10. Lockdown Gardening Discovery During the pandemic lockdown in 2020,
just like many of us who suddenly found ourselves spending loads more time at home, a homeowner in
the southeast of England got bored. With all this extra time on their hands, they decided to do some
serious yard work. So, they took up gardening with a vengeance! While weeding their yard in April,
however, they scooped 63 gold coins out of the dirt! The gold coins date back to the reign of
King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Amazingly, four of the coins were found inscribed with the
initials of various wives that the king had throughout his tenure as ruler of England.
This includes Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour.
But get this. According to the New York Times, this was only one of over 47,000
archaeological discoveries reported in England and Wales throughout 2020.
The lack of things to do meant many people took digging in the garden to whole new depths.
We don't know exactly how much the amateur gardener made from the 63 coins they found,
or if they even made any money at all. By law, people are required to report any finds to the
government so they dont get lost or sold so that history can be shared with everyone.
9. Ancient Crusader Sword In October of 2021, a scuba diver
stumbled upon a piece of treasure 900 years old. The diver, who just so happened to be an amateur,
was 13 feet (3.9m) underwater, and 650 feet (198m) from the coast of Israel when he came across this
incredible find. From out of the darkness, he saw the unmistakable shape of a sword.
The blade was 3 feet (0.9m) long, with its handle totally crusted over with sea barnacles. Unable
to contain his excitement, the diver grabbed the sword and swam to the surface. He then got
a hold of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and told them of his discovery. Putting the artifact
into their hands assured that this amazing piece of history could be properly preserved.
The diver believed the sword had been buried under the sediment but had likely risen to the
surface thanks to undercurrents moving the sand. The really amazing part of the discovery comes
from what the archaeologists learned about the sword. Immediately, they recognized it as a sword
from the days of the Crusaders. Its shape is the exact shape of a Crusader sword. Additionally, the
sword was discovered roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) from an ancient crusader fortress, the Atlit Castle.
For those who don't know what exactly the Crusades were, they were a series of military expeditions
undertaken between 1096 and the end of the 13th century. The Crusades were fought by
European Christians attempting to retake the Holy Land, meaning Jerusalem, from the Muslim
armies. This amazing sword had belonged to one of these European warriors, probably stationed
at the nearby fortress. How the sword ended up buried beneath the waves will remain a mystery.
8. Rare Roman Statues While working on the new HS2
railway system in England archaeologists unearthed a miraculous trove of treasure from the Roman era.
The shocking discovery was made at an excavation in Stoke Mandeville, when workers were digging
up an ancient Norman church. They had already discovered that the original church was built over
an even older Anglo-Saxon structure. It was in the final days of their excavations when they found
that there was a third layer to the site. Beneath the crumbled ruins of the Anglo-Saxon structure
were remnants of Roman occupation. In total, the archaeologists dug up
three huge stone statues. Two were busts, and one was just a head. The priceless discoveries
were found together, with the busts being a representation of a man and the other a woman.
The third statue, with only the head recovered, was of a child. All three were discovered
surrounding a circular ditch and may have been vandalized before they were ripped down
from wherever they had been on display. According to Dr. Rachel Wood, the lead
archaeologist on the project, all the statues are in surprisingly good condition. They have
been so perfectly preserved for over 2000 years that you can still see the clear impression of
the people the statues were made to depict. It's like staring into the eyes of the past.
Archaeologists were also able to recover a hexagonal glass vase at the site,
and now believe that they have uncovered all artifacts located there. It’s incredible what the
railway construction project had unintentionally unearthed about the history in the area.
7. The Bactrian Treasure The Bactrian Treasure is a
collection of over 20,000 golden artifacts. It's the most legendary treasure in the history of
Afghanistan – though right now, where it’s actually located is a complete mystery.
Let's backup to the beginning. Every last one of these 20,000 artifacts, made from pure gold,
were uncovered from a series of graves at Tillya Tepe back in 1978.
These graves are over 2000 years old. At the time of the discovery, the gold was placed on display
at the National Museum of Afghanistan, as well as the Presidential Palace. There were gold rings,
countless gold coins, weapons crafted from pure gold, and dazzling crowns fit for royalty. There
was also a lot of treasure crafted from stones like turquoise, lapis lazuli, and carnelian.
According to scholars, the graves belonged to six extremely wealthy nomads from Asia. They
had likely been traveling across the region with a huge hoard of treasure on them when they died.
Then, for some unknown reason, all six nomads were given the most impressive burial rites possible.
They were entombed with their limitless fortune. None of their graves, in the thousands of years
after their passing, were ever pillaged. This is incredibly rare in the world of archaeology.
Sadly, we don't know where the Bactrian Treasure is today. We know that it was moved sometime in
2021 when the government of Afghanistan began to crumble. And we also know based on reports
coming out of Afghanistan, that the Taliban are currently searching for the treasure.
The Taliban has stated that they will protect archaeological and heritage culture sites,
but whether that is really the case remains to be seen.
6. The Carolingian Treasure Hoard In 2020, a couple of amateur treasure hunters
with metal detectors stumbled upon a hoard of coins from the 9th century. It happened in Poland,
just outside the small town of Biskupiec. But unlike the Bactrian Treasure that was
made up almost entirely of gold artifacts, this treasure hoard was made up of mostly silver.
A total of 118 silver denarii coins were dug from the dirt, with most of
them dating from some time between 814 and 877. This was the time of the Carolingians,
a Frankish dynasty. The Frankish reached their peak in the year 800 when Charlemagne was crowned
Emperor of Rome and Emperor of the Carolingian Empire. But when Charlemagne passed away in 814,
the empire fractured. Within a century, the larger kingdom had splintered into the Holy Roman Empire
and the Kingdom of France. As for the coins, they were
minted about 50 years after Charlemagne’s death. The ruler of the Carolingians from between 814
and 840 was Louis the Pious, followed from 840 to 877 by Charles the Bald. The coin
hoard had probably been buried by someone who wanted to keep their treasure safe for later,
but died and never got around to digging it up. 5. Buried Spanish Treasure
A buried Spanish treasure from the 11th century recently ended up for sale on social media!
The Amarguilla treasure, which is named for the estate it was found buried on, includes a set of
623 pieces of 11th-century jewelry, including 98 pieces of gold, silver and gilded silver.
Included in the gold pieces are four wrist and ankle bracelets, with joins that are shaped to
look like bird’s heads, as well as a beautiful and elegant Star of David set within a gold ring.
The treasure dates back to 1009, when a Civil War broke out in the Caliphate of Cordoba.
This was when Muslims ruled the Iberian peninsula of Spain, along with huge parts of North Africa.
The war lasted for 20 years, with the end result being the defeat of Hisham II
and the beginning of decline for the Muslim invaders of Spain.
At some point during all this upheaval, it’s most likely that a Jewish citizen took the
treasure and buried it. They likely feared that the fighting would show up at their front door
and their valuables and jewelry would be stolen. Well, these fears had likely been correct because
the hoarder never did dig up his gold. Instead, the treasure remained buried for over 1000 years.
It was finally discovered by the police in an industrial warehouse of all places. Photographs
appeared on social media depicting treasure that clearly had more value than your average gold
jewelry, and came from the 11th century. Alberto Canto, an archaeologist from the Autonomous
University of Madrid, described the pieces as being part of the best collection of jewelry
ever found from that time. National Police then had to track down the person who had posted the
images and had possession of the items in order to prevent any illegal trading of the treasure.
What would you do if you found this kind of treasure? Would you try to keep or sell
the items yourself, or take them to a museum where they belong? Let me know in the comments
and if you’re liking this video, be sure to hit the thumbs up and subscribe buttons if
you haven’t already! :) 4. Monte Alban’s Tomb 7
Tomb 7 is one of the richest burial plots ever discovered in ancient Mesoamerica. Tomb 7 was
unearthed at Monte Alban, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Monte Alban was the ceremonial center for
the Zapotec people, as well as one of the earliest cities ever constructed in pre-modern Mexico.
The city was built around the year 500 AD and became a sprawling capital within a short time.
The city finally lost its power in the year 750 when neighboring states started flexing their
own influence and breaking apart from the Zapotec people. Monte Alban was then abandoned by the year
900 and then repopulated roughly a century later. The people who showed up to Monte Alban after the
Zapotec were the Mixtec. The Mixtec ruled a huge swath of Mexico from Oaxaca to Tlaxcala,
from between 1000 and 1697. They held their power until around the time that the Spanish
came with their boats and their guns and changed Central and South American history forever.
It was the Mixtec people who filled the tombs of Monte Alban with unimaginable treasures.
When archeologists broke open the sealed entranceway to Tomb 7, they couldn't believe their
eyes. The tomb was nearly overflowing with gold! The archaeologists uncovered exotic gold
necklaces, mysterious pendants decorated with even more mysterious zoomorphic creatures,
and impressive headdresses that may have been worn by royalty. They also discovered a massive
golden mask, and many other beautiful and mysterious artifacts that held clues about
the lives and deaths of the members of this incredible ancient culture stored inside. Most
of these treasures can now be seen on display in the city of Oaxaca at the local museums.
3. The Nebra Sky Disc The Nebra Sky Disc is one of the most amazing
artifacts ever discovered – period. Most experts agree it's at least 3600 years old, originating
from the Bronze Age. What makes it incredible? It's the oldest map of the stars in the world!
Unesco even includes the Nebra Sky Disc on its list of important historical documents.
This treasure was found back in 1999, in Germany. The Nebra Sky Disc is a
small plate emblazoned with gold symbols meant to represent the sun, the moon, and
the stars. There are also representations of the solstices and other mysterious cosmic phenomena.
But here's what's really interesting. Even though the artifact was found hundreds of miles from
Stonehenge, there could be a link between the two. When Stonehenge was built in 2500
BC, its purpose had something to do with the movement of the sun. The Nebra Sky Disc
is just about as old as Stonehenge, and also depicts the movement of the sun. Experts say
the sun was a central theme to European religions throughout the Bronze Age. Maybe whoever made the
Nebra Sky Disc practiced the same religion as the people who built Stonehenge. What do you think?
2. St. Augustine Shipwreck In 2021, a group of volunteers
went down to Crescent Beach in St. Augustine, Florida. Their job was to dig up what experts say
could be a shipwreck from the 19th century. The volunteer researchers, in participation with the
St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, found proof of a smashed vessel hidden
beneath the sand. And so far, they have already uncovered a huge portion of the ship’s hull.
The ship is believed to be the Caroline Eddy, a merchant vessel that sank back in 1880.
This is based on a log kept by the keeper of the St. Augustine Lighthouse. The keeper detailed how
the Caroline Eddy was struck by a storm at least 9 miles (14km) out at sea. The ship sank before
it ever reached the shore. Then, over the next few years, it was pushed all the way onto the beach by
the shifting tides. The wreckage was covered over with sand and then lost for 140 years,
until a storm in 2020 revealed it yet again. While the volunteer archaeologists haven't found
any actual treasure, they do say that based on the size of the timber used to build the vessel,
it was definitely a cargo ship. That means even if there isn't treasure buried with it on the beach,
there is likely goods, artifacts, and perhaps even treasure still sitting at the bottom of the sea.
It’s just waiting to be found. 1. Sunken Gold
Amateur freedivers have discovered gold treasure from the fall of the Roman Empire.
The divers were swimming along the coast of Spain when they noticed something shiny glinting from
the rocks below them. Upon closer inspection, the shiny objects turned out to be coins from
1500 years ago. After more and more digging, they realized they had an actual treasure hoard
on their hands. It has since been recorded as one of the largest gold coin hoards found
that dates back to the Roman Empire. The freedivers took a small sample of
the coins that they found and got ahold of some archaeologists from the University of Alicante.
Then with the help of the archaeologists, they went back and uncovered a total of 53 gold coins.
They've been dated from between 364 and 408, the years in which the Western Roman Empire was in
a major decline. The Roman emperors depicted on the coins include Valentinian I, Valentinian II,
Theodosius I, Arcadius, and Honorius. But coins were not all they found. They
also uncovered copper nails and the deteriorated remains of a sea chest. In other words, the coins
had been stashed in some sort of treasure box when they got lost at sea. How they wound up underwater
is anyone’s guess – though it’s likely the chest came from an unknown shipwreck. After 1500 years
submerged, the chest disintegrated and the gold coins got swept away in the current.
Have you ever found archaeological treasure totally by accident?
Let me know any of your experiences in the comments and thanks a lot for watching! Don’t
forget to hit subscribe and come back soon for another awesome video! See you next time! Bye! :)