Snettisham hoard, Staffordshire hoard

by | Sep 28, 2009 | Blog

Snettisham hoard

Have you ever seen people using their metal detector at the beach?

Their hobby is looking for coins or other items of possible interest. I wouldn’t be interested in doing it here but if I lived in England, well now, that’s a whole other story.

Metal DetectorIf I lived in England I’d forget the flea markets and the antique shops. I’d be out in the fields and moors with my metal detector looking for gold.

Metal DetectorEvery day in England people find items from the past buried in the soil under their feet. The photo below is from the Snettisham hoard. Between 1948 and 1973, 11 different hoards were found. They all contained torqs – circular necklets made of gold or silver. All the ones pictured below are gold, and very elaborate gold at that.

Snettisham hoardArchaeologists don’t know if these items were a jeweler’s hoard, buried for safety, or if they had been deposited in the earth as part of a ritual sacrifice.

Just this week, one of the largest and most important hoards ever discovered was announced – the Staffordshire hoard.
It was found by an jobless man in a field with a an old metal detector that cost about $4.00.
The find is 1400 years old and valued in 7 figures.
If you’d like to read more about the Staffordshire hoard and see some of the items, go to http://www.dailymail.co.uk. Click on the Science & Tech tab. There is a small box that says “Field of gold unearthed after 1400 years.”
It’s definitely worth a look!
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