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A Roman Coin Was Already 270 Years Old When Someone Buried This Silver Hoard in Germany
A silver coin minted in 148 BC was still part of someone’s savings more than 270 years later. Archaeologists found it among 934 Roman denarii buried in a field near Wesseling, Germany. The newest coin in the hoard dates to AD 124 or 125, raising a question the excavation cannot answer: who kept this money…
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The Sword Is Gone, but Its 1,000-Year-Old “Shoe” Survived in Poland
A small metal fitting found almost on the surface of the ground in Poland may be the last surviving part of an 11th-century warrior’s sword equipment. The weapon and its sheath have disappeared, but the object that once protected the scabbard’s lower end survived for approximately 1,000 years. The artefact was discovered in the Masovian…
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A Faulty Headset Led Detectorists to a 700-Year-Old Gold Ring Linked to an English Countess
A frustrating morning in a Suffolk field took an extraordinary turn when two metal detectorists uncovered a medieval gold seal ring. Its inscription and proximity to two religious houses have raised an intriguing possibility: the ring may once have belonged to Matilda of Lancaster, Countess of Ulster. The 13th- or 14th-century object was found in…
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11-Year-Old Girl Finds a 2,000-Year-Old Celtic Gold Coin Within Ten Minutes
An 11-year-old metal detectorist named Darcey made a discovery she is unlikely to forget when she uncovered a Celtic gold coin just ten minutes into a weekend rally at Cirencester, England. The small coin has been provisionally identified as a Selsey Dahlia gold quarter stater, a type generally dated to the first century BC. According…
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Metal Detectorist Mistakes 3,000-Year-Old Gold Bracelet for Foil in Wales
A metal detectorist searching a Welsh farm initially thought he had uncovered another scrap of foil. The flash beneath the soil was instead a Late Bronze Age gold bracelet, made around 3,000 years ago and now officially declared treasure. Idris Thomas had spent only about 20 minutes scanning farmland at Llanuwchllyn in Gwynedd when his…
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Thousands of Viking Age Silver Coins Unearthed in Finland’s Largest Hoard
A metal detectorist has uncovered Finland’s largest known Viking Age coin hoard, revealing thousands of silver coins buried near the town of Sysmä. The coins have a preliminary total weight of approximately 4.5 kilograms, more than twice that of the country’s previous record-holding find. The discovery is still largely concealed beneath soil and corrosion. Because…
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800-Year-Old Gilded Christ Figure Found in Norway Could Reveal a Lost Medieval Church
A metal detectorist’s last sweep of the day uncovered a rare gilded bronze Christ statue from the High Middle Ages — a discovery now triggering a renewed archaeological investigation in Åndalsnes. As the daylight faded over Åndalsnes, Kim Erik Fylling Dybvik made one final pass across a freshly ploughed field — a routine gesture that…