The Hammer That Made History: On Real Treasures, Archeology and Metal Detectors

The treasure seekers who raided the fields and forests did not let anything stop their greed. The antiquities thieves, who were nicknamed Nighthawks - entered declared archaeological sites and dug in the ground indiscriminately, looting and looting antiquities and every piece of old metal they found there 

Peter Watling, a farmer from the village of Hoxne in eastern England, lost his hammer in 1992 while plowing in the fields not far from the village. Finding a single hammer in a large field is not an easy task but luckily for Peter he knew the right person: his friend Eric Laws. 69-year-old Eric was a retired gardener, and since then has devoted more and more time to his favorite hobby: searching for coins and other small treasures in the ground, using a portable metal detector.

In England, in the XNUMXs, treasure hunters like Eric caused a crisis that threatened to seriously damage the country's archaeological research. The treasure seekers who raided the fields and forests did not let anything stop their greed. The antiquities thieves, who were nicknamed Nighthawks - entered declared archaeological sites and dug in the ground indiscriminately, looting and looting antiquities and every piece of old metal they found there. They infiltrated private areas and damaged agricultural fields. Almost every find of value - financial or historical - found itself on the black market of antiquities dealers instead of in museums.

The British archaeologists raised a cry: their battle slogan was 'don't let them steal England's past'. The discussions on the matter reached the parliament. At that time, the XNUMXs as mentioned, the laws against stealing antiquities in England were quite permissive: the punishment for illegal archaeological digging was very light, and the police were powerless against the criminals. Members of parliament began drafting new bills, and there were those who even suggested outlawing the entire hobby of metal detecting altogether.
But below the surface, far from the newspaper headlines and the fiery speeches on the stage of the House of Representatives, a surprising turn in the course of affairs began to take place - a turn that would culminate in an equally surprising archaeological discovery. Eric Lowes, a pensioner from Hoxon, arrived in the field equipped with his metal detector, and began scanning the area where his friend thought the hammer would be found. The device beeped, but not because of the hammer...

For hundreds of years, the Roman Empire ruled by force over large parts of Europe and the Middle East. Britain was the most remote and distant Roman province, and the Roman legions successfully repelled attacks by Scots from the north and rebellions by the local tribes.
But in the fifth century AD this control began to be undermined. Internal frictions weakened Rome, and invasions of peoples from northern Europe became a tangible threat to the safety of the capital. In 450 AD the Romans decided to withdraw from Britain and concentrate on the defense of Rome. Britain sank into a governmental vacuum: dozens of kings and chieftains fought each other for control of the territory, and ordinary citizens suffered from severe insecurity. Looting and destruction were a constant threat. Those who had property and wanted to protect it, could take it out of the country - or bury it in the ground, until the anger passed...

When Eric Lowes dug in the farmland and looked for the lost hammer, to his surprise he discovered several silver spoons, bracelets, gold chains and coins that looked very ancient.
Even someone who is not an antiquities expert will be able to immediately recognize that these are items of considerable financial value, and Eric understood this immediately. Nevertheless, he did an act that not many would have done in his place. A truly heroic act. He didn't do anything. He got to his feet, left the treasury as it is - and ran to the regional council to report the discovery.
To further appreciate Eric's act, it is important to know that according to the law in those days, any antique defined as 'treasure' - an object that contains more than ten percent silver or gold, and is over 300 years old - automatically belonged to the state treasury. The accepted practice was that the rightful origin was credited with the value of the discovered treasure or a part of it, but this was only an accepted practice, not a law. Eric took a considerable risk that the surprising treasure he discovered - a treasure every retired gardener can only dream of - would be taken from him without any compensation. He could have kept digging, taken the silver and gold and sold it and no one would have ever known about it, probably. Still, he chose not to.

The next day, an archaeological expedition arrived, and its members searched the place. Only then did they actually understand the magnitude of the discovery: fifteen thousand gold, silver and bronze coins, two hundred decorated tableware and dozens of women's jewelry. All of these were packed in leather bags inside a large wooden box buried below the surface: the wood and leather had long since rotted but the coins and jewelry remained in place and were preserved in almost perfect condition. The estimated value of the 'Hoxon treasure', as the discovery was called, was 2.6 million pounds, or in other words, a little more than four million dollars.
The archaeologists of the British Museum, where the treasure was taken, were overjoyed. Not much is known about the events of the British Isles during that dark period, and any such archaeological find is cause for celebration.

Eric Lowes became a hero. The media praised him for the wise civic act he did, an act that stood in complete contrast to the devious actions of the antiquities robbers. His case helped establish in the public mind the feeling that not all treasure hunters are dubious and immoral types, and many of them have a sincere appreciation for English heritage and an ability to show impressive responsibility and maturity.
This event, combined with the fruitful collaborations between archaeologists and enthusiasts, resulted in a change in public opinion and the enactment of laws that formalized the relationship between treasure seekers and scientists. In 1996, the 'Treasure Law' was enacted, according to which anyone who discovers a valuable antique must report it to the authorities - but an independent committee of experts will determine the value of the treasure. The state will have to pay this amount to the discoverer - or return the ancient one to him. The new law resulted in the number of reports to the authorities about archaeological treasures and antiquities jumping by tens of percent: as of today, there are 739 antiquities reported according to the official records - and over seventy percent of them were discovered by amateur metal detectorists. This is a huge volume of findings that is used in hundreds of studies and projects, and its value for the preservation of Britain's culture is priceless.
The treasure hunters didn't get lost either. In the last ten years, several treasures have been discovered, some of which dwarf even Hoxon's treasure - both financially and in terms of historical value. Here and there you can read in the British newspapers stories that seem to have been taken from the books of legends. 57-year-old housewife who discovered a 15th-century diamond-encrusted pendant: £250. A 4-year-old boy who went out with his father to play with the metal detector in the field and discovered a necklace from the 16th century: 2.5 million pounds... and new legends keep popping up.

The perceptual transformation was completed in 2007, when the British Minister of Culture said the following in one of his speeches: "'The metal detectors are the unsung cultural heroes of Britain's heritage. Thanks to the responsible approach they demonstrate towards reporting the findings and the method they have defended to document it, more archaeological findings are available to everyone in museums and on the web."

And what about Eric Lowes, you must be asking? Good things, it turns out, sometimes happen to good people. The British Museum paid him 2.6 million pounds for the treasure, which he shared with Peter Watling, his fellow farmer. Eric has become a role model for all archeology and treasure enthusiasts in the UK, and is invited to schools to lecture students on the importance of personal responsibility in preserving the past, and to show them his battered metal detector. Hoxon's treasure is on display in the British Museum, along with an object related to the treasure...but not part of it. This is Peter Watling's hammer: the archaeologists found it, and Peter donated it to the British Museum. I'm sure he can buy a new one. or a factory for hammers.

[Ran Levy is a science and technology writer, and hosts the podcastMaking history!'– Radio program about science, technology and history: ]