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Wednesday, 19th November 2008 (1907 views)

The number of British treasure hunters heading out with metal detectors has risen, pushing up the number of gold and silver finds by members of the public to 749 in 2007.

According to the latest figures from the British Museum, treasure discovered by members of the public rose by ten per cent last year, up from 665 finds in 2006 and just 200 in 2001.

Highlights of items found in 2007 by members of the public included a Bronze Age piece of gold believed to date from 1500BC, which was located near Winchester, a gold Anglo-Saxon mount found in Essex, a gold and silver Iron Age necklace and a hoard of over 3,500 Roman coins from Kent.

The museum's annual report shows that a total of 282 of the 2007 finds have been acquired by museums under the portable antiquities scheme.

Finds of gold and silver dating from over 300 years ago and groups of coins must be declared and valued by the government's Treasure Valuation Committee and both finders and landowners are rewarded for reporting discoveries.

 

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