Treasure hunters find a trove of artefacts buried in their gardens during lockdown

Treasure hunters find a trove of artefacts buried in their gardens after searching for valuables in the back yard during lockdown

  • A treasure trove of artefacts has been discovered during coronavirus lockdown 
  • Experts say items including Roman pottery may not have been found otherwise
  • Rock with script thought to be from 4th century was found in a Coventry garden

Lockdown has forced many of us to adapt our hobbies so they can be enjoyed at home. Unfortunately, for treasure hunters this means digging up their own gardens.

But the rewards appear to have made it all worthwhile. According to the experts, a treasure trove of artefacts has now been unearthed by metal detectors that may never have been found otherwise.

Objects discovered over the past few months include a post-medieval, snake-form belt hook in a Herefordshire garden and a medieval silver coin in Stoke.

Lockdown has forced many of us to adapt our hobbies so they can be enjoyed at home. Unfortunately, for treasure hunters this means digging up their own gardens [File photo]

This sandstone rock with Ogham script etched into it is just one of the items found in a back garden doing lockdown

This sandstone rock with Ogham script etched into it is just one of the items found in a back garden doing lockdown

A quern used to grind grain in the Neolithic or Bronze Age period was dug up near Bradford, while an arrowhead from a similar period was found in Chithurst, West Sussex

A quern used to grind grain in the Neolithic or Bronze Age period was dug up near Bradford, while an arrowhead from a similar period was found in Chithurst, West Sussex

A medieval ring is seen above. Michael Lewis, head of portable antiquities and treasure at the British Museum, urged amateur archaeologists to get in touch so experts could analyse their finds

A medieval ring is seen above. Michael Lewis, head of portable antiquities and treasure at the British Museum, urged amateur archaeologists to get in touch so experts could analyse their finds

Find: A medieval ring. According to the experts, a treasure trove of artefacts has now been unearthed by metal detectors that may never have been found otherwise

Find: A medieval ring. According to the experts, a treasure trove of artefacts has now been unearthed by metal detectors that may never have been found otherwise

Coins are pictured above from the Hackney Hoard, consisting of 80 US 'Double Eagle' $20 coins which were found in a jam jar in a garden in 2007

Coins are pictured above from the Hackney Hoard, consisting of 80 US ‘Double Eagle’ $20 coins which were found in a jam jar in a garden in 2007

A rock with script, thought to date from the 4th century, was found in a back yard in Coventry, according to officials from the Government’s Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS).

Eight fragments of Roman grey ware pottery were unearthed in Wymeswold, Leicestershire. 

And a quern used to grind grain in the Neolithic or Bronze Age period was dug up near Bradford, while an arrowhead from a similar period was found in Chithurst, West Sussex.

Peter Reavill, from PAS, said fossils found in flowerbeds had been sent to his museum in Shropshire.

‘With so many people spending so much more time in their gardens, there have been some really interesting finds,’ he said.

‘I’ve seen some tobacco pipes, some pieces of pottery and even prehistoric flint tools found in people’s gardens.’

Michael Lewis, head of portable antiquities and treasure at the British Museum, urged amateur archaeologists to get in touch so experts could analyse their finds.

He said: ‘Often people don’t realise the archaeological significance of what they find.’

Arrowheads are seen above.

Arrowheads are seen above.