The Curse of the Buried Treasure; Two metal-detector enthusiasts discover a fortune

[dognose]

The Curse of the Buried Treasure

Two metal-detector enthusiasts discovered a Viking hoard. It was worth a fortune–but it became a nightmare.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/16/the-curse-of-the-buried-treasure






This tale is about a couple of comment fellows finding an amazing cache and running afoul of authorities as they try to not follow the law. Also presented are others who have found buried treasure and followed the law. Background of the Treasure Act is detailed.


They uncovered a thrilling cache of Anglo-Saxon-era objects, including a pendant made from a crystal sphere banded by delicately wrought gold.

As always, folks viewpoint in their comments are part of the interesting story - IMV.

 

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[T.C.]

Great article, dognose! Thanks for posting!

 

[JMac48]

THE LAW hmm what is the the law anymore....control and not being free🖕🏻

 

[sandmartin]

I had heard of this before, the two guys involved were greedy, and incredibly stupid. This could all have ended very differently if they had been honest and declared the hoard in the correct way.
It was one hell of a find for sure.

 

[heartslayer2001]

What a shame. they both could have made an easy million if the hoard was a good sized one. and depending on the artifacts themselves. the Treasure Act was put in place to reward the treasure hunters by going through the proper reporting procedure. The treasure act also provides the world with these treasures, and a hefty reward for the finder. The law whether we like it or not we need to follow. in this case ( i have followed this story) they both could have made 1.6 million on the value of the hoard. think about that. doing what you like to do , find a treasure you always wanted to find, and end up in jail. or become a millionaire, It a choice.

 

[IDXMonster]

Some would like to think that money, and the IDEA of money, is the root of all evil. Money is simply a tool. It is quite the “Swiss Army knife” of tools though. And just like the knife, it can create nice things, can be very utilitarian with all of its features and can hurt you if used improperly. The DECISIONS people make regarding money and the mere thought of having it tends to be the root of all evil, as these decisions are almost always self centered. To make the decision making even worse, people in dire economic straits may be tempted even more to do the “wrong thing” in the interest of FINALLY having enough money to not be poor. It’s a very crackin’ idea, while I smoke my fag...but...it’s not playing by the very rules which allowed you to play the game in the first place.

 

[udon1nano]

A couple of observations may be in order. First, the domain of the Treasure Act referred to is restricted to the UK. That Act, at least, appears to attempt to create an equitable distribution of the find (although I suspect that in practice, like most government regulations, it allows many who have invested nothing, but happen to be well-connected, to dip their fingers into the till). Second, there are many stories that provide counterpoint to the alleged moral that the find should have been "properly" reported, and all would be whole and well. Several examples of governments asserting arbitrary (and meritless) complete ownership of long-abandoned valuables to the exclusion of those who made the investment of money and work that was solely responsible for the discovery are noted in this article (including an example that I believed was discussed at length on this board at the time):

A Shipwreck Off Florida's Coast Pits Archaeologists Against Treasure Hunters

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/shipwreck-off-floridas-coast-pits-treasure-archaeologists-against-treasure-hunters-180974018/