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A metal detectorist has unearthed a gold nugget that is currently up for auction and expected to sell for over $37,000. The largest gold nugget ever found in England was discovered by a man using a faulty metal detecting device. Metal detectorist Richard Brock unearthed the chunk of gold last May while exploring Shropshire, a county in western England, despite arriving late to a meetup with fellow treasure hunters and using an older detector, The Guardian reported. About 20 minutes into his search, Brock, who has been metal detecting for 35 years, discovered the nugget. The chunk of gold weighs...

Researchers have discovered that an ancient gold disc found in southern Denmark includes the earliest written reference to the Norse god Odin, revealing that he was worshiped up to 150 years earlier than previously thought, according to a report. The piece of jewelry — which dates to the 400s AD — was uncovered in Vindelev in central Denmark in 2020 amidst a treasure trove that included Roman coins. For years it was publicly displayed at a museum near the site before academics had the opportunity to study it, according to NBC News. A runic inscription with a reference to Odin,...

A chance discovery is shedding new light on early Norse history, after two old school-friends, armed only with a metal detector stumbled across a gold treasure trove.More than 20 gold artefacts, weighing almost a kilo, were found buried in a field in the Danish village of Vindelev. Hidden for almost 1,500 years, the treasure includes Roman medallions and ornate pendants called 'bracteates' - some as large as a saucer.There are mysterious inscriptions and never-seen-before runes, which researchers think are some of the earliest references to Norse gods.So could Vindelev have been the seat of power for a previously unknown Iron...

An amateur metal detectorist in Denmark has unearthed a rare gold ring that may have belonged to a previously unknown royal family with ties to the Kingdom of France.Lars Nielsen discovered the large, ornately decorated gold ring, set with a red semiprecious stone, while exploring Emmerlev, a parish in Southern Jutland, Denmark, according to a translated statement. The ring dates to the fifth or sixth century...Researchers at the National Museum of Denmark determined that the piece of jewelry has much "historical significance" and may have belonged to local royalty connected to the Merovingians, a dynasty of Frankish kings who ruled...

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...

Nine gold pendants with rare horse symbols, ten gold beads, and three gold rings from the 6th century were recently discovered by a metal detectorist in Southwestern Norway. Erlend Bore just wanted a hobby. So just before this summer, he bought a metal detector. To get him off his couch and go treasure hunting. He was searching around the shore of the island Rennesøy in Stavanger, in Southwestern Norway, when the metal detector started to beep. In a lump of soil, he saw something that looked like gold coins. “At first I thought I’d found chocolate money with a gold...

Just wondering if anyone here has seen 'The Detectorists', a gentle comedy series about metal detecting. It's written by Mackenzie Crook, who also stars in it.I think is was shown on a couple of channels over there. Here's a clip: https://youtu.be/C6gSYHJhuCw It also stars Diana Rigg's daughter Rachel Stirling, who's the spit of her mother.https://youtu.be/_8fBd0Um43o

Amateur treasure hunters armed with metal detectors unearthed the rare Anglo Saxon coins near Aylesbury, Bucks., during a Christmas dig. The stunning find is one of the most significant in Britain in recent years, say experts. The perfectly preserved pieces, which feature the faces of Anglo Saxon kings, were in a lead bucket which was buried two feet underground. The extremely rare coins could be worth more than £1million and Weekend Wanderers Detecting Club leader Pete Welch said the find was "very significant". Pete, 56, said: "...It looks like only two people have handled these coins. The person who made...

Unique samples were among the 250 ancient coins found in Bornholm After hours of searching through the mud with metal detectors, amateur archaeologists Frank Pelle and Bent Gregersen made the discovery of their lives on a ploughed field in Bornholm earlier in April. The two lucky gold-diggers found an ancient Viking gold treasure hidden in the ground. "It was an amazing feeling, for we had searched for hundreds of hours without luck," Pelle told Ekstra Bladet. Thousand-year-old treasure After studying x-rays of collected earth samples, Bornholms Museum, the local archaeological museum, estimated that the treasure of 250 gold and silver...

A rare collection of Saxon artefacts has been found by a man from east Kent. The Anglo-Saxon findings could be part of a grave date back to the sixth century and are said to be worth more than £40,000. Two Saxon pins, part of a buckle or belt and seven brooches were found on land next to the A20 towards Maidstone. Greg Sweetman, of Westcourt Lane, Shepherdswell, was the first person to find one of the brooches when metal detecting. Mr Sweetman, 40, said that he was very lucky to find something so rare. He said: "It's a day I...

German archaeologists have recovered a find of over a million euros worth of Roman gold and silver jewellery from an amateur treasure hunter who dug it up illegally in a forest. The unnamed treasure seeker came across the buried treasure, estimated to be worth more than €1 million, while searching a wooded area in southern Rhineland-Palatinate with a metal detector. The trove includes a number of leaf-shaped solid gold brooches which are thought to have formed part of the decorations from a coat of high office which once belonged a very important Roman ruler. They date from the late antiquity...

FAIRBANKS - A couple of buddies with metal detectors made a surprising find recently that led them on an unexpected and fulfilling journey of discovery. Fairbanksans Daniel Camacho and James Fassotte spend hours with metal detectors, looking for hidden treasures in remote locations. Their favorite spot, up the Steese Highway, will remain their secret. Like special berry-picking patches, its not information they particularly want to share. The two friends usually find items like coins, old ammunition, even a 1948 Revlon lipstick case. But last week, they found a military dog tag. It was an exciting discovery. “I heard his metal...

Viking gold ingot which was found at Brickland, Co. Down and dates to the later ninth/tenth century. Sean Barden/Armagh County Museum A rare piece of Viking gold dating back more than a thousand years was discovered by an amateur with a metal detector in Northern Ireland, it was revealed. Tom Crawford was pursuing his hobby in farmland in Co Down last year when he found the small but precious ingot, which may have been used as currency during the 9th and 10th centuries. It is one of only a few nuggets known from Ireland, experts said. Mr Crawford also uncovered...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish museum officials say that an archaeological dig last year has revealed 365 items from the Viking era, including 60 rare coins. Danish National Museum spokesman Jens Christian Moesgaard says the coins have a distinctive cross motif attributed to Norse King Harald Bluetooth, who is believed to have brought Christianity to Norway and Denmark. Sixteen-year-old Michael Stokbro Larsen found the coins and other items with a metal detector in a field in northern Denmark.

Archaeologists have found more than 600 relics from a huge battle between a Roman army and Barbarians in the third century, long after historians believed Rome had given up control of northern Germany. "We have to write our history books new, because what we thought was that the activities of the Romans ended at nine or 10 (years) after Christ," said Lutz Stratmann, science minister for the German state of Lower Saxony. "Now we know that it must be 200 or 250 after that." For weeks, archeologist Petra Loenne and her team have been searching this area with metal detectors,...

FREDERICKSBURG, Va., April 10 (UPI) -- A Virginia man who found a silver ring engraved with the name a Civil War soldier said he spent seven years tracking down the owner's family. John Blue of Manassas, who has been hunting Civil War relics for 30 years, said he found the ring engraved with the name of union soldier Levi Schlegel at a Fredericksburg construction site and decided to return the $1,500 relic to Schlegel's family, WUSA-TV, Washington, reported Wednesday. "I wanted to set an example. I've never heard of an ID piece going back to an original family member," Blue...

<p>Did this intricate piece of sapphire, gold and glass belong to the King of France, some 1,600 years ago?</p> <p>A group of archaeologist met at the Yorkshire Museum in England last week to discuss the Escrick Ring, an intricately worked gold ring surrounding a brilliant blue sapphire discovered in 2009 by an amateur metal-detector enthusiast.</p>