Numismatic and History Discussion Forums > History and Archeology
Re: Archaeological News
Xenophon:
Rare bronze age coffin found in UK golf course pond:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/10/rare-bronze-age-coffin-found-golf-course-pond-axe
Xenophon:
Amateur freedivers discover 53 perfectly-preserved Roman gold coins on the seabed off the coast of Alicante:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10020389/Amateur-freedivers-discover-53-perfectly-preserved-Roman-gold-coins-coast-Alicante.html
Xenophon:
Roman mosaic depicting battle from Homer's Iliad found in the UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10238719/Iliad-mosaic-Rutland-field-kind-UK.html
Xenophon:
Treasure hunter strikes gold with discovery of 700-year-old Henry III coin:
A detectorist has uncovered just the eighth known example of England’s “first gold coinage”, with the piece expected to sell at auction for nearly half a million pounds.
The Henry III coin, minted in 1257, owes its value both to its rarity and the unique portrait of the monarch on its obverse side.
The coin carries a pre-sale estimate of £400,000 but past examples have sold for more than £500,000. It is the first of its kind found in more than 260 years.
It was found by an anonymous treasure hunter on his first detecting trip in a decade, near Hemyock, Devon.
The finder put it on Facebook, not knowing its true value before it was spotted by an expert.
Gregory Edmund, of the auctioneer Spink, told The Telegraph he spotted the post and “immediately told the finder to take it down because I said you're going to be inundated with every man and his dog to try trying to buy this off you for a fraction of what it's worth”.
Mr Edmund and the detectorist took the coin to be assessed by the British Museum, which confirmed its significance. As it is only a single coin and not part of a larger find, it was not covered by the Treasurers Act, meaning the finder was entitled to keep it.
The coin was the first gold coin minted in England since before the Norman Conquest. However, it proved deeply unpopular and of little wider use.
Henry III, who ordered the coins to be minted, had originally been saving gold for a campaign to place his son on the throne of the Kingdom of Sicily.
However, the growing threat of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last Welsh Prince of Wales, led Henry to instead use his personal treasure to fund an expensive military campaign across Offa’s Dyke.
Its use by the King to pay his many bills and creditors may explain why this example ended up in Devon.
The portrait of Henry III on the coin’s obverse was “radically new” according to Prof Carpenter. Rather than simply showing the head of the king, it depicted him “sitting elegantly on his throne” with his sceptre and orb.
UPDATE - the coin sold at auction for £648,000 or $873,000.
Xenophon:
A medieval brooch (1150-1350) found in Wiltshire, UK. The roughly circular brooch has a bevelled edge that has part of a Christian devotional prayer inscribed on its four surfaces along a diameter of 24mm. The latin inscription translates as 'Hail Mary full of grace the Lord/is with thee/blessed art thou amongst women/and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen.'
The Hebrew letters A, G, L, and A on the inner inscription are believed to have amuletic properties, according to the coroner's report, invoked as a charm against fever during the medieval period.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10452457/Metal-detectorist-finds-unique-5-000-medieval-brooch-ploughed-field.html
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