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50,000 Treasures
Unearthed By Britain's
Amateur Archaeologists
By Arifa Akbar
The Independent - UK
10-27-4
When Peter and Christine Johnson decided on a whim to shut their fitness shop early one day last year to try their luck at treasure-hunting, their metal detectors had hardly been used.
Armed with a plastic bag for any swag, they expected to come back ruddy-cheeked and empty-handed after their first trek out into the fields of Kent.
Twenty minutes later, they had uncovered a precious hoard of 360 coins dating back to the Iron Age - two of them of a kind never previously found in Britain. The extraordinary collection has since been classified as an official treasure. The British Museum is also keen to acquire it.
Their beginner's luck in unearthing the "Celtic Potins" in a field in Thurnham has earned them a place among Britain's most ardent treasure hunters, whose discoveries span 500,000 years and include 47,000 archaeological curiosities.
They form part of this year's discoveries archived by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), the nation's largest community archaeological project, which published a report of finds yesterday. PAS was created two years ago with a
Unearthed By Britain's
Amateur Archaeologists
By Arifa Akbar
The Independent - UK
10-27-4
When Peter and Christine Johnson decided on a whim to shut their fitness shop early one day last year to try their luck at treasure-hunting, their metal detectors had hardly been used.
Armed with a plastic bag for any swag, they expected to come back ruddy-cheeked and empty-handed after their first trek out into the fields of Kent.
Twenty minutes later, they had uncovered a precious hoard of 360 coins dating back to the Iron Age - two of them of a kind never previously found in Britain. The extraordinary collection has since been classified as an official treasure. The British Museum is also keen to acquire it.
Their beginner's luck in unearthing the "Celtic Potins" in a field in Thurnham has earned them a place among Britain's most ardent treasure hunters, whose discoveries span 500,000 years and include 47,000 archaeological curiosities.
They form part of this year's discoveries archived by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), the nation's largest community archaeological project, which published a report of finds yesterday. PAS was created two years ago with a