A trove of more than 2,500 silver coins that lay buried for 1,000 years will go on display in British museums after being acquired for the nation.

Adam Staples knew he’d found something when his metal detector let out a beep. And then another. And another.

Soon “it was just ‘beep beep, beep beep, beep beep,’” Staples said.

In a farmer’s field in southwest England, Staples and six friends had found a hoard of more than 2,500 silver coins that had lain in the ground for almost 1,000 years. Valued at 4.3 million pounds ($5.6 million) and now bound for a museum, they will help shed light on the turbulent aftermath of the Norman conquest of England.

…

Michael Lewis, head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme — a government-funded project that records archaeological discoveries made by the public – said it is “one of the most spectacular discoveries” of recent years, especially because “its story is yet to be fully unraveled.”

Lewis said the coin hoard will help deepen understanding of the most famous date in English history: 1066, the year William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, replacing England’s Saxon monarchs with Norman French rulers.

  • JackFrostNColaEnglish
    8•16 hours ago

    So the coroner decides its treasure and then gets a cut, or they don’t decide its treasure and then the finder keeps all, is that how it is supposed to work?

    • @[email protected]English
      17•15 hours ago

      No, the coroner gets nothing, they just do their job.

      “with the money divided between the owner of the land and the finders”