X marks the spot
You really can find treasure on foot.
BRITAIN’S HISTORY LIVES in the very soil beneath our feet. Some of it glitters; some holds a more ordinary yet still-fascinating appeal. It all lies, silent, waiting for its second moment in the sun.
“There are about 1200 possible-treasure finds reported every year,” says Ian Richardson, Treasure Registrar at the British Museum. “That’s about four a day.” Add the hundreds of thousands of other, less glamorous items reported annually to the Portable Antiquities Scheme and that’s a lot of history, and a good chance that, statistically, your boot could be the next turner-over of treasures.
Until 1996, items found by walkers, gardeners, metal detectorists and others usually disappeared into the world without trace. The Treasure Act was created to make it easier for museums to acquire important finds. Objects classified as treasure will usually be of precious metal and more than 300 years old, though sometimes large groups of very ancient alloys or lead count too. Museums are given first refusal to purchase the treasure and a reward of its full market value, determined by the Secretary of State under the advice of an independent panel of experts, is shared equally between finder and landowner.
Of course most historical items don’t count as treasure. That doesn’t make them any less interesting or, indeed, potentially valuable so, while implementing the Act, the government also set up the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) to record anything else that might be found in England and Wales (Scotland has its own treasure laws). Since then more than 1.3 million objects have been presented, researched and logged via regional Finds Liaison Officers (FLO). These experts can identify and date objects and help people discover more about their finds. Some finders become so fascinated they volunteer to work with the scheme as researchers themselves. Reporting an item to a local FLO doesn’t mean you’ll lose the object, though they may borrow it while they investigate it further. They photograph or draw it before adding it to the vast online www. finds.org.uk database. Find-spots tend to be given as national grid references, though sensitive locations are kept secret to avoid ‘nighthawk’ looters.
Most metallic finds are made by people with metal detectors, but not all. For regular walkers, keeping a close eye can pay dividends. “Take the case of the famous Staffordshire Hoard (the largest hoard of Saxon gold ever found),” says Ian Richardson.
“When the archaeologists went back to look at the site they found things lying on the surface. People just walking by could have found them.” Indeed, groups of ‘field-walkers’ often scour by-eye sites of known archaeological interest for potsherds, flint arrowheads and other items missed by detectorists.
Homewares, clothing, jewellery, buttons, buckles; while anything from the past lives of our ancestors could turn up anywhere, some regions are more archaeologically fecund than others. “East Anglia and the eastern part of the country in general are particularly good,” says Ian Richardson. “North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have also had a long history of occupation and the land is still agricultural so it’s not been disturbed.”
“It’s all voluntary,” he admits, “there is no obligation to record non-treasure items, but we encourage people to do so”. The PAS is sometimes the only chance of recording an item’s existence, but more importantly it puts it into context so that future finds, research or excavations can be linked to it.
Even well-trodden paths can reveal curiosities, turned over by a farmer’s plough, wintry weather or a burrowing animal. It pays to be observant. A rare wild flower, a dragonfly, a Roman coin, the Staffordshire Hoard – who knows what might turn up on your next walk?