My Treasure Diary

In August 2005, less than a year after starting metal detecting I was lucky enough to find my
very first Treasure Item. This is the story and diary of my journey through the Treasure Act for a
very small but very important piece of gold........

My Treasure Diary - 14th August 2005

After a days solid rain yesterday, I woke up at 6.30am to find the sun had come out in earnest.
Just what was needed as I had planned to go for a days metal detecting with my colleague Terry.
After loading up the car with the equipment and making sure I hadn’t forgotten my flask of
coffee I set off and picked up Terry from his home. Earlier in the week I had a new car delivered
but it seems that even this one isn’t spacious enough inside as Terry’s head still reaches the
roof……..

We arrived at the farm and Terry jumped out and went to see the farmer to let him know we were
there and to ask which fields were available for us to detect on. After much discussion (i.e. me
dithering) we decided to detect on a large field which had recently been ploughed and although
uneven wasn’t too bad. Terry headed along the edge of the field and I decided to walk across the
field upwards towards a rise. At the brow of the rise I was lucky enough to find a decent Rose
farthing and then just a few metres away up popped a not so decent Roman sesterius coin

Considering I live in the heart of Roman East Anglia I have to say that my roman finds have
been - well, almost non existent - so I was very happy to find this. Terry made his way up the
rise towards me to ask how I was getting on - I showed him my finds and asked what he had
managed to detect. “Coke and buttons” he said.

After a while on this field we decided to move to one on the other side of the road. It had been a
field of barley - and now the majority of it was stubble about 10 inches high. Now Terry’s a big
lad and can handle swinging his detector against stubble - but me? I’m a 5ft 2in female and
within 20 minutes had had enough.

At the other end of the field was an area which hadn’t been harvested and in front of it was a fair
sized barren area with virtually no stubble - guess where I headed ! I decided that as the area was
not too big, to cover it extensively - I started to walk very slowly in lines, turn and then walk
back overlapping the area I had just covered. This paid off as I quickly found a bag seal and then
shortly afterwards a small lead token.

I had covered about half of the ground when I saw Terry walking back over to where I was from
the other side of the field. At that moment I got a strange and iffy signal from my detector …..not
bad but certainly not the “good signal” we all listen out for…hmmm I thought……is it worth
digging this? Well, curiosity got the better of me so I dug a small spadeful of the soft soil and
placed it to the side of the hole. A quick sweep of the detector told me the item was in the
removed soil - so I picked up some in my hand and swept it over my detector coil just as Terry
arrived next to me. “What have you got there” he said. “Dunno” said I

I broke the soil in my hand apart and there staring at us was a tiny, shiny gold coloured object.

“Its Gold!” said Terry.

Well……. I don’t take my specs with me when I’m out in the field detecting so I passed it
straight to Terry to have a look at.

“Ooooooooooooooooh!” he said………….

It looked like someone’s foot in a roman sandal - but only the front half of one - what on earth
could it be?
We made our way to see the farmer and tell him of this find and that it would need to be declared
as potential treasure. He was intrigued by the find and like us had never seen anything like it
before. I promised to keep him informed with what happens and what the outcome would be.

This farmer is really interested in the finds from his land - but many of the individuals who
detect there do not make the time to POP along and show him their finds.

Terry and I have told him that once finds have been recorded we will make sure they are given
back to him to keep. Unfortunately this won’t be the case for this wee gold find I doubt!

Sunday evening

When I arrived back at my home, I took some photo’s of the find and posted them on a couple of
the online detecting fora as well as the Portable Antiquities Forum to see if anyone was able to
identify what this very small artefact was. Also emailed my Finds Liaison Officer to let her know
I had found an item which could fall under the Treasure Act.

I had no idea what was about to develop within a few hours…….

My Treasure Diary - 15th August 2005

One of the forum members from Croatia posted the comment “Surely those are runes on the
sides?” , Another poster said “the runic symbols on there seem to say that it was a gift to Odin
and Tyr for a safe journey”………

There were suggestions it could be Viking Hack Gold, a part pommel cap, a votive offering to
the Gods, a talismanic piece, amulet or charm, part of a finger ring, part of a Bridle. The
academics on the Portable Antiquities Forum were also very complimentary about the find
offering suggestions of what it could be - now this was getting to be exciting to say the least.

After a phone call to my local museum, I find that my Finds Liaison Officer isn’t in today. I
decide to take half a days holiday tomorrow morning and hope that she is “in the office” and not
out and about.

I need to hand this in to her as soon as possible because I am away from this weekend. The
possibility of the find being Treasure means that I have to get it reported within 14 days..

There appears to be a great deal of interest in this little find - and I still have no idea what it is.
My Treasure Diary - 18th August 2005
A number of people have been emailing me regarding my wee find.

Kevin Leahy, who is a Finds Adviser – Early Medieval metalwork, for the Portable Antiquities
Scheme, is actually on holiday painting the fascias on his house (some holiday!) but has been
following the discussions online and he has sent details of the runes to an expert in Germany to
see what she makes of it.

I’ve also heard again this morning from Caroline, my FLO, that Barry Ager, the Viking specialist
at the British Museum, was informed of the find the day she saw me. He has suggested to her
that it was a job for the BM Anglo-Saxonist’s headed up by Leslie Webster.

Normally, to speed up the process Caroline would write the treasure reports for the British
Museum, which are then used by the coroner at the inquest, but on this occasion she feels this is
beyond her expertise and is requesting that the British Museum curator does the full report. She
is now just waiting for the various expert opinions to come back and then will keep me posted.
Otherwise I now just have to wait for the Inquest to be scheduled – but this can only happen after
the report is written and my wee find is with the British Museum which is likely to be in early
September.

My Treasure Diary - 19th August 2005

Another email from Caroline to tell me “Your treasure case now has a number!!”

2005 T298

Now THAT does make it very official

My Treasure Diary - 20th August 2005
The farmer has mentioned the possibility of the land where the find was made being scheduled -
this is obviously a concern to farmers where small finds are made as they have a business to run
and land to plough and farm.

I have emailed him to tell him I do not think that one small find will mean that this particular
field would be scheduled but have also asked Caroline the FLO if she is able to put his mind at
rest. She emailed him too - this is part of her email to him:

“Corinne Mills find is very exciting and interesting, but please let me reassure you that such a
small find, even of gold, will not lead to your land being scheduled. Scheduled Ancient
Monuments are exactly that - monuments, and stray finds alone will not lead to this sort of
action. Scheduling is an extreme reaction in exceptional circumstances and very little has been
scheduled in the past 10 years.
It is also unlikely that any archaeological investigation will take place, and should anyone
express an interest in this (again this is unlikely), nothing can happen on your land without your
permission and you are well within your rights to say no.

Miss Mills has acted very responsibly in reporting the find, as there is a legal requirement for
her to do so within 14 days of discovery. I am very impressed with Miss Mill’s quick reaction to
the find and how she is tracking the process on the website so that other finders can be made
aware of their legal responsibility.

Let me reassure you once again that this find is unlikely to cause you any bother and encourage
you to take heart that you have such a responsible person detecting on your land.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me. You will of course be
updated by letter at each significant stage of the process "

My Treasure Diary - 26th August 2005

Another update from Caroline today:

Hi Co,
I have now had a response from Leslie Webster at the BM who has been away. She is deferring
judgment until she sees the widget, but has passed details over to another expert at Nottingham
University, so there are lots of people on the case now!

hope all is well with you,

regards

Caroline McDonald
Finds Liaison Officer, Essex

My Treasure Diary - 5th September 2005

Caroline the FLO is delivering the wee find to the British Museum in person on Tuesday 13th
September - and it will be looked at by David Parsons , from the University of Nottingham on
the 15th - so we might have some info soon.

David Parsons
He thinks the runes are Anglo Saxon and not Viking, but he needs to see it in the flesh really.

My Treasure Diary - 13th September 2005

This morning I’ve received an email from the charming Mr Kevin Leahy, who has been in touch
with Professor Gaby Waxenberger from Munich University regarding the runic inscription.

She has provided her first feelings on the find and, while they are amazingly detailed, they may
not be her final opinion as to the reading.

Kevin has also asked me about the types of other finds found in the vicinity - I am aware of one
other Anglo Saxon Treasure item found in another field a few years ago - so I’ve emailed
Caroline the FLO to ask her to provide Kevin with details
My Treasure Diary - 14th September 2005
Email from Caroline the FLO to myself and Kevin Leahy

Dear Kevin, Corinne,

I deposited the fragment at the BM yesterday and had a very nice chat with Lesley Webster. She
also read the runes as described by Prof Waxenberger, but did not commit herself to a possible
reading. Perhaps she has heard from the professor as well? It will certainly be interesting to
hear from David Parsons next week.

The gold buckle fragment was found at XX XXXX XXXX, a little distance away, but certainly not
a million miles. It is within the same farm boundary. Lesley will be looking at the gold
composition of both items and XXXXXXX Museum are happy to have the buckle fragment made
available if need be.
Anyway, all looking very interesting! Lesley is taking her time before committing to what the
object may be.

Will let you know when I hear David’s thoughts.

Regards

Caroline McDonald
Finds Liaison Officer, Essex

My Treasure Diary - 23rd September 2005

I’ve received a couple of interesting emails from Leslie Webster, who is the Keeper at the
Department of Prehistory and Europe in The British Museum with some of her thoughts about
the find.

Here is some of what she tells me:

David was in yesterday and confirmed that his reading agrees with the above. These are also
definitely Anglo-Saxon runes; we think that G D E represents the end of a verb, and David
therefore very sensibly suggests that as this looks very like the end of the object, that T AE A
must be the beginning of another word. But he will get back to us with a definitive verdict on
what all this might mean.

Neither of us are sure what object this scrap might come from yet, and that will need some
further thought. But having looked closely at the style and scale of the inscription, which was
almost certainly originally inlaid with niello,it fits very well with a series of gold finger rings
with runic and non-runic inscriptions which are conventionally dated to the 9th century. This
makes it rather more likely that this tiny piece of chopped gold, though Anglo-Saxon in origin,
owes its present shape to Viking intervention, and is actually a piece of Viking ‘hack-gold’,
bullion intended for remelt into ingots or for exchange.

I have shown it briefly to Professor James Graham-Campbell, who is the leading expert on
Viking gold and silver hoards in England, and he will be back to examine it properly in a few
days. In the meantime, David, who as well as being a runologist, is head of the English Place-
Name Survey, has pointed out that the area around XXXXXXX is the only part of Essex which
shows clear Viking influence in the place names. So - just possibly - there may be a Viking factor
at work here?

My Treasure Diary - 6th October 2005

Woo Hoo! I’ve received the following reading of the runes from DrGaby Waxenberger who is
based at the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, Germany:

The inscription is on two sides of the object and has three runes on each side.
I consider the inscription as Old English because of the diagnostic rune æ
READING
I read (from left to right):
Side A:gdeGDE
The last rune e E could also be double ll ll, that is l (from left to right) and one l (from right to
left) although I consider it less likely.

Side B: tæa tAA

The last rune (rune 3) is not quite certain because of the end but from what I can see I would say
a, which is also a diagnostic rune for Old English.

Judging from the pictures, I personally consider the inscription fragmentary.

Side A: gde GDE
1. g+de : de = past tense ending of a weak verb whose stem ends in g

and
Side B: tæa tAA
2. tæ: tæ = past tense ending of a weak verb. The following a would be the beginning of a new
word.
Normally, the endings in the past tense should be either –æ or –e (-e developed from –æ) but we
do find –æ ([.]geredæ: ondgeredæ (ondgyrwan ‘to disrobe’ weak verb class 1) and –e (1x: 3rd
person pret. sg. walde (willan ‘to wish’ anomalous verb) on the Ruthwell Cross, although not of
the same type of verb (= weak).

As a second possibility, I would like to suggest that the inscription was originally intended as a
part of the fuþorc (see below 1-4) although side one would be unusual: gde instead of the normal
order ged (see below London Thames Scramasax)

London Thames Scramasax (see below no 3).

In combination with Side A, side B reminds me of the second part of the Malton Pin glaæe (see
below no. 2)
glaæe = Malton Pin
gdetæa = New Find

In the Old English Runes Corpus (epigraphical material) we have four fuþorc inscriptions (3x
parts of the fuþorc and 1x a complete fuþorc row: see below). There has been a tradition of
inscribing the fuþorc/fuþark row, either fully or partially (see Düwel – Heizmann (2006),
Bammesberger A.; Waxenberger. G. (eds.), Das fuþark und seine einzelsprachlichen
Weiterentwicklungen/The fuþark and its further developments in separate linguistic traditions.)

The four fuþorc inscriptions of the Old English Corpus read as follows:
1. BRANDON PIN [Brandon Remembrance Playing Field Committee, inv. no. SAU BRD 018
8679 [Webster 1991:82].
Date: late 8th or early 9th century [Backhouse - Webster 1991:82; Mitchell 1994:BrPi1; Flowers
1999:8]

Runes according to Backhouse - Webster’s (1991:83) picture and Parsons’ (1991:8) drawing
fuþorñhwhniçpx¯[…]
Line 1: fuþorcjwhnij [Page 1999:81]
Line 2: ïpxs [Page 1999:81]

2. MALTON PIN [British Museum, London: M & LA: Reg. No. 56217-T.261 (2000 5,-8)]
Date: Page (1999a:12) thinks that Malton “may share” a mid-Saxon date range with the Brandon
Pin-Head (= late 8th or early 9th century).

fuþorcglaæe [Page (1999a:12; Waxenberger autopsy: April 2001]

Page considers l (R8) as an error for w because of its place in the fuþorc.

3. LONDON THAMES RING [London: Museum of London; London Wall; London EC2Y
5HN; Acc. No: TEX 88 [+] <1330>]
Date: According to Gosling (1991:191) it is “impossible to date this ring closely'’ because “the
spoil being machined out at the time was very mixed and included deposits from much earlier
foreshores.'’ Page (1999:36) comments: “It has yet to be dated.”
[tt]fuþniine […] [Gosling 1991:192] or possibly [ææ]fuþniine […] [Gosling 1991:192; Flowers
1999:28].

paper slip with the object

Beginning, quite arbitrarily, to the right of a break in the ring, the inscription reads as follows:
[..]fuþniine
Following one of those mysterious doubled æ-runes, or t-runes, comes an abbreviated futhorc, of
which ni is possibly an elliptical continuation. The sequence in ine could be interpreted as the
Old English male name Ine.
R1 is considered an “[ideogram]'’ by Flowers (1999:28).
The sequence R2-6 is taken as an abbreviated fuþorc formula by Flowers (1999:28). For R5-6
Gosling (1991:192) considers the possibility that the “sequence ni could represent the
continuation of an extremely abbreviated fuþork.'’
The sequence R7-9 is regarded as a personal name by Gosling (1991:192) and Flowers
(1999:28), although Gosling points out that “the layout of the inscription gives no hint that these
three runes form a discrete sequence.'’

4. LONDON THAMES SCRAMASAX [London: The British Museum, Department for

Medieval and Later Antiquities: M & LA 1857,6-23,1]
Date: In earlier approaches to date the London Thames scramasax suggestions varied from as
early as 400-500A.D. [Stephens 1884a:111] and ca. 550 ca. 600 [Nerman 1959:289] to around
700 [Harder 1938:146; Krause Jankuhn 1966:11] until the 9th century [Elliott 1959:79]. More
recent approaches agree on a later date ranging from the (end of the) 9th century [Wilson
1964:38;146; Page 1973:115; Elliott 1989:43] to the 9th-10th century [Haith 1984:101; Mitchell
1994:ThS1] until as late as the 10th century [Page 1999:29]. For the runes themselves, Seebold
(1991:511) considers “eine Zeit nicht allzulang nach 700 am wahrscheinlichsten'’ but this period
seems too early according to the rune forms [see Waxenberger 2000; Waxenberger forthcoming].
II. DATING from a runological point of view
Rune Š might gives us a possible hint regarding the date the object.
The earlier variant D was used from ca. the 5th cent. to the 9th cent. [In the case of
Monkwearmouth Stone I (early 10th - 11th century) it was also used].
From the 7th until the 11th cent. the later variant Š was used.
For the object this could mean that it was probably carved after the 7th cent.

III. ABOUT OUR OWN PROJECT

Who we are: Professor Dr. Alfred Bammesberger and Dr. Gaby Waxenberger
Where we are: Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, Germany.
Contact us: gabriele.waxenberger@ku-eichstaett.de
Our objectives: We wish to edit all authentic Old English runic inscriptions of more than one
rune carved in the Old English fuþorc (= 97 inscriptions). We have been working on a paper
edition and it is our aim to publish it in one or two years. We have also been working on the Old
Frisian runes which will be published either as a data-base together with the Old English runes
and/or as a separate paper edition.
My Treasure Diary - 27th October 2005
I have been asked if images of my wee find can be used in the latest edition of Wiðowinde,
which is the journal of Ða Engliscan Gesiðas (The English Companions).

Their website is here Ða Engliscan Gesiðas

This runic fragment is of great interest to a society of Anglo-Saxonists and the images will be
used in a short report in this journal.

Look forward to seeing the magazine!

My Treasure Diary - 12th November 2005

Caroline has told me that as the brooch is a straight forward object, she’ll write the report and
send it onto the British Museum. This means the Treasure Registrar can get the complete file to
the Essex coroner and it gets to an inquest much quicker. The British Museum curators are often
overstretched, so Caroline helps where she can by writing these reports.

A British Museum curator will vet Carolines report and make any changes/additions if needed.
This differs to the Gold fragment I found earlier - which is highly unusual, and therefore it
requires that more extensive network of experts available to the British Museum.

Will be interesting to see whether there will be any significant time difference between the two
items working their way through the Treasure Act process - will keep you posted!

My Treasure Diary - 30th November 2005

Just heard from Caroline the FLO that the Museum have DISCLAIMED the silver annular
brooch
Soon she will receive the disclaimer letter and then the brooch will be returned to me

My Treasure Diary - 4th January 2006

Caroline the FLO for Essex has been in touch with the Treasure Registrar at the British Museum
to try and find out where they are with the wee gold fragment.

Basically the overall treasure report has not been done yet, as the information on the runes needs
to be collated with other information - like what it is!
Anyway, its ‘in hand’ and the BM are now aware that Caroline has chased it up and time is
passing!

My Treasure Diary - 23rd January 2006

Email received this morning from Sonja Marzinzik who is Curator of Insular Medieval
Collections apologising for the endless delays to the Treasure report on the gold fragment I
found last year.

She has explained this is mainly due because the little fragment is rather unusual and has
presented a puzzle to the Museum staff.

Lesley Webster , the keeper of the Department and an Anglo-Saxonist, asked David Parsons
from the Institute of Name Studies to take a look at the object and see what he thinks of the
runes.

The Museum are now in the process of looking at the various suggestions as to what the runes on
the object could mean.

Sonja hopes that the report will be ready any day now

I have also emailed her back enclosing Dr Gaby Waxenburgers thoughts in case they havent seen
those too.

My Treasure Diary - 25th January 2006

I’ve today come home from working away to find an email from Caroline Barton, Assistant
Treasure Registrar at the British Museum part of which is as follows:

Just to inform you that Sonja Marzinzik has now completed her report on the fragment (with the
aide of MS Leslie Webster) and as such I have passed the case to the coroner for her to hold the
Treasure inquest. I’ve attached above a copy of the report; you’re copy of the letter to the
coroner will arrive soon in the post but I thought I’d send you an copy via e-mail as your e-mail
address was in the file.
The coroner should make contact with you concerning the inquest and once the coroner informs
me of the inquest result I will then pass the case to the Department for Culture Media and Sport,
who will deal with the case through the valuation process.

The report reads as follows

REPORT

Essex (2005 T298)

Finder: C. Mills
Date of discovery: 16/08/05 (reported to British Museum 13/09/05)
Circumstances of discovery: While searching with a metal-detector.

Object Date: Probably 9th century

Description: Runic gold fragment

An oblong, solid fragment of a larger object, roughly D-shaped in cross section and tapering in
height towards one end. At the higher end, the fragment appears to have been chopped. The
shorter end shows some damage and it seems that part of the underside has been cut away here.

The underside of the object is flat apart from a small dent and some minor ?cracks. The upper,
curved, side is divided into two panels by a band running along the middle axis. It meets another
band, that frames the lower edge of the object, at the narrower end.

The fragment is engraved on both sides with runes of the Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet, or
futhorc. Only three letters survive on each face: these may be transliterated respectively as (dots
indicate where further letters are missing):
(a) …G D E
(b) T Æ A…

The runes are set in relief on a recessed background, which may originally have contained niello.

Discussion: It is not clear what object this very small and damaged fragment came from.
Although the shape is superficially reminiscent of a seventh-century sword pommel, cut in half,
such pommel fittings are hollow, not solid like this, and the fragment is also very small, and
stylistically later in date.

It is not possible to make much sense from such truncated inscriptions, but two tentative
interpretations may be offered. (a), which is probably the end of a word, from its form is likely to
be the end of a verb in the third person, past tense. This could have thus been part of a formula,
‘X verb Y’, as in ‘X made’ or ‘owned Y’. (b) is probably the beginning of a word; D. Parsons,
Institute for Name Studies, Nottingham University, has suggested that it might be a form of the
Old English ‘teah’, meaning ‘tie’, ‘fastening’ or, secondarily, ‘box’, ‘case’, ‘casket’, ‘coffer’. It
is possible but unprovable that this word might be the Y element, or part of it, in the formula
suggested by the [unknown] verb on the other side. If the full inscription did follow such a
formula, then it follows that an X element must have preceded the verb represented by its last
three letters on side (a). This would have implications for the original scale of the object.

The small letters, cut in relief against a background possibly originally inlaid with niello, are
typical of ninth-century Anglo-Saxon inscriptions, such as the Æthelwulf and ‘Lancashire’ rings
and the piece is likely to date to that period. The fact that the fragment has been both struck and
chopped up, perhaps for use as bullion, might suggest that this took place in a context of Viking
activity in the later ninth or tenth century; xxxxxxx is on the edge of an area of Scandinavian
settlement focussed on Colchester.

Scientific analysis has indicated a gold content of 91-93%, silver content of 5-7% and copper
content of 1-2%. The small white specks on the back are osmium/iridium/ruthenium containing
inclusions, indicating that the gold came from alluvial sources. An alluvial source for gold has
been identified in at least one other ninth-century Anglo-Saxon object.

Dimensions: Maximum L 0.9cm; W 0.8cm; Maximum H 0.5 cm; Minimum H 0.2cm;m Weight
3.1 grams

Note: This find qualifies as Treasure under the Treasure Act of 1996 in that it is greater than 10%
gold and more than 300 years old.

Leslie Webster
Keeper
Department of Prehistory and Europe
The British Museum

Sonja Marzinzik
Curator of Insular Early Medieval Collections
Department of Prehistory and Europe
The British Museum
My Treasure Diary - 3rd February 2006
Today I’ve come home from working away all week to find notification from the Coroners
Office at Chelmsford that the Inquest into my find is going to be held next Tuesday , 7th
February.

IM gobsmacked that this is being done so soon - and delighted too!

Thats less than 2 weeks from the British Museum sending the report to the actual Inquest.

The Inquest will be in public but IM not required to attend although I am entitled to if I wish. I
think I will try and get some time off to make the journey down there to see in the flesh what
happens on these occassions - or else I will feel I am not experiencing the whole journey through
the Treasure Act. If I do attend I need to let the Coroners Office know.

On another note I will be phoning one of the Essex newspapers tomorrow - they have picked up
on the Treasure Inquest from the court reports and called Caroline McDonald today for more
information. She has given them a bit of historical info already today but they would like to
speak to me too.
My Treasure Diary - 7th February 2006
Today I travelled down the A12 to Chelmsford to attend the inquest at Chelmsford Coroners
Court into my wee gold find in the rather grand Council Chambers.

I was met by a very friendly Mr Parfrey , the Coroners Officer who spent some time with me
explaining the proceeding and what would happen in the Inquest. He told me how the number of
Treasure Finds now coming through inquest had risen since the Treasure Act was implemented.
He is the chap who does all the liaison with Caroline McDonald , the FLO for Essex and is
rightly proud of how quickly he processes these cases through inquest rather than have them
sitting around waiting. Well done Mr Parfrey!

I had to wait some time in the waiting area as there were two inquests before mine - it is very
sobering to sit and witness families of road traffic accident victims waiting for their turn in the
Chambers - and put my wee find totally into perspective.

Once I was called into the Chamber , the Coroners Officer read out the details of the find and the
report from the British Museum and the Coroner, (Mrs C Beasley-Murray) declared it to be
Treasure. She has a number of forms to sign which will be sent off to the FLO, me, the
landowner, British Museum, DCMS.

That was it!

My Treasure Diary - 13th February 2006
Wee bit of excitement to start my Monday morning with today. Instead of starting work at 9am I
was on the beach at Brightlingsea, with my detector, and Caroline McDonald , my local Finds
Liaison Officer being interviewed by BBC Radio Essex in a live broadcast about my wee find.
They had picked up on the story from the couple of articles which appeared in the local press -
the Evening Gazette and the Essex Chronicle - following the Coroners Inquest.

Needless to say they wanted to have detector noises in the background so I had to sweep my coil
over finds I had placed on the sand !

As with most of the press attention so far, the questions centred around the financial worth of the
find. Caroline and myself went to great pains to get over the message that the real value of this
and other Treasure Finds isnt in the monetary value placed on them , but is in the historic
information and the story they help to build of the past.

Bearing in mind its Valentines day tomorrow it was also nice for Caroline to also be able to
mention a find I handed to her before the interview which is my 3rd Treasure find. Its a wee
button or cufflink which has 2 hearts and a crown on it and dates to the time of Charles II.

Caroline McDonald at Brightlingsea beach

So that was my 4 minutes of fame - dont think anyone I know heard it - apart from my Mum and
thats what counts!
My Treasure Diary - 21st February 2006
Back in December, my detecting pal Terry and I decided to visit one of the local farms we have
permission to detect on but where neither of us had ventured before. It was a very misty morning
with the sun glinting through in parts and quite eerie!

The field was quite roughly ploughed and damp and made for heavy going - but all good
exercise and muscle toning work………

The field was very quiet and there were hardly any signals at all from our detectors - in fact it
was a good half an hour before I heard a nice clear beep from my machine. On digging this
signal I found a small heavily -encrusted coin with a strange crescent shape on one side and what
could (with a bit of imagination) be a profile of a head. That along with one other signal which
was a lump of lead totalled my finds for the whole day and Terry fared no better.
After carefully cleaning this small wonderful coin emerged but I was none the wiser as to what it
could be.

The lettering on one side read as “DE LVNDONIA” so I started to search on the Intranet for this
phrase. I soon saw that this meant it was from London - then I spotted a link to the Portable
Antiquities database for a coin with this lettering - PAS reference ESS-F6FC74.
The description and images on here looked identical to my find but also said that this was “An
important and unusual find ”

The following morning I emailed Caroline McDonald my Finds Liaison Officer with images of
the coin who confirmed it was the same type of coin - and that this was only the second to have
been found in Essex. In total only four examples are known.

However when Caroline showed the coin images to the experts in early Medieval coins at the
Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, they were concerned that this might be a copy as they could
see what they believed to be a faint casting seam on the edges of the coin. I therefore arranged to
take the coin in person to let them see it in the flesh to clarify whether it was a contemporary
copy or the real thing. It emerged that what they thought was the casting seam was in fact my
cleaning - although I had removed the encrustation from the faces of the coin I had not cleaned
the edges very well……….

During this time I had contacted the landowner to let him know about the coin and its rarity and
that Colchester Castle Museum were interested in acquiring it for their collection.

This week the coin has gone on display at the museum along with the first coin found by another
detectorist in 2004. Colchester Castle Museum have issued a press release about the coins which
can be seen here:

http://www.colchester.gov.uk/news_det.asp?art_id=2945&sec_id=27

The local newspapers have picked up on this and articles have appeared showing the coins along
with my comments as follows:

Corinne Mills said: “When I found this coin it was a real puzzle trying to identify it. It was not in
any of the books I had so I resorted to searching the internet where I found an exact match on the
Portable Antiquities Scheme database – and the record told me it was a rare and very interesting
coin! That was very exciting and started me on a journey ending up with visiting the Fitzwilliam
Museum in Cambridge to allow the experts to inspect the coin and confirm exactly what it was.
It is part of our local history and being in Colchester Castle Museum means it can be shared with
all of us.”

Now I just need to POP along to the Museum to see it for myself - I am thrilled to have been able
to share this discovery in this way.

My Treasure Diary - 25th February 2006

This morning I popped along to Colchester Castle Museum to see the Anglo Saxon Coins on
display.

They are both in a display case just inside the entrance to the museum and are the first thing you
see when visiting!
My Treasure Diary - 6th March 2006
The silver medieval brooch I found back in November has been returned to me after being
disclaimed. On February 3rd I received a notification from the Coroners court that it would be
returned to me after 28 days had passed unless objection was received from the owner of the
land.

I took it with me to give to the landowner yesterday along with the description and report from
Caroline McDonald, my local Finds Liaison Officer.
He was very pleased as he has an avid interest in the history of the land he owns.

The find is now also on the PAS database

My Treasure Diary -13th March 2006

another treasure find …………but not by me this time!

My ever patient detecting partner Terry has shared in the excitement of my lucky treasure finds
to date - and his patience paid off last Sunday when he uncovered a Bronze Age Pennannular
Ring (sometimes called Ring Money)

It was great to see him literally dancing in the field !

My Treasure Diary -14th March 2006b
I emailed the Treasure Department at the BM at the end of February to ask if they were able to
tell me when the wee gold fragment was likely to go before the Treasure Valuation Committee -
which is the next step in the journey through the Treasure Act.

Fi in the Treasure Department replied telling me that the DCMS (Department of Culture , Media
and Sport) deals with the second part of the process (the valuations) rather than the British
Museum and that she had passed my email onto them.
Today I’ve heard from Laura Dance of the Treasure Valuation Committee in the Cutural
Property Unit. She has told me that assuming no hitches it should go before the TVC on 28th
April.

Not long at all to wait!

My Treasure Diary - 19th April 2006

I have also been sent this lovely line drawing of my find - and can now see the images of the find
on the PAS database

The image was drawn by David Williams and is copyright of PAS

My Treasure Diary -The Treasure Act
I’m always keen (aka nosey) to know the exact process and procedure on anything to help me
understand where we are and why - and the Treasure Act is no different. I wanted to know now
the DCMS have taken over this part of the process exactly what would happen in the lead up to
the Treasure Valuation Committee and what happens afterwards. Laura Dance from the DCMS
has very patiently provided me with information and also answers to numerous questions - sorry
Laura!

Here goes:

Once the coroner has notified the British Museum that he/she has declared the find treasure, the
British Museum sends an object report and the treasure receipt form (and sometimes images) to
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Independent Assessments
Before a find goes before the Treasure Valuation Committee (TVC), The DCMS commissions
independent assessments from one or more members of the antiquities trade (their panel contains
members from auctioneers such as Bonhams, Sotheby’s, Morton and Eden, Dix Noonan Webb
etc).
This, along with the experience of individual TVC members and any comment from the
finder/landowner/museum, provides a starting point for the TVC discussions.

Provisional Valuation
The next stage for your find is for it to be seen by a provisional valuer. The DCMS start
commissioning valuations about six weeks before the meeting. The batch of inquest notifications
from the British Museum are sorted through into object/period types and are then sent to the
most appropriate provisional valuer (for example, Roman and Iron Age coin finds will go to
Morton & Eden).
The provisional Valuer is sent a letter listing the items the DCMS would like them to see as well
as the object reports. The provisional valuer then goes to the British Museum to view the actual
items.
The DCMS ask for the provisional valuations to be back about 2-3 weeks before the TVC
meeting

Notifying the Finders/Landowners/Museums

As soon as the provisional valuations are back the DCMS write to the
finders/landowners/museums, telling them of the date of the next TVC meeting and sending
them copies of the object report and the provisional valuation.
If the finders/landowners/museums wish to comment on any aspect of the report or provisional
valuation, or provide their own privately commissioned valuation, but do not have time to do so,
they can request that the find is considered at a later meeting. Otherwise, DCMS try to get finds
to the earliest possible meeting.

The TVC research finds in advance of meeting

About a week before the meeting, the TVC will be sent a briefing pack by the DCMS, containing
all the info they have on the finds to be seen (object report, provisional valuation, scientific
analysis if available and images if available). This enables the members to research the finds in
advance of the meeting.

The TVC Meeting

At the meeting (which is held in the British Museum, as finds are kept there for security), the
find is examined by each member of the TVC. They have access to the British Museum curators
if they wish to ask technical questions about the find. They talk about the current market for the
type of object and discuss the provisional valuation. They offer an opinion on its
condition/interest/archaeological significance/etc and how this might affect the market. They
might decide that they want a second opinion on the find, in which case the DCMS have to defer
it to another meeting (they try and avoid this by discussing in advance with the British Museum
which finds are likely to be problematic, either because they are unusual or significant, and by
commissioning two valuations in advance). All being well, the TVC will decide on a valuation to
recommend.

Notifying the Finders/Landowners/Museums of the Valuation

After the meeting, the DCMS writes to the finders/landowners/museums, telling them that the
TVC has said xxx and recommends a valuation of £ xxx. Finders/landowners/museums must
then say within one month if they feel TVC should reconsider this valuation.

If the Finders/landowners waive their “reward” then it stops the process dead and the find is just
handed over to the museum, and the finder and landowner get a certificate to thank them (new
from this year).
If one waives, then the valuation has to continue for the person who does want his share.
For the process to be speeded up, the earlier it happens the better, though people can waive at
any time in the process, even after the museum has paid (in that case the DCMS would refund
the museum).

Museum gets Invoiced for the valuation amount

As soon as all parties have agreed the valuation (or the Secretary of State has made a
determination, if a dispute continues), the museum is invoiced and has 4 months to pay (this
allows for the fact that museums generally need to apply to external funding bodies for purchase
grants). At the same time, the DCMS will ask Finders/landowners for their bank details so that
the reward can be transferred into their accounts once the money is received

Payment to the finder and landowner

As museum payment deadlines get nearer, the DCMS might start to get in touch with the
Museum to check that fundraising is going well. As soon as DCMS receives the money from the
museum, they pass it on to the finder and landowner

My Treasure Diary - 19th May 2006

Today was the day my wee runic find was due to go before the Treasure Valuation Committee
and I emailed the Treasure Department at the British Museum to make sure.

Fi from the Treasure Department has kindly replied as follows:

Dear Corinne,

Yes, your find did come up in the TVC today; the DCMS will be in touch
formally, but I can let you know that the committee discussed the find,
and decided to get a second provisional valuation before making a
recommendation. They do this sometimes, when they want to be really sure
before making a final decision.

The DCMS will no doubt aim to have this in time for the next TVC, but it
does depend on the provisional valuer’s schedule - they will be in touch
to inform you of this over the next few days I’m sure, and when they
have it, will communicate the second valuation to you in the same way as
before, prior to the relevant meeting.

Sorry not to have more concrete news!

Regards, Fi
My Treasure Diary - 10th July 2006
Less than 11 months after I found and handed this tiny piece of excitement over to Caroline my
FLO , it has now been before the Treasure Valuation Committee on the 30th June. Prior to that
two separate valuations were done by the “experts” who are called into the British Museum by
the DCMS to actually see the objects. I think it was a hard call for them to come up with any
figure bearing in mind there is nothing else to base a valuation on apart from coins from the same
era.

Now its down to Robert Rose and the Braintree Museum where it will go on display to find the
funding needed to acquire this small fragment of gold. I am tickled by the thought that my small
gold find will perhaps be in the same display cabinet as a certain gold Roman phallus!!

The final valuation figure is £1,100 which I am very happy about and I hope the landowner is
happy with this too.

The find has been a true find of a lifetime and not one I am likely to repeat! It has also been a
rollercoaster of a ride - not least of all because just days after I handed this to Caroline, my dear
Dad died after a long illness. I have pondered long and hard on whether to disclaim my share of
any reward, but have decided that any money I receive will go towards a headstone for my dear
POP.

A Treasure for a Treasure…….

My Treasure Diary - 26th October 2006

We are now into October - and the only news I can tell you is that the fragment is again going
before the Treasure Valuation Committee on this Friday.

Its being resubmitted at the request of the landowner who has queried how the valuation was
reached.

More to follow when I know the result!

My Treasure Diary - 10th Feb 2007
The find was referred back to the TVC by the farmer but the outcome remained the same -
valued at £1000.

Ive just received the request for my bank details - so journey nearly at an end.

Now need to contact Braintree Museum to find out if and when it will be displayed