Each discovery also advances knowledge of local history in priceless ways.
A gold body chain from the Hoxne Hoard of late Roman items, discovered in 1992 in Suffolk England.
(Photo: Photograph byMike PeelviaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 4.0])
What Is aTreasure TroveorHoard?
Items from the Staffordshire Hoard of 6th and 7th century gold and silver, discovered in 2009 in Staffordshire, England. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[CC BY 2.0])
Treasure troves, or hoards, are defined by archeologists to be a jot down ofwealth deposit.
Precious metals and stones, ceremonial artifacts, and everyday coinshoards can comprise a variety of differentmetal-basedobjects.
How these pieces come to be underground can depend on societal conditions.
A gold body chain from the Hoxne Hoard of late Roman items, discovered in 1992 in Suffolk England. (Photo: Photograph byMike PeelviaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 4.0])
Political instability or war in ancient times could inspire wealthy people to hide their valuables.
Typically, these people intended to return to recover their deposited wealth.
Circumstancessuch as war or deathcould interrupt recovery, leaving the hoard to wait for chance discovery.
A golden boat from the Broighter Gold hoard. (Photo: Ardfern viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 3.0])
In general, valuables found at gravesites orshipwrecksare not classified as hoards.
In the UK, theTreasure Act 1996governs all discoveries.
Pre-historic finds often qualify as well, regardless of metal content.
Byzantine necklace from the Preslav Treasure. (Photo: Yelkrokoyade viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 3.0])
Discoveries must be reported to the localcoronerwithin 14 days, as found treasure has long been consideredCrown property.
Tohide discoverycan even result in prison time.
The coroner next holds aninquestor investigationto see if the discovered items are in fact treasure.
Coins as they were found in the Saddle Ridge Hoard of the California Sierra Nevada mountains. (Photo: Kagin’s Inc. viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 3.0])
ATreasure Valuation Committeeformed of experts examines the pieces.
The committee decides if the find fits the definition of treasure, and then makes a valuation.
Famous Treasure Troves
The Broighter Gold
A golden boat from the Broighter Gold hoard.
Silver-gilt Roman piperatoria (pepper pots) from the Hoxne Hoard, including the famous Empress Pepper Pot (far right). (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain])
A handle shaped as a tigress from the Hoxne Hoard.
A sword hilt from the St Ninian’s Isle Treasure. (Photo: Johnbod viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 3.0])
Anglo-saxon gold bracelet from the Staffordshire Hoard. (Photo: Hilt Fitting viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY 2.0])
Bacchus on the great Roman dish from the Mildenhall Treasure. (Photo: JMiall viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 3.0])
A gold rhyton (drinking horn) in the shape of a ram’s head from the Ziwiye hoard. (Photo: A. Davey viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY 2.0])
Viking silver from the Swedish Spillings Hoard. (Photo: W. carter viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 4.0])
Gold items from the Tesoro de Villena. (Photo: © Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez [CC-BY-SA] viaWikimedia Commons)
Thracian gold artifacts from the Panagyurishte Treasure. (Photo: Ann Wuyts viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY 2.0])
Replicas of the gold items found in the Wonoboyo Hoard, discovered in 1990 in Central Java, Indonesia. (Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 3.0])
A handle shaped as a tigress from the Hoxne Hoard. (Photo:Mike PeelviaWikimedia Commons[CC BY-SA 4.0])
