60 lbs. Of Treasure...!

No matter how you count it, 60 lbs. is a lot of coins, silver spoons, and another 200 assorted gold items. Hey, it all adds up, ya know?

Britain’s Biggest Roman Treasure

Photo credit: Smithsonian Magazine

When his metal detector buzzed a Suffolk field in 1992, Eric Lawes was looking for a hammer, not lost treasure. After he picked up a signal that led to gold and silver pieces, Lawes called the authorities. At nearly 27 kilograms (60 lb), the precious metals represented the biggest Roman cache found in British soil.

One of only 40 hoards ever discovered, it contained 15,234 coins, dozens of silver spoons, and 200 gold items. The so-called Hoxne Hoard is priceless to researchers. Most of it was excavated within the original context, unlike most troves that are run over by farming equipment. This allowed valuable insights into the owners’ lives.

Experts cannot agree on the Hoxne treasure’s age but believe it was buried around the time that Roman citizens in Britain were abandoned by their failing empire in AD 410. Violent invasions from other groups increased and may have been behind the family’s decision to hide their wealth in the ground.

I took this article from the folks over at Listverse. I have to say, that seems like a pretty good find to me.

Coffee in the kitchen once again.