The Curse of the Buried Treasure

November 11, 2020 11:50 AM

Rebecca Mead tells the tale of two British detectorists who, in 2015, discovered an astonishing Viking hoard – and flouted the Treasure Act to hide their find from the authorities (The New Yorker)
posted by adrianhon (10 comments total)

I remember when this first happened! "Coins so rare there's literally only two known" is the kind of thing my dad is an expert in, though he specializes in early American coins. The numismatic world is full of this level of drama and I've been peripheral to it since I was a little kid (my dad took me to coin conventions with him).
posted by Tesseractive at 12:42 PM on November 11, 2020 [5 favorites]

Never trust the Dirt Sharks
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:57 PM on November 11, 2020 [11 favorites]

In related news, ground-penetrating radar scans around the Jell Mound in Norway have revealed a burial site including a 62-foot-long boat, dating back 1,000 years and probably of someone in the "top echelon of the Iron Age elite".
posted by hanov3r at 12:59 PM on November 11, 2020 [11 favorites]

Oh thank goodness it wasn't Andy and Lance!
posted by cooker girl at 1:03 PM on November 11, 2020 [19 favorites]

another amazing longform new yorker piece. Thanks!
posted by bluesky43 at 2:55 PM on November 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

I didn’t know the inability to make good on a civil matter could equal prison time.

Early next year, Powell and Davies are scheduled to appear at a “proceeds of crime” hearing, where they will be held liable for the value of the objects they are deemed to have stolen.

It may not directly be a civil matter, but a hearing as to whether they’ll be prosecuted under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
posted by zamboni at 3:27 PM on November 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

Glad to see that universally - greedy morons are going to moron it up. (Also, it cheeses me off to think of the lost historical context)
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:40 PM on November 11, 2020 [3 favorites]

As an American, and not only an American but a Midwesterner, living in a place where houses 120 years old are "old" and where the local Native communities didn't build cities or leave any long-standing structures, I am always amazed by the oldness of things when I go to, say, Massachusetts. It must be so fascinating to live in a place where there is such a long and complex history still encoded in the buildings and landscapes. I haven't traveled abroad much (and by "not much" I mean "once, 30+ years ago"), but would not be sorry to get to the British Isles someday and have a look around.
posted by Orlop at 7:56 AM on November 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

As an American, and not only an American but a Midwesterner, living in a place where houses 120 years old are "old" and where the local Native communities didn't build cities or leave any long-standing structures ...

Cahokia

A Native told me that the ruins of Cahokia were destroyed to prevent anyone knowing that the Native people could build cities. I don't know but I don't believe it's impossible.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:51 AM on November 12, 2020 [8 favorites]

Yeah hey when white Americans say "There's not much history here compared to {East coast place/European place}," that's the colonizer mentality talking. There's incredible history! Colonizers just have incentive to pretend there isn't.

Great article, thanks. It's sad that most of the coins are still at large.
posted by medusa at 12:26 AM on November 16, 2020 [1 favorite]