Eleven Amazing Metal Detector Discoveries!

Hoxne Hoard

Hoxne is a village in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about five miles southeast of Diss, Norfolk. On November 16, 1992, Eric Lawes was patrolling a field in Hoxne with a metal detector looking for a local farmer’s hammer.

The machine started going crazy and Lawes realized that something very large was buried underground.

He called the Suffolk Archaeological Unit and the Hoxne treasure was discovered!

It included a cache of approximately 15,000 late 4th and early 5th century Roman gold and silver coins and around 200 items of silver tableware and jewelry. They had been buried in a wooden chest. It is the
largest hoard of Roman silver and gold ever discovered.

The treasure was probably hidden during the political turmoil of the time, when the Roman Empire started to break apart in Britain. The gold coins all are 99% percent pure. Most were struck between AD 394 and 405, when Honorius ruled the western empire and his brother Arcadius the eastern.

They come from thirteen different mints and represent eight different emperors.

The entire hoard was considered a treasure trove, which means that it is old enough to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the heirs undiscoverable. It was purchased by the British Museum and today many items are on display to the public. Lawes and the tenant farmer received £1.75 million for the find, which they divided equally. It was the largest payment ever given out since the Treasure Act was introduced.                             Click Here To See More Finds!