Man Metal Detecting Discovers Rusty 'Spoon,' Then Looks A Little Closer And Chokes Up
One stranger's trash is another's treasure — is it a cliché? Sure, but sometimes it turns out to be true. Over in Scotland, a man with a metal detector heard a loud series of beeps, and after getting his hands dirty, he found the source — pieces of English history. But later on, the hunter wondered if it was worth all the trouble.
Search Party
Metal detectors in hand, Derek McLennan and his friend Reverend David Bartholomew went out onto the grounds of the Church of Scotland. It appeared it was going to be a day like another other. McLennan had already searched the area for a year in vain. He wondered if his biggest triumph was already behind him.
Lucky Finders
Previously, McLennan had discovered an underground stockpile of medieval coins. Remarkably, he was just a few years into his metal detecting career. McLennan had made quite the legacy for himself, but what about now?
Treasure Hunter Duo
One day back in September 2014, McLennan went along the grounds again. With his friend, and armed with his metal detector, McLennan once again searched the surrounding area. Then the device whizzed awake.
Underneath
The initial discovery was already a rarity. Buried under two feet of dirt, McLennan had picked up something that his device never managed to locate before. Excited, the treasure hunter began to dig. He hoped it was something more than some tin cans left by a litterbug.
Dust Off
Clearly, the find was much older. The hunters uncovered a silver arm ring first. Then there was a gold ingot, beads, and decorated cup with possible Byzantine origins. Finally the rusted spoon was taken out. It seemed like the least valuable item of the bunch — at first.
Based on the age of the objects and their proximity to the church, it appeared that the cache was the product of a Viking raid. The marauders frequently targeted religious sites for their precious metals and gemstones. These treasures must have been hidden away or left behind.
Expert Opinions
Following a bit of cleanup, McLennan and Bartholomew contacted the authorities. This wasn't a purely altruistic move either. All of the artifacts were housed in the National Museums of Scotland, which promised a very lucrative payday to the finders.
The Galloway Hoard
Reporters dubbed the find the "Galloway Hoard." Close to 100 items were discovered — not bad for a painstakingly long search of the grounds. Once the relics were given over to experts, they were carefully studied and catalogued. That was when experts discovered that the spoon was something else entirely.
Silver Lining
Using a specialized instrument, the rusted spoon was revealed to be a religious artifact. More specifically, it was a 10th century Anglo Saxon silver cross. It glimmered in its natural beauty, and historians eagerly analyzed the symbols etched across its surface.
Presentation Matters
The cross was to be worn, likely by a high-powered individual. Seen along its surfaces were the Gospel authors of the New Testament, symbolized by earthly figures. There was a man for Matthew, a lion for Mark, a cow for Luke, and an eagle for John. Thrilling as the discovery was, it also came with some questions.
Twist in the Mix
Namely, who was going to be paid for the find and how much? Originally, the plan was, should McLennan have discovered anything, a $3 million dollar prize would be split up. That meant McLennan would take a share, and so would the Church of Scotland.
Rules of Reward
An unwritten rule among the metal detector community is been that if any valuables is found, the cash reward is shared with the landowners. Yet, an actual law of Scotland states something completely different: that these treasures are finder's keepers.
Personal Collection
The money issue of the Galloway Hoard got more complicated from there. Reverend Bartholomew shifted his loyalties as the Church of Scotland realized his friend was going to take the reward for himself, as he legally could. Granted, McLennan's intentions were pure.
Other Adventures
McLennan and his girlfriend, Sharon, went forward and created an organization that helped veterans. Called Beyond the Beep, its purpose was to aid in the mental health of the veterans who had recently returned from tours of duty. While it was a noble cause, this charity did not keep McLennan free from controversy.
Financial Disagreement
The landowners where McLennan had discovered the hoard, on the other hand, planned to use their share for the local parish. The two parties reached an agreement about splitting the profits...until it disappeared. McLennan soon disappeared from negotiations, and seemingly from the face of the Earth.
Out of Touch
The issue escalated to the point where the Church of Scotland directly reached out to Bartholomew. McLennan's friend did his best in the meantime. Emails were sent and phone calls were made. But Bartholomew couldn't reach him. He soon learned his treasure-hunting companion might have had another goal in mind.
Game Changer
Not long after McLennan had struck luck with his find, he and his partner Shanon were involved in a terrible car accident. Bartholomew believed the costs of recovery might have played into McLennan going back on his word.
Escalation
Bartholomew tried to visit McLennan with no luck. All communications by McLennan had been halted. Left with no other choice, the Church of Scotland resorted to the next stage in attaining their share of the reward.
Court Case
The matter became a legal one in 2019, with the Church of Scotland hoping to seek a financial payday with the help of a court ruling. If McLennan found out he was being sued, however, he was keeping hush on it.
Bygones or Not
The friendship between Rev. Bartholomew and McLennan appeared to have fallen apart, if not ended altogether. Perhaps a repair is in the future for them. Then again, the odds might be against that happy ending depending on the judge's ruling.
Museum Stop
As for the Galloway Hoard, the National Museums of Scotland made plans to settle the discoveries in a special exhibit. The silver lining of the find was that experts could uncover a new chapter in British history, though it didn't necessarily end well for the men who discovered it. In fact, McLennan could now be facing serious legal ramifications.
Experienced Seekers
He'd better hope he doesn't meet the fame fate as George Powell and Layton Davies. In 2015, these professional treasure hunters drove an hour and a half north of their home in South Wales to a small hamlet named Eye, which was a few miles outside of the bustling center of Leominster. With metal detectors in hand, they began their hopeful search for something exciting.
The Land Of Detector Hobbyists
Throughout both England and Wales, there are about 20,000 detector enthusiasts, so that goes to show you just how prevalent underground treasure was throughout the United Kingdom. Mostly the finds were just mundane metal fragments, but just knowing there could be something out there kept the hobby alive. And, not long into the two men's terrain-scouring afternoon, both detectors picked up signals.
The Search Begins!
The men carefully waved their instruments to pinpoint the location where the signal was strongest, and then the frantic digging began. Powell and Davies both knew their excitement could end with disappointment, but once they reached a depth of three feet, they stared in awe.
A Discovery Like No Other
There, hidden in the earth, was an unbelievable collection of various golden objects. Powell and Davies looked at each other in disbelief. This was the largest collection they had ever found, and they'd been dedicated detectorists for years! But, although the find was shocking, knowing a bit of history about the land didn't make it all that impossible.
A Viking History
During the second half of the eighteenth century, droves of Vikings launched massive attacks into Anglo-Saxon Britain from their homeland of Scandinavia. They would typically ransack monastery vaults, which contained intricately crafted silver, gold artifacts, and coins. It certainly looked like the two men stumbled across a Viking treasure hoard. But, despite the excitement coursing through their veins, discoveries that large came with a catch.
Treasure Act Of 1996
Due to the popularity of metal detecting, Britain passed a history-preserving law called the Treasure Act of 1996. This law required anyone finding two or more pieces of actual treasure in the same place had to report it to local authorities. Since the men found literally an entire hoard, they were under legal obligation to report it. Especially since many of the coins in the discovery were some of the rarest on the planet.
"Two Emperor" Coins
These ninth-century coins featured two Anglo-Saxon kings, Ceolwulf II of Mercia and Alfred of Wessex. Called "Two Emperor" coins, numismatists (coin specialists) only knew of two ever discovered, and neither of them had ever hit the open market. One coin alone could fetch around $100,000, so if Powell and Davies found a whole collection, it could be worth millions! Soon, a British museum curator caught wind of the discovery.
A Frustrating Realization
Gareth Williams was a curator of early-medieval coinage and Viking collections. Naturally, when he realized a hoard of possible Viking treasure was found, he was more than intrigued. However, he wasn't exactly pleased with the details. Apparently, several of the Two Emperor coins were being offered to various dealers, which meant the monumental find was in danger of disappearing into the black market. He demanded the men turn in their find now.
Reavill Reaches Out
Word of the hoard soon reached Peter Reavill, the local Finds Liaison Officer. Once he heard about the Saxon coins, he emailed the two men to remind them if, in fact, they had a significant find on their hands, they needed to call authorities. But, he was met with silence from Davies and the words, "I won’t tolerate any slander," from Powell. Meanwhile, the two men did approach someone else with more information.
The Questioning Begins
Two days after Reavill's email, Powell and Davies went to the Museum of Wales to meet with a man Davies had previously dealt with before, Finds Liaison Officer Mark Lodwick. They presented him with several items from the Viking hoard: a golden bracelet, a ring, a crystal orb, and two of the Saxon coins. Lodwick began questioning as to the treasure's whereabouts, and something didn't sit right with their answers.
Something Fishy Brewing
Lodwick noticed the two Saxon coins had similar signs of wear and tear, indicating they were buried together. But, the men insisted they were found apart, perhaps to sidestep the Treasure Act of 1996. Then, when asked where exactly the treasure was found, Powell pointed to several different locations on a map. When checked by Lodwick using Google Earth, it didn't even exist. There was clearly something else going on here.
Secret Meeting
So, what was happening with this Viking treasure trove? Well, just as curator Gareth Williams and Finds Liaison Officer Reavill feared, the coins were being sold illegally. Just two days after the men made the epic discovery, they took several pieces to a café where they met people who could help them conceal the lucrative hoard.
Bringing More Accomplices Onboard
One person at the secret powwow was Paul Wells (left), a retired builder who had since taken up an interest in the coin trade. He was floored. "It was as if they had been put in the ground on the day they were minted. My eyes nearly fell out of my head." Several days later, Powell and Davies consulted Simon Wicks (right), a coin trader and detectorist with a notoriously shady reputation.
Contacting Authorities
Wicks took several pieces of the Viking hoard to a local auction house called Dix Noonan Webb, where a coin cataloguer could determine their approximate worth. James Brown, the in-house expert, immediately recognized the items as coming from one single hoard, and he knew Wicks was trying to illegally move these pieces through the black market. Brown, without hesitation, contacted the authorities.
The House Of Cards Crumbles
The police were briefed on the possibility of a heritage crime, and the British Numismatic Trade Association was also alerted to this activity. Powell and Davies, at the time, had no idea the investigation was underway. A little more than two months after officers were briefed, everything came crashing down.
Lies, Lies, Lies
Naturally, Powell and Davies claimed they were unaware of the potential value of the coins — and the fact there was a hoard at all. Powell insisted he was a long-time detectorist who always obtained permission to search land and turned in any questionable discoveries. After the arrest and initial questioning, police searched both men's homes in case they were hiding even more.
The Search Continues
Based on the phony story Powell and Davies wove, officers expected to find something they could use as evidence in their homes. However, besides some empty glass display cases, the searches turned up empty. "They didn’t have the silver coins, and things like that, that you’d expect from detectorists who went out on a regular basis," Reaville said. But, that didn't mean the men wouldn't pay for what the officers already unearthed.
Not So Lucrative Anymore
Powell, Davies, Wicks, and Wells stood trial for the Viking hoard crime in 2019. All four men faced charges of theft, conspiracy to conceal, and converting criminal property. The trial last two months, and all four men were found guilty of every charge. Powell was slammed with 10 years behind bars, Davies received eight, and Wicks got five. Wells, however, managed to get a 12-month probation.
Greed Always Fails
Greed. That was what drove the men to do what they did. The shame of it all was if they simply obtained the correct permits and were honest about their find, they would have still received a huge payday. But the truth is that even following laws about buried treasure can lead to serious trouble..
A Fellow Detectorist
In 2009, Terry Herbert of West Midlands, Britain, had a lot of time on his hands. The only silver-lining of being unemployed, he discovered, was being able to dedicate every day to his one true love: treasure hunting.
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That Fateful Day
Most of his days were spent grazing through the plush fields of the West Midlands, waiting to hear the rare high-pitched beep of his metal detector. His searches usually ended in silence...until one summer day when everything changed.
His Trusty Tool
Fourteen years before that fateful July day, Terry was at a yard sale when he came across a used metal detector. It was ￡2.50, and it became his tool of choice over the next decade. It also led him to his fortune…
The Johnson Farm
And so, on that day in 2009, Terry and his metal detector searched through grass and dirt for something interesting. This time, he took his hunt to his friend Fred Johnson’s farm. He didn’t expect much to happen...until he heard the aforementioned beeping.
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Could It Be Gold?
He immediately started digging, and when he came upon a small, indistinguishable object that looked a lot like gold, all he saw were dollar signs. So did the historians he called to appraise the objects.
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Surprisingly Valuable
After days of digging, it was deduced that Terry had uncovered the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasures in British history. Every piece of misshapen gold and silver was valued at a higher price than anyone expected — least of all Terry and Fred.
Partners
About￡3.28 million ($4 million) later, Terry and Fred were international sensations...they just had to figure out the "money" thing. It was a complicated situation: Sure, Terry found the loot, but it was all buried on Fred’s land. So the two came to an agreement.
50/50
They decided to split the money 50/50. But as the years passed, both men had time to think about their little agreement...and the more pages they turned on their calendars, the more dissatisfied both men became.
Feeling Robbed
In his new bungalow, Terry had a realization: Why did he have to share the money? He was “not that happy with [his] lot really,” he said. He remembered a prophetic warning he had received long before he even found the treasure.
Forming a Grudge
“Five years before...I was warned off of it because I was told Fred would want all of anything that was found,” Terry revealed. This stuck with him in the years following the discovery, and a decade later, he had a message for Fred.
“He’s acting like a child and cutting his nose off to spite his face....I’m not sure...we can patch things up,” Terry admitted. He likened the treasure to a “curse” — despite it making him rich, he thinks it destroyed his friendship with Fred.
A good feud has anger on both sides, and Fred more than supplied his share. “I wish I’d never met the man,” Fred said of Terry and his metal detector. “It has caused me nothing but bother, all of this.”
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Like Terry, Fred blames greed for ruining their friendship. “Sometimes I just wish one of the poor veterinary students had found it instead, because it would have set them up for life rather than me,” Fred lamented.
It's true: In a twist move, Fred claimed that the money meant very little to him. What he valued was hard work and loyalty — two things Terry, according to Fred, had pushed aside as soon as he heard his metal detector beep.
But when Terry heard this accusation, he was quick to deny it. “Sometimes, I wish I’d never found that hoard,” he admitted, citing the problems caused by the money. You always hear of people regretting their riches, but you never think it’s true…
For the two ex-friends, however, the rift the money caused is all too real, not to mention permanent. The strangest part? Three years after Terry’s lighting-in-a-bottle discovery, archaeologists captured lighting-in-a-bottle once again.
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In an ironic turn of events, archaeologists in 2012 found even more artifacts buried underneath Fred’s property, which meant more money going Terry and Fred's way. The world waited to see if the duo would use this chance to rekindle their friendship…
But all the money in the world wouldn’t bring them back together, and Fred’s plowed fields only stirred up painful memories. “Some people would write to me asking permission [to search], but I’d chuck the letters in the fire,” Fred said.
Even ten years after the discovery, the duo hasn’t buried the hatchet. At an event that marked the 10 year anniversary, Fred showed up without Terry. “Terry was never a friend, so I haven’t lost any friends,” he claimed.
For Fred, the most exciting part of the whole experience wasn’t the money or the feud with Terry — it was the discovery itself. “The money was a plus but seeing the treasure coming out of the ground was a wonderful experience,” he said.
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Terry and Fred's findings will change the way we think about Saxon Britain forever. Among the treasure found were golden crosses, sword hilt fittings, and numerous jewels. Some consider it a tragedy that such priceless artifacts were buried for so long…
But for others, the real tragedy is Terry and Fred’s ruined friendship. Yes, the history-making treasure sheds light on Britain’s past, but at what cost? Some believe that everyone would be better off had the treasure never been found.
But the allure of riches will always be too strong. At least, that's how the eccentric Forrest Fenn, an 87-year-old in Santa Fe, New Mexico, saw it. He, along with his wife Peggy, dealt artworks and antiques out of a high-end gallery, and he tore his community apart with promises of gold.
He receives 90 emails per day, none of which inquire about the exotic items in his personal collection (like a mummified falcon from King Tut's tomb or Sitting Bull's peace pipe, to name a few). They don't ask about the paintings he's sold, either. Instead, they ask about hidden treasure.
See, a few decades ago in 1988, Forrest faced mortality in a serious way. Diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer he wanted to leave his mark on the world in a meaningful way. So he plotted a crazy scheme: Bring treasure into the mountains and die beside it.
Amazingly, Forrest beat cancer so he shelved his treasure idea... at least for a few decades. On his 80th birthday, however, in the thick of an intense American recession, Forrest revisited the idea.
"Lots of people [were] losing their jobs," Forrest recalled. "Despair was written all over the headlines, and I just wanted to give some people hope." Treasure could be that hope. Who doesn't secretly wish to find treasure and strike it rich?
So the 80-year-old man loaded a 10-inch-by-10-inch Romanesque box into the back of his sedan and stuffed an estimated $2 to $5 million worth of jewels, trinkets, and gold coins into a backpack. Then, he started to drive...
He drove into the Rocky Mountains before parking his car and making two short trips on foot: One, where he carried the box to the hiding spot; another to bring the jewels to that box. He hid the 42-pound chest, but "don't say I buried it," he added, cryptically.
Curious treasure hunters now send him emails pleading for more information as to where the treasure might be. Sometimes, Forrest gives little hints, but most of the time, he lets the major clue he left behind do the talking...
Forrest published the memoir titled The Thrill of the Chase, a book once found only in a single New Mexico bookstore. On page 132 of the memoir, he included a cryptic 24-line poem that points towards the treasure's final hiding spot. It goes like this...
"As I have gone alone in there / And with my treasures bold, / I can keep my secret where, / And hint of riches new and old. / Begin it where warm waters halt / And take it in the canyon down, / Not far, but too far to walk. / Put in below the home of Brown...
From there it's no place for the meek, / The end is ever drawing nigh; / There'll be no paddle up your creek, / Just heavy loads and water high. / If you've been wise and found the blaze, / Look quickly down, your quest to cease, / But tarry scant with marvel gaze, / Just take the chest and go in peace...
So why is it that I must go, / And leave my trove for all to seek? / The answers I already know, / I've done it tired, and now I'm weak. / So hear me all and listen good, / Your effort will be worth the cold. / If you are brave and in the wood / I give you title to the gold."
Naturally, people were stumped by the poem, which Forrest insisted contains 9 distinct clues as to the treasure's location. Dedicated communities pooled their resources, playing at Indiana Jones in the hopes they find the treasure.
As of July 2018, the treasure remained unfound. But the search wasn't a zero-sum game for all adventurers and amateur travel hunters. For instance, Dal Neitzel of Washington, below, managed a TV station by day—but by night...
Dal made 70 trips to the Rockies over the years, searching for the treasure, and led a blog titled "The Thrill of the Chase" (sound familiar?), an online forum for people discussing the hunt. He, like many others, was thrilled by the adventure...
Another treasure hunter claimed clues from the poem guided her to the Christ of the Mines Shrine in Silverton, Colorado. She didn't find treasure there. But, she found "the eternal love of Christ"— a spiritual treasure.
Meanwhile, the memoir that once sold for peanuts started selling for over $1,000 on Amazon. With such demand, Forrest started doing book signings, too. People wanted to comb through the book for insights into Forrest's thinking—anything for the treasure.
Overall, Forrest estimated over 350,000 people went searching through the Rocky Mountains for his treasure. Unfortunately, not all of them lived to tell tales of spiritual re-awakenings and fun adventures...
Six people have died in pursuit of the Forrest Fenn treasure, including Randy Bilyeu, below. Authorities found his car, his raft, and his dog at the Rio Grande south of Santa Fe, but he never turned up. Eventually, the man's death was blamed on Forrest...
New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas, below, pressured Forrest to end the treasure hunt. But Forrest never relented, reminding people the treasure was in a spot an 80-year-old man could get to in a sedan.
In fact, Forrest reminded hunters he ultimately hid the treasure to inspire family-friendly adventure. Kids "spend too much time in the game room or playing with their little handheld texting machines," he said. The treasure—the hope—was for them, too.
"The search is supposed to be fun," he said. To appease authorities he also noted that the treasure "is not underwater, nor is it near the Rio Grande River. It is not necessary to move large rocks or climb up or down a steep precipice." Still, people are suspicious.
Forrest's detractors claimed the hunt was nothing more than publicity for his memoir—the treasure, they say, never existed. The bookstore, however, claimed he never took a penny from sales. As to the treasure's existence...
A friend of Forrest's, New York Times best-selling author Doug Preston—who actually sawthe treasure at Forrest's house—put it best: "Knowing Forrest for as long as I have, I can absolutely say with 100 percent confidence that he would never pull off a hoax."
Indeed, by all accounts, Forrest's definitely the type of guy who would bury $2 million in jewels. "Sure, I'm eccentric," he once said. "I pride myself on being eccentric. I don't want to go down the center line like a lot of people do."
And hunters better not hope for some deathbed confession from Forrest. "No one knows where that treasure chest is but me," he said. Even his family remains in the dark. "If I die tomorrow, the knowledge of that location goes in the coffin with me."
With all the fun and excitement around the hunt, Forrest admitted hiding the treasure was "successful beyond [his] wildest dreams." But who will be the lucky person to finally find it?
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