The mystique of discovery

Archaeologists love a mystery, especially when it involves how things were found. The regional and personal names that describe many of the world’s archaeological unknowns – Lydia, Keros, Sevso, Priam - have a certain resonance; their origins unspoken, hidden or fabricated, lost in the scramble to unearth, collect, sell. Then there’s hoards with more exact placenames – Hoxne, Snettisham and Winchester - to name three from England.

The Mildenhall Treasure lies somewhere in between. Taking its name from a barren part of US-occupied Suffolk, this important group of Late Roman silver tableware was dug up in 1942 by a farm worker, Gordon Butcher, then kept by Sydney Ford (on whose land it was not actually found) and eventually acquired by the British Museum in 1946.

The story of the Mildenhall Treasure and documents surrounding its discovery are the subject of a fascinating article by Richard Hobbs in the The Antiquaries Journal (vol.88, 2008, pp.376-420). There’s no great scandal or sensation but there is intrigue:

“… after the hoard was declared treasure trove on 1 July 1946, doubts began to be expressed about the manner in which the two men – and particularly Sydney Ford – claimed the treasure had been found. A rumour that the treasure came from somewhere in the Mediterranean quickly gained currency [...] . In addition, two archaeologists, Tom Lethbridge and Gordon Fowler, seriously doubted Ford’s version of events, having failed to pinpoint the supposed burial pit, despite substantial field survey. Lethbridge and Fowler became increasingly convinced that the treasure was linked with an earlier failed attempt to locate a ‘buried treasure’ in 1923, claiming that the hoard had actually been found elsewhere and reburied at Mildenhall. Others have claimed that the hoard is not complete; they say that other pieces, and possibly coins, were not declared to the police. And there has also been a claim that the hoard was not found in January 1942 but earlier.”

Tags: Mildenhall Treasure, Richard Hobbs, Sydney Ford, The Antiquaries Journal