Searching for his lost hammer, a man found the largest collection of Roman gold and silver ever discovered in Britain!

In 1992 in Suffolk, England, farmer Peter Whatling had misplaced a hammer. He asked his friend, amateur metal detectorist Eric Lawes, to help him find it. While searching, Lawes found something of far greater value. He discovered gold jewelry, silver spoons and gold and silver coins. Before proceeding futher, Lawes and Whatling notified the police.

The next day, a team of archaeologists excavated the site. The collection became known as the Hoxne Hoard. It is the largest collection of Roman gold and silver ever found in Great Britain. It consists of 14,865 silver, gold and bronze coins and about 200 items of silver tableware and gold jewelry. Altogether, the collection is worth about 2.66 million pounds today.

Many of the pieces are now on display in the British Museum in London. They are dated after 407 AD around the time that Britain stopped being a Roman province. The reason for their burial is still unknown.

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