Metal detecting: Golden pyramid and other great finds
- Published
- comments
The detectorist said he almost did not dig for the item as he thought it would be an aluminium can
A metal detectorist has found an Anglo-Saxon gold pyramid worth 拢20,000.
Fraser Bailey found the amazing piece in a field near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.
He knew its value because there was another one in a local museum.
Fraser has been metal detecting since he was eight or nine years old.
But he's not the only metal detectorist to strike gold - here's some other amazing metal detecting finds.
A metal detector is a device which can find metal. It has a coil of wire which transmits an electromagnetic field into the ground, if this hits something metal it sends a signal into the control box of the metal detector. It can also tell how deep an object is based on the strength of the signal it gives out.
Bronze Age axes
Milly and the Bronze Age axes she found on one of her first trips metal detecting
Some metal detectorists spend years searching before finding something, but in 2021,13-year-old Milly found some Bronze Age axes on one of her first trips.
"It was my third time out and I didn't quite know what I was doing," Milly said.
Archaeologists were called in to excavate the entire hoard, which will be sent to the British Museum, London.
Milly joined her dad on the metal detecting outing and by the end of their search they had found 65 Bronze Age items.
Staffordshire hoard
Valued at more than 拢3 million, the Staffordshire hoard is Britain's largest treasure case and one of the most important Anglo-Saxon finds ever made.
Made up of 3,500 pieces of gold and silver it dates back to the 7th century.
It was found by Terry Herbert on 5 July 2009, when he was searching an area of farmland near Staffordshire with a metal detector.
Viking treasure found in Scotland
Viking treasure hunter
Amateur metal detectorist Derek McLennon found Viking treasure in Scotland.
He dug up more than a hundred objects, including gold jewellery and a silver Christian cross.
At the time he spoke to Newsround presenter Ricky Boleto about his find.
Ancient sword
Fionntan found the sword with his brand new metal detector
In 2020, Fionntan from Ulster in Northern Ireland, found an ancient rusty sword after trying out a metal detector he'd been given for his 10th birthday.
Some antique experts said the sword was around 300 years old dating back to the 18th Century (1700-1799).
Fionntan found the sword on his first trip out using the metal detector, and he said he felt: "quite excited" about the discovery.
Super rare coin
A metal detectorist found what is believed to be one of England's earliest gold coins whilst searching farmland in Devon, on his first metal detecting search in more than 10 years.
The find happened in September 2021 and at first the man was completely unaware of just how rare the coin was - it's thought to be one of only eight in existence.
The coin is made from gold and depicts King Henry III. It is thought to have been made in 1257.
The coin, which reached 拢648,000 in auction when it was sold is thought to be the single most expensive coin ever unearthed in Britain.
The lucky finder, who doesn't want to be named, said: "The coin was found in an unappealing field and could quite easily have never been recovered. Now it is protected for future generations to enjoy and it is truly humbling that I was its finder."
- Published19 May 2022
- Published12 January 2022
- Published10 January 2022
