Amateur Brit Archaeologists Found Nearly 50,000 Artifacts During Lockdown

THE BRITISH MUSEUM has reported that 47,000 historical artifacts were unearthed by amateur archaeologists across the UK during the lockdown.

London’s British Museum said that thousands of fascinating artifacts were recorded by amateur archaeologists across Britain on the institution’s Portable Antiquities Scheme. The museum happily reported that the lockdown period between March and May this year had seen a surge in history buffs taking to the British countryside with their metal detectors in search of buried history.

Among the most exciting artifact finds of lockdown was an 800-year-old medieval seal bearing the inscription ‘David, God’s Messenger, Bishop of St. Andrews’ as well as two troves of rare coins. Historians are still baffled by the discovery of 50 South African Apartheid era 1970s coins found in a back garden in Milton Keynes. Another stash of 63 coins, minted under Edward IV and Henry VIII, was found in rural England. Many bore the initials of Henry the 8ths ill-fated wives Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour.

Another excellent addition to UK heritage was an ancient Roman furniture piece featuring the classical god Oceanus. Culture Minister Caroline Dineage said it was “brilliant” to see Britain’s amateur archaeologist scheme “growing from strength to strength thanks to garden discoveries and digital reporting”.


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Oisin Sweeney

Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...

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