All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

silver

Queen Mary’s rosary beads were on display at Arundel Castle until until successfully stolen recently. Source: © Arundel Castle

Queen Mary's Beads, Worn to Her Beheading, Have Been Stolen!

Criminal gangs targeting historic sites in England have struck at Arundel Castle. The rosary beads worn by Mary Queen of Scots when she was being beheaded, have “vanished” in another brazen robbery...
The discovery of an Arabic coin in a Rhode Island orchard provides clues about the escape of the notorious fugitive Captain Every

Rare Arabic Coin Provides Clue in Disappearance of Fugitive Pirate

Henry Every (Avery) was a brutal English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in the mid-1690s. Assuming the names “Jack,” “Benjamin Bridgeman,” and “Long Ben,” in 1695 AD Capt...
Images of six of the medieval treasures found in Wales by metal detectorists in recent years.

Stunning Medieval Treasures Discovered in Wales By Metal Detectorists

Eight medieval and late medieval treasures have been discovered in Wales, UK, all found by metal detectorists. These treasures offer anthropologists insights into the life of wealthy members of Welsh...
A Miraculous Recovery for the Nearly-Looted Amarguilla Treasure

A Miraculous Recovery for the Nearly-Looted Amarguilla Treasure

The Archaeological and Ethnological Museum of Córdoba has opened an entrancing new exhibit that is turning heads. For the first time ever, members of the public and press are getting a close-up look...
The Viking hoard included a gold arm ring found by metal detectorist Kath Giles. Source: Manx National Heritage Museum

Rare Treasure Hoard Unearthed On Viking Island

A hoard of Viking Age artifacts that was discovered on the Isle of Man has officially been declared a national treasure. This latest Viking treasure hoard was buried around 950 AD and discovered in...
Pirate skeleton

Six Pirate Skeletons From 1717 Bellamy Shipwreck Found!

Seaborne salvage operations at Cape Cod have recovered the pirate remains of at least six buccaneers who were lost at sea more than three centuries ago. At the time of their watery demise these...
The Galloway Hoard, a rich Viking Age hoard found in Scotland

Viking Age Treasures Clean Up Nicely: Galloway Hoard Reveals New Secrets

Around the time the Irish were stamping out the Viking presence in their country, local lore says the Scots and Vikings also fought a battle near Galloway, Scotland. In 2014, a metal detectorist took...
traditional craftsman creates silver money

Desperate, The Tribes of Israel Turned to "Fake Silver"

Iron Age silver forgeries have been identified by a team of Israeli researchers. This might illustrate the economic hardships of the Tribes of Israel and their decision to make fake silver...
Aerial view of the Phoenician settlement at Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño in Alicante, Spain. Inset; Examples of Phoenician silver. Source: Fernando Prados/Public Domain/Public Domain

9th Century BC Moat to Protect Phoenician Settlement Excavated in Spain

Archaeologists working at a in the Alicante province of Spain have just discovered a large moat. This emphasizes the defensive actions taken by the settlers against the hostility they faced when they...
UK Government Redefines the Meaning of “Treasure”

UK Government Redefines the Meaning of “Treasure”

The British government is going to update its UK treasure laws in the face of increasing discoveries made by metal detectorists. The UK government has announced plans to update the official...
Main: Medieval Woman. Source: moredix / Adobe Stock Inset: The medieval seal of a young woman was found in Buckinghamshire, England. Source: Oxfordshire County Council

Silver Signature: Medieval Seal Brings a Woman’s Life to Light

Sometimes a small archaeological find can provide really important insights into our past. A metal detectorist found a tiny artifact that belonged to women who lived in the 14th century in Britain. A...
Golden seal excavated from the Ming battlefield site on the Jiangkou stretch of the Minjiang River in Meishan City, southwest China.  Source: Xinhua / Liu Kun

Over 10,000 Extremely Rare Relics Unearthed From Ming Battlefield

Chinese archaeologists have made a historic discovery. Along with thousands of other artifacts, they have unearthed a very rare gold imperial seal that was possibly used by the heir apparent of an...
The Iron Age and medieval jewelry unearthed in Shropshire, England. Left: the medieval brooch with centaurs. Right: The gold Iron Age ring.            Source: British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme

Detectorists Unearth Rare Iron Age and Medieval Jewelry in England

In Britain , metal detectorists have unearthed two historically significant treasures and in particular, very rare pieces of Iron Age and medieval jewelry. One is a gold ring and the other is a...
Coin hoard from early 18th century stashed in ceramic mug. Source: KPÚ Košice

Stashed Coin Hoard From Hapsburg Revolt Unearthed in Slovakia

Archaeologists have found a coin hoard in Slovakia . The silver treasure was uncovered in the foundations of an old church. No one is sure who owned the coins and they are somewhat mysterious, but it...
1,753 Roman denarii coins were found in total spread out over Mariusz Dyl’s farm near Lublin and they have been described as “the crown of Polish archaeology.”   Source: Stanisław Staszic / Muzeum Hrubieszow

The Massive Roman Denarii Hoard From the ‘Vandals’ Last Stand’

In 2020, Polish archaeologists uncovered a treasure trove of Roman denarii coins. They date from the first and the second century BC, and they probably belonged to a member of a Germanic people who...
This Bronze Age gold arm ring is one of the ancient treasures found in Britain in 2019. Source: British Museum/Portable Antiquities Scheme

2019: Britain’s Record-Breaking Year of Ancient Treasures

The British Museum announced on Tuesday that in 2019 metal detectorists across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland discovered in excess of “80,000 ancient objects with 1,311 defined as treasure,”...
Close up of the marvelous design of the Great Dish of the Mildenhall Treasure.           Source: Ian

Controversy Erupts Over Mildenhall Treasure

A community in England is demanding that one of Britain’s finest treasure finds, famously written about by Roald Dahl , be renamed. It is angered that the treasure is called after a neighboring...
Roman and Celtic coins found at the excavation site in Jersey.            Source: Jersey Heritage

Enormous 2000-Year-Old Celtic Coin Hoard Sets New World Record

Persistent archaeological treasure hunters have set a new Guinness World Record for the largest coin hoard ever discovered in the British Isles. This treasure story begun in the early 1980s after Reg...
Venetian Carnival Mask of Golden Sun and Silver Moon by allasimacheva. (Adobe Stock)

Moon Tear Hunters and the Quest for Ancient Silver

When the American author, diplomat, inventor, physicist and politician, Benjamin Franklyn, said: “ Genius without education is like silver in the mine , ” he encapsulated an ancient thirst shared by...
Scene on the Gundestrup Cauldron. Source: British Museum

The Gundestrup Cauldron Decoded - With a Tantric Twist

All the hammered figures on the silver vessel known as the Gundestrup cauldron obviously mean something. Found dismantled in a peat bog in Denmark in 1891, this mysterious vessel continues to puzzle...
A gorgeous example of a gold cross found in the Staffordshire Hoard.

Staffordshire Hoard: The Most Exquisite Anglo-Saxon Gold Collection

Many people enjoy searching with a metal detector in hopes of finding treasures that have either a financial value or some historical significance. While most people may be lucky to find a few odds...
Augusta Raurica. Source: dariya/ Adobe Stock

Augusta Raurica and an Immense Silver Hoard

The Romans conquered vast regions, ranging from the west of Europe, across to what is now Armenia . They ruled the thousands of miles of north Africa, the lands all along the Mediterranean Sea , and...
An ancient gift. Credit: kharchenkoirina / Adobe Stock

Anniversary Gifts: From Medieval Wreaths to Modern Getaways

It is not entirely clear when the custom of anniversary gifting began. However, early records show that marriage ceremonies and contracts were in existence four millennia ago – as far back as in...
Jewel made of gold and silver found at Mt Zion. Credit: Mt Zion Archaeological Expedition/Virginia Withers

2,500-Year-Old Smashed Jewel Found at Site of Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem

Archaeologists working at Mount Zion in Jerusalem have unearthed a rare, gold and silver jewel and a Scythian arrowhead in a layer of ash that dates to the Babylonian destruction of the city (587 BC...

Pages