wantage, on Sunday to allow archaeologists to investigate the size of the burial site. The quality of the Saxon jewellery found pinned to the body has already been compared to treasure found at the Sutton Hoo burial site in Suffolk in 1939 (see panel), now on display at the British Museum. Anni Byard, Oxfordshire County Council’s finds liaison officer,...

A TREASURE hunter has unearthed a 14th-century silver ring at the back of a farmer's field in Flintshire. Douglas Fletcher, 44, of Flint, found the decorative, gilt, 97 per cent silver ring in the field in his home town, in January last year. At an inquest in Flint yesterday, the find was declared treasure by John Gittins, deputy coroner for north east Wales. Mr Fletcher, who has been treasure hunting for three years with wife Linda, came across the ring on one of his regular solo hunts. The Mold Historical Search Society member had to dig just six inches into...

The remains of a 1,500-year-old Saxon burial ground have been uncovered by two Sussex metal detector enthusiasts. Bob White and Cliff Smith unearthed brooches, a bronze bowl, a spear and a shield from the graves of a man and two women on farmland near Lewes. Mr Smith, of Eastbourne District Metal Detecting Club, said he knew he had found something special when he noticed part of a bowl and a piece of skull. It is thought the family were relatively wealthy and of high status. Mr Smith and Mr White called Sussex Police as soon as they uncovered the items...

An ancient figure of Christ has been unearthed in a Lincolnshire field. The near-complete copper artefact dating from the 13th Century is the first of its kind to be found in the county. A metal detector enthusiast found the precious object at East Torrington, near Wragby. The figure would have been mounted on a processional cross used in church services between 1200 and 1300AD, according to Lincolnshire finds liaison officer Adam Daubney. "It would have been made in Limoges in France around the time of the Third Crusade," he said. "Similar crosses are well known in France and England but...

A 72-YEAR-OLD woman found a piece of Roman treasure on farmland near Clifton. Alice Wright found the small gold leaf while using her metal detector in the Clifton area on March 23. The leaf was declared as treasure trove, meaning she may receive a reward for her find, at an inquest in Nottingham. Mrs Wright, from Littleover in Derby, has sent the object to the British Museum, and another museum is interested in acquiring it. The Roman votive leaf is believed to date back to sometime between the first and fourth century. Coroner Dr Nigel Chapman said: "The object was...

For 40 years, Maurice Richardson has been braving all weathers to scour the countryside with his trusty metal detector, dreaming of buried treasure. But he almost ignored an unpromising-sounding beep as he searched for debris from a wartime air crash while being pelted with rain. However the 59-year-old is glad his curiosity got the better of him after his persistence in digging through more than two feet of Nottinghamshire mud yielded a stunning 2,000-year-old gold treasure. Metal detector enthusiast Maurice Richardson discovered this 2,000-year-old gold torc while digging through two feet of Nottinghamshire mud Now the artefact, an Iron Age...

A SAXON hook tag found in a Herefordshire field field has been declared as treasure. Assistant county coroner Roland Wooderson confirmed that the item, used for securing clothing or bags, was treasure at an inquest last week. The silver hook tag was found in Brampton Abbotts in June 2007 by Maxine Jones, from Swansea. In a statement, she said she spent her spare time looking for treasure using a metal detector and had sought permission from Mr Scudamore, who owns the land where the item was found. After the discovery was made, the hook tag was sent to the British...

A metal detector enthusiast believes he has found a royal crown jewel buried in a field. Peter Beasley, 67, was stunned when he pulled a heavy gold ring from the ground while out with his metal detector near Petersfield. He claims the ring is 900 years old and belonged to Robert, the eldest son of William the Conquerer, whose name is engraved on the ring. Robert, known as 'Short-legs', unsuccessfully attempted to take the English throne when he landed in Portsmouth in 1101. But Mr Beasley is now involved in a dispute over the authenticity of the ring. The British...