A drama in three acts
Undoubtedly, the wish list of any moderately ambitious detector user would contain a Bronze Age axe, some ancient gold, and a hoard worthy of a coroner’s attention. To recover any one of them, following several years of dedicated detecting would be fortunate, two would require great luck, and to find all three is beyond the reasonable expectations of most hobby members. What follows is a dramatic account of how such a wish list was totally demolished by three detecting friends, all long time members of the South Lancs and Cheshire MDC, in January and February of this year. What makes it most extraordinary is that they had planned in advance for such an event. If the recovery of a hoard which is described by museum experts as “unique”, “unparalleled”, and “of international importance” is dramatic, what better way of presenting an account of the event than as a drama?
The Cast
Peter Skelly, Joe Perry, and Billy May, all employed by Liverpool Social Services, tending the needs of people with learning difficulties. Joe and Billy work in a Day Care Centre, while Peter is a Field Social Worker.
PETER, BILLY AND JOE
They have known each other for over twenty years, and have detected together for the last eight. Peter is the linchpin of the group, first detecting with Joe after a chance meeting at a club rally. Billy joined the group through working and socialising with Joe. Their ages span fifteen years, from 48 through to 63 and, although at first meeting they might appear to be entirely different characters, their attributes combine to form a perfect team. This is the team that stated their intention to “find the big one” a long time before they did, without arrogance, merely as a statement of fact, and they prepared for the event with great care and meticulous planning. The trio research sites in advance, visit Records Offices, pore over maps, and read all available relevant literature. They talk to farmers and locals to glean every bit of knowledge available about potential sites. On each and every detecting trip, without fail, they take, digital camera, walkie-talkies, surveyor’s measure, pens and paper, mobile phone, a roll of coloured tape and marking pegs, as well as the usual first aid kit, flasks, wet weather gear, and top of the range metal detectors. Everything is of the highest quality, and upgraded if something better appears on the market. With such dedication, who could begrudge this team the success that came its way?
The Setting
Having detected in North Wales for more than five years, because of a liking for the area and their ready acceptance by the farming community, the group were currently detecting a large farm not far from Wrexham, and had been for several months. Not a great deal had been found, mainly Georgian or thereabouts, but sufficient coins and artefacts of age and quality were appearing to indicate the possibility of something better, and the group’s interest was still at high level. As no really productive finds hotspots had yet been identified, the policy was to sample new fields on each visit in pursuit of a fair site, ancient settlement, or similar. Next on the list for investigation was a field that had been ploughed and grassed only three months earlier. The ground was likely to be fluffy and still full of air, so there was nothing remotely scientific in the choice other than the plough might have turned up some deeper material and the field provided easy car parking facilities.
Act I
Sunday 18th January 2004, a crisp sunny morning to undertake the fifty minute drive from home to farm. The journey was filled with the usual in-car banter of threats of finds, counter-threats, tongue-in-cheek insults, and high hopes and expectations. Upon arrival the three checked-in at the farmhouse, as per normal, stopped for a chat with the farmer’s family, indicated where they would be detecting, and received assurances that the less than friendly bull would not be in their chosen field waiting for them. Then they were off. Billy May is known to the others as “Edge Hog” as he likes to detect the perimeters of fields, but his preferences are complimented by Peter, “The Centre Forward”, who always makes for the middle, and Joe, “The Wanderer” who leaves a trail on a field something akin to a drunken snail on an icy patio. Now, that’s real teamwork, nobody gets in another team member’s way. The day was enjoyable but appeared to be like many others they had experienced. Lots of signals, Georgian coins, a profusion of lead, harness buckles, bits and pieces of little importance, and scrap. One area seemed to have had a huge number of iron studs dumped on it and, at the time, was being avoided by all, where possible. Nothing dramatic to report here. Late in the winter’s day, at about half past three, not long before darkness was due to drop like a stone, Billy May’s walkie-talkie crackled into life. “I’ve just found a palstave axe,” he announced. Peter and Joe say they meandered “quite quickly” to where Billy was detecting amongst the iron studs. There was no doubt that it was, indeed, a Bronze Age palstave axe, and a highly desirable find.
BILLY’S PALSTAVE AXE
“What’s here for me?” and “I want one of those.” are the alleged comments of the two non-finders, before all three put their heads down to work extremely hard during the last few minutes of available light. Despite their best efforts, however, nothing else came up – except more and more iron studs. The last action of the day was to show the farmer the axe. Laid back at the best of times, he showed little interest in the object and seemed to view the group’s excitement with gentle goodhumoured tolerance. During the journey home there was much discussion on the potential for other Bronze Age finds. “There’s got to be more there.”, was the consensus. “Next week, that field gets our full attention.” was the communal vow. And so, the scene was set for the second act to commence.
Act II
Saturday 24th January 2004, another bright and dry day ideal for metal detecting. The week-long wait and the agonies of anticipation had been so painful for the team that they had brought their trip forward by a day from their usual Sunday outing. They fulfilled all their check-in duties at the farmhouse as quickly and as courteously as they could and immediately made their way to the field and the original find spot that they had marked out before leaving the previous Sunday. Armed with tape measure, coloured tape and pegs, camera and all their other equipment, the trio set about marking out a work area with the axe find spot at its centre. This area they would search very closely, together where possible, and singly where not. Some people might term this a massive Act of Presumption, but they and I would call it Great Self Belief. After almost half an hour, Joe Perry declared an “iffy” signal, and proceeded to dig it carefully. The first gold came to light in the form of a tri-band hair ring with a spherical gold bead trapped inside it by soil. This was recovered from a depth of only four inches. At first there was a general feeling of disbelief, but then a second stronger signal from the same hole grabbed their attention. Joe dug down to a depth of eight or nine inches, almost to the subsoil, and recovered a second palstave axe head.
PENANNULAR TRIBAND GOLD RING
Having recovered the gold and the second axe no more than eighteen inches from the first axe, the penny finally dropped. These were not unconnected finds, remnants of a settlement site. They had to be part of a hoard, buried quite deliberately, aeons ago, by some individual or group. And, if their conjecture was correct, how much of that hoard still lay in the ground? The detecting continued, more slowly, and more carefully. Two feet in the opposite direction, and another signal. Joe again. From about ten inches down he recovered a bronze trunnion tool, a form of chisel or gouge, the deepest find of all. There were now frequent stops to talk, have drinks and lunch, and reassure each other that what was being found was genuine. There was general agreement that ground conditions were poor and that pure gold is notorious for its poor response. Gold debased with silver or copper gives a much more positive signal. It was also agreed that a combination of these factors meant that signals that should be good were moderate, and those that should be moderate were fuzzy and indistinct. This was a site where even the weakest poorest signal should be investigated.
JOE’S PALSTAVE AXE
It was only fair to make the farmer aware of the importance and potential value of the finds to date, so a trip to the farmhouse was undertaken. He was there, as laid back as ever, slightly bemused and greatly amused by the excitement in the air. He took a casual look at the finds, commented slyly that the gold bead was really from a grease nipple off his tractor and, with a smile on his face, told them to take the stuff and clear off as he was just about to have his dinner. “If you find any more, show me next week.”, was his parting comment.
SOLID GOLD GREASE NIPPLES ON A TRACTOR?
Fate decreed that the team did, indeed, find some more. In the afternoon, they expanded their search area and, about twenty yards from the original site centre, Joe received a reasonable signal that he described to the others as “mellow”. From just two inches below the surface he extracted a magnificent gold bracelet of plaited wire. “At first, because it was so far away from the previous recoveries, I thought it was the band from a modern Rolex watch,” he said. The puzzle was solved later by the farmer,who explained that a new plough had been used on the field. Fresh paint on farm equipment attracts soil deposits, and he had had to make frequent stops to clear a clogged ploughshare. The bracelet must have been picked up by the plough, and dropped during one of these clearances. Billy May had made the first find, Joe Perry had recovered the rest, and Peter Skelly was now desperate almost to the point of being suicidal. He was close to, but had not yet reached, the point of inflicting mayhem and murder on his partners. It was he who had measured and marked out the site for investigation, recorded each and every recovery in precise detail, and photographed everything as it came out. But he had found precisely nothing! With great effort, Peter managed to convince himself that his turn would come, and resolved to keep his cool. In any case, his ambitions were quite modest. An axe head would be quite sufficient to keep him happy, he said. Peter’s resolve was tested one more time before the day came to an end with a trip to the local pub. Light fading fast, fatigue setting in, and a vicious thirst overtaking them, Joe Perry got one last signal from the area they had worked all day. From a depth of only three inches he recovered a beautiful undamaged bi-conical gold bead. Peter was first to the bar for a drink. By the time they all had a drink before them, humour and banter were disappearing fast. Anxiety was setting in. Are we really finding genuine stuff? Are we going about its recovery the right way? Have we got it all out yet? Who was the original owner? Why was it buried here? Why was it never recovered? The questions were numerous, and the answers few to nonexistent. Fortunately, full knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the Treasure Act meant that the team knew exactly what were their legal obligations, once they considered their investigations complete.
THIS UNIQUE PLAITED GOLD WIRE BRACELET
What to do next required no real discussion. They felt compelled to go back the following day, Sunday. No sleep would be possible for any of them, least of all for Peter with the haunting nightmare of an empty finds pouch waiting to fill his dreams. Once back on site, they would go over and over the same patch of ground until they felt sure that they had recovered everything from the hoard.
Act III
Sunday 25th January 2004, yet another cold, dry, day, eminently suitable for a detecting excursion. After an unusually quiet and contemplative journey the team arrived on site at 8.00am, an hour before their traditional starting time. Pleasantries at the farmhouse were brief, with no time at all devoted to idle chat. Straight out on to the field. More and more iron studs were detected, with each one removed to prevent it from masking a potentially good signal. The field, in the area of activity, was looking very much the worse for wear following the prolonged onslaught of spade and Wellington boot. A once green and fresh patch, was now decidedly brown and trampled. It took a full hour before the next positive signal was received and dug. Billy May was the finder, recovering a second bi-conical gold bead from only three inches deep in precisely the same area that had received repeated coverage from all three detector users for more than two days. Signals were, indeed, very poor. At this point in time, the table of finders and finds read; – Billy May: Palstave axe head, and two bi-conical gold beads. Joe Perry: Triband gold ring, spherical gold bead, palstave axe, trunnion tool, bi-conical gold bead, and gold bracelet. Peter Skelly: Zilch! The Big O! Zero! Nothing! If this situation was disturbing to Peter he did not let it show, for he suddenly launched into a commonly shared but forcefully delivered hypothesis that what had been found already should be accompanied by a torc. “It is inevitable that one was buried here,” he expounded. “And I am going to find it.” It could be said that Peter talked the torc! It could also be said that he talked hot air, but that would be unwise for, forty-five minutes later, Peter Skelly’s prediction became fact, and he proved his point with the most amazing find. A poor signal, like all the previous ones, but this time his detector screen readout left Peter with no doubt whatsoever that he had struck gold. In part to make the euphoria of the moment last longer, but also to allow Joe time to check the signal, Peter contained himself for longer than the moment really deserved. “It is gold” Joe confirmed, and Peter started to dig, but gently, with a wide excavation to avoid damaging the target. From a mere six inches down, and on the flat of his second spadeful of earth, the tell-tale glint of gold peeped out through the soil. Once out, and soil-free, Peter had no hesitation in calling over to Joe, “We’ve got the big one! It is a torc!” Later laboratory measurements revealed that, if uncoiled, the “bar torc of round section, with welded hooked terminals”, would be about two feet plus of almost pure gold. So, is it any wonder that Peter took off around the field like a Whirling Dervish on happy drops to celebrate his find? At long last, he had broken his duck, and with a vengeance. This one find put the rest of the hoard, and its importance, into perspective. Unbridled euphoria ensued! When sanity eventually returned to the trio, and minds were back on the job in hand. A piece of pottery, which has since been identified as the base of the hoard’s container, was extracted from the same hole as the torc. It was Joe’s eagle eye that spotted it. Whilst I have described the events surrounding the finding of this hoard as a drama, and the final curtain has not yet descended on our players or their activities, a casual onlooker during the events of this day might well describe it as more of a comedy, or even a farce, of classic proportions. Mobile phone calls from site were fast, furious, and constant as finders, already pumped up with adrenaline and in high excitement mode, were attempting to describe to spouses and other sundry relatives who had no previous experience of, or interest in, Bronze Age culture, torcs and other objects as they came out of the ground.
THE TORC – TWO FEET PLUS OF ALMOST PURE GOLD
I truly believe that the only word which was clearly understood by everyone who took part was “gold”. While the three worked, food was partaken and drinks imbibed. The energy was sorely needed. But, I wager they never tasted a thing. Yet again, a winter’s day was drawing in to its inevitable early end. The ground conditions continued to be “unfriendly”, and it was a joint decision to dig any signal received, good, bad or indifferent. The merest change in threshold tone, up or down, would be considered a signal worthy of pursuit. Nothing was to be left within detector range, for the dig had been prolonged, on one relatively small spot, and would be easily identified by any unscrupulous investigators who might try their luck before the team could next visit the field. This policy paid off, for Peter (whose day it most definitely was) recovered a tri-band corrugated gold ring, with a penannular ring lodged inside it. Inevitably, this was in close proximity to all the other finds, and at a depth of five to six inches.
THREE GOLD RINGS RECEOVERED – THREE DIFFERENT STYLES
The sun was actually setting and visibility was miserably poor, but the last dramatic event of an already dramatic day was still to come. Peter’s earphones rang out yet again with the now unmistakeable gold signal and, following the removal of four inches of soil, a composite pendant “of beehive shape” lay in the palm of his hand. Like its counterpart, the twisted wire bracelet, it is described by those who are expert in the field as a “truly unique” object.
A BEAUTIFUL AND UNIQUE OBJECT, THE BEEHIVE PENDANT
In January of this year, the ten gold, three bronze, and one ceramic artefacts, which are now known as the Burton Hoard, were lodged for a very brief period of time in three separate Merseyside dwellings. What happened next, when they were reported and handed over to the establishment, forms the second part of this short series, and is almost as dramatic and equally as interesting as the recovery.
THE BURTON HOARD IN ALL ITS GLORY
With permission from The Searcher, John Fargher and the boys (Peter Skelly, Joe Perry, and Billy May). Copyright co-owned by the writer and The Searcher.
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