Unemployed man finds English treasure trove - Polidicks

[url]http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0925/1224255209319.html[/url] [quote]AN UNEMPLOYED man using a metal detector in a recently ploughed field in England has found the greatest-ever trove of Anglo-Saxon treasure, including 1,000 pieces of finely crafted gold and silver which have left experts in tears at their sight. The discovery was made in south Staffordshire in July by 55-year-old Terry Herbert, but remained secret until yesterday when it was declared as treasure belonging to the Crown. The find will make millionaires of Mr Herbert and the farmer who owns the land, although the British Museum yesterday conceded that it will be difficult to put a value on the hoard, already dubbed “The Staffordshire Hoard”. The farmer, a friend of Mr Herbert who had given him permission to trawl his lands, is not to be identified in a bid to stop his lands being overwhelmed by treasure-hunters, the authorities have decided. The 7th-century treasures from the ancient kingdom of Mercia are believed to be booty which was stripped from the corpses of royal and aristocratic warriors and then, for reasons unknown, buried in land near Lichfield and forgotten. Kevin Leahy, a medievalist who examines properly disclosed finds made by treasure-hunters, said experts had been in awe: “We were in awe of this material – the responsibility of bringing something like this home was overwhelming.” The haul includes jewellery made in Babylon – far away from Dark Ages Britain – pommel caps, helmets, bracelets with Biblical inscriptions, and swords hilts. The taking of the sword hilts is described in Beowulf, the epic Anglo-Saxon poem translated by poet Seamus Heaney. “I think it is the equivalent of head-hunting. I don’t think they were taken off people who were still alive,” said Dr Leahy. The Staffordshire find, comprising 5kg of gold and 2.5kg of silver, dwarfs one made in 1939 at Sutton Hoo in East Anglia which then helped to change centuries-old perceptions of the Dark Ages. Mr Herbert said the artefacts had been so close to the surface that some helmets had been hit by tractors: “It’s like winning the lottery. I was glad to get rid of them. It’s too much of a burden for me.” Mr Herbert spent five days scanning the lands and ended up dreaming of gold in his sleep because he was finding so much of it. He said: “The hairs went up on the back of my head” on hearing the artefacts compared to those of Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt. Describing the hoard as bigger than Sutton Hoo, Leslie Webster, former keeper at the British Museum’s Department of Prehistory and Europe, said: “It is absolutely the equivalent of finding a new Lindisfarne Gospels, or the Book of Kells.” So far, 1,345 pieces have been examined by experts, although several hundred are known to be held inside 56 clods of earth which were taken from the site and which have only been X-rayed to date.[/quote] [img]http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/images/tile/2009/0925/1224255209319_1.jpg[/img] What a lucky man.

Lucky bastard. Good thing he didn't sell any of it too; he can rest easy being a millionaire now.

he should duct tape a bunch of those pieces together into a suit, and then walk around wearing it

holy fuckin shit

Went to see this in birmingham, really amazing looking stuff. EDIT : And every decision they made was smart, from protecting the farmers land to not taking all the money. Nice story.

Why the fuck do people like that get good things

Good for him. Glad to hear he'll be set for life.

lucky mother hubbard. i hope this happens to me :3:

Brb, buying a metal detector

I thought that counts as treasure so it belongs to the crown?

On my local news it said he would only be given £500k, as would the farmer Obviously that's lots but it doesn't make them millionaires

[QUOTE=James*;17540485]On my local news it said he would only be given £500k, as would the farmer Obviously that's lots but it doesn't make them millionaires[/QUOTE] That's not very much for medieval gold.

[QUOTE=Billiam;17540542]That's not very much for medieval gold.[/QUOTE] Yeah They said it hasn't been valued properly yet but since it belongs to the crown he'd probably just get a 'finder's fee'

[QUOTE=James*;17540593]Yeah They said it hasn't been valued properly yet but since it belongs to the crown he'd probably just get a 'finder's fee'[/QUOTE] i hate your government

[QUOTE=James*;17540593]Yeah They said it hasn't been valued properly yet but since it belongs to the crown he'd probably just get a 'finder's fee'[/QUOTE] Now how the hell do they get off claiming that if the treasure existed before the "crown" even existed.

[QUOTE=Jessesmith1;17540638]i hate your government[/QUOTE] it's not the government, this comes under the monarch's authority... (hence, "crown") Blame the magna carta being a weedy political charter.

[QUOTE=TM Gmod;17540946]it's not the government, this comes under the monarch's authority... (hence, "crown") Blame the magna carta being a weedy political charter.[/QUOTE] Can't he just say "my property, GTFO."?

[QUOTE=Zeke129;17540988]Can't he just say "my property, GTFO."?[/QUOTE] Not really It wasn't even on his land

nice derail guys from an interesting historical discovery to stupid irrelevant comments about the british legal system good job high fives all round

[QUOTE=Cheeez;17541015]nice derail guys from an interesting historical discovery to stupid irrelevant comments about the british legal system good job high fives all round[/QUOTE] Sorry for actually discussing something instead of three pages of "cool, nice find"

[QUOTE=TM Gmod;17540946]it's not the government, this comes under the monarch's authority... (hence, "crown") Blame the magna carta being a weedy political charter.[/QUOTE] monarchy is a government system

Lucky dick.

Here is his plan, GO TO FRANCE, and sell.

[QUOTE=Jessesmith1;17541062]monarchy is a government system[/QUOTE] Yeah we're technically a constitutional monarchy

Anglo Saxon times eh? That leaves me asking, why were these there? Did like some Lord lose them or something, or was some bitch-ass serf jacking royalty shit.

[QUOTE=Riotashuma;17542641]Anglo Saxon times eh? That leaves me asking, why were these there? Did like some Lord lose them or something, or was some bitch-ass serf jacking royalty shit.[/QUOTE] Bad reading.

It's awesome how treasures and rare things are still found to this day. Makes life a bit more exciting.

[QUOTE=Intoxicated Spy;17541099]Here is his plan, GO TO FRANCE, and sell.[/QUOTE] [img]http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/05_01/IndianaJones2L_468x704.jpg[/img] It belongs in a museum.

Why is his employment status mentioned? Especially as part of the title and the 2nd word in the article. Does being unemployed somehow make finding treasure using a metal detector more special? Or maybe they're suggesting that when unemployed there are ways to make money, such as spending all day walking across beaching and fields looking like a total moron and digging up people's rubbish for the off chance you might find something someone will pay for?

[QUOTE=Darkcoder;17549901]Why is his employment status mentioned? Especially as part of the title and the 2nd word in the article. Does being unemployed somehow make finding treasure using a metal detector more special? Or maybe they're suggesting that when unemployed there are ways to make money, such as spending all day walking across beaching and fields looking like a total moron and digging up people's rubbish for the off chance you might find something someone will pay for?[/QUOTE] Because it's nice to mention that the dude was poor, and now he's not, which is also the crux of the story.