kenb
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EVERY FIELD HAS A SILVER LINING
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09:00 - 27 August 2007
Treasure hunter Steve Taylor has unearthed another rare find in the county's fields, this time in the form of a 17th century silver buckle.The 48-year-old from Hatherley, Cheltenham, struck gold in 2005 when he unearthed 34 items of gold jewellery in a Cotswold field.
It was the largest hoard of buried Bronze Age treasure ever discovered in Britain and was valued at £40,000.
He found his latest treasure near Eldersfield.
It's worth far less- but Steve says it's just as rare.
Mr Taylor, who finds items with the help of a metal detector, said he believes the buckle dates from around 1623 when Charles I was on the throne.
Most silver items from the 1600s were melted down during the Civil War.
The buckle has been declared treasure and will go on display in Gloucester museum.
Mr Taylor said: "I've never found a buckle like this before. Even though it's not in the same league as the other hoard, which was of national importance, silver items from this period are still quite rare as many were melted down during the Civil War."
Under the landowners' agreement any reward will be split 50/50 between Steve and the owner of the land.
Over the last 22 years Steve has detected on hundreds of farms throughout Gloucestershire and has helped piece together and rescue many precious items from the soil.
He said: "Every time I go out I find something different. It's a bit like being a fisherman.
"I get quite excited when something unusual comes out of the ground, and it's good when they go into museums for people to see."
Mr Taylor said the huge amount of rain which fell on the region in recent months has made it easier to find treasure.
He said: "The rain tends to expose many of the objects, so the flooding has helped."
Steve has recently been working alongside 400 other metal detectorists and Neil Oliver from BBC series Coast at Water Newton trying to uncover the history of the area for BBC One's The One Show.
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co...entPK=18214354&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231778
kenb
Be the first reader to comment on this story
09:00 - 27 August 2007
Treasure hunter Steve Taylor has unearthed another rare find in the county's fields, this time in the form of a 17th century silver buckle.The 48-year-old from Hatherley, Cheltenham, struck gold in 2005 when he unearthed 34 items of gold jewellery in a Cotswold field.
It was the largest hoard of buried Bronze Age treasure ever discovered in Britain and was valued at £40,000.
He found his latest treasure near Eldersfield.
It's worth far less- but Steve says it's just as rare.
Mr Taylor, who finds items with the help of a metal detector, said he believes the buckle dates from around 1623 when Charles I was on the throne.
Most silver items from the 1600s were melted down during the Civil War.
The buckle has been declared treasure and will go on display in Gloucester museum.
Mr Taylor said: "I've never found a buckle like this before. Even though it's not in the same league as the other hoard, which was of national importance, silver items from this period are still quite rare as many were melted down during the Civil War."
Under the landowners' agreement any reward will be split 50/50 between Steve and the owner of the land.
Over the last 22 years Steve has detected on hundreds of farms throughout Gloucestershire and has helped piece together and rescue many precious items from the soil.
He said: "Every time I go out I find something different. It's a bit like being a fisherman.
"I get quite excited when something unusual comes out of the ground, and it's good when they go into museums for people to see."
Mr Taylor said the huge amount of rain which fell on the region in recent months has made it easier to find treasure.
He said: "The rain tends to expose many of the objects, so the flooding has helped."
Steve has recently been working alongside 400 other metal detectorists and Neil Oliver from BBC series Coast at Water Newton trying to uncover the history of the area for BBC One's The One Show.
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co...entPK=18214354&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231778
kenb
