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[About a text sent to me by a reader with a question:]
Two Asda warehouse workers from Castleford, Andy Green and Shaun Scott "have spent three years uncovering a hoard of rare artefacts on private land in North Yorkshire" reports the Pontefract and Castleford Express ("Rare torque-ing point"23 October 2011). The metal detecting buddies have found three gold torques, two Celtic gold staters, a gold pin and a Viking ring. "Experts say" the gold torque unearthed [...] "earlier this year – could be part of the lost treasure of first century British queen Cartimandua". If that's what "experts" say, it's probably got her name on it then. So if is true that they started finding this hoard three years ago, why is the newspaper giving us all the impression (without any additional comment) that the inquest is still forthcoming? What delayed the coroner calling it three years ago? Luckily, unlike some metal detectorists, the pair are not in a hurry to get their reward, Green said: “I am really excited about the rarity of this torque, but it has never been about the money for me", adding he hopes that it will be within the possibilities of the cash-strapped Yorkshire Museum to raise to raise the funds to pay the reward for the torque "because the people to this area should be the ones to learn from it and enjoy it”. They'd probably have learnt a lot more about it if it had not been hoiked out from below plough level (the photo shows it remarkably undamaged for something all metal detectorists swear blind was found "less than six inches down in the ploughed soil - honest") and the elements of the hoard recovered piecemeal over a period of years as reported. What does the PAS have to say about this news report and find?
Vignette: Ancient history has never looked so good, Cartimandua (from the United Celtic Brotherhood website) dressed rather unsuitably for the British climate looks for her jewellery which she just put down under a bush for a moment while she skinned a leopard...
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