Record increase for treasure finds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Norfolk continues to hold the title of the most treasure finds.

A general view of the British Museum (Yui Mok/PA)

A record number of treasure finds have been reported in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a report has found.

There were 1,377 cases of treasure in 2022, an increase of 305 on the previous year, and 74 more than 2019, the year that had previously seen the most treasure reported.

Norfolk continues to hold the title of the most treasure finds with 95 discoveries, including more than 170 objects being reported, according to the Treasure Act 1996 Annual Report 2022.

Early Medieval silver penny of Guthrum from Norfolk. (The Trustees of the British Museum) — Early Medieval silver penny of king Guthrum from Norfolk (The Trustees of the British Museum/PA)

Under law suspected treasure must be declared, with coroners deciding if an artefact found passes certain requirements and then becomes the Crown’s property, and museums have the right to acquire it.

Treasure is defined as mainly metal objects, and coins, with a 2023 update widening to include objects “partially of metal, is at least 200 years old, and provided exceptional insight into an aspect of national or regional history, archaeology or culture” under certain criteria.

Some of the objects found recently include the Chew Valley Hoard, which is the highest valued treasure found on record, and a silver penny of East Anglian king Guthrum of East Anglia, which was declared treasure in September 2024, and is the first silver coin found to have been minted by a Viking ruler in Britain.

Anvil from Bronze Age hoard from Urchfont, Wiltshire (The Trustees of the British Museum/PA)

The Somerset hoard of 2,584 silver coins was acquired by the South West Heritage Trust, with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Art Fund, the Friends of The Museum of Somerset and the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society.

Also found was an early medieval gold and garnet artefacts from Donington on Bain, Lincolnshire, and a gold signet ring from Central Bedfordshire, which features an engraving of a mythical phoenix bird, that was associated with Elizabeth I, and could have been worn by one of her admirers.

A Bronze Age hoard from Urchfont, Wiltshire was also reported by metal detectorists, and excavated by British Museum conservators who found a rare anvil inside.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), published on Tuesday, saw 74,506 archaeological items reported in the UK in 2023, a sharp increase on 2022’s figures of 53,490.

The report said most of the objects were found by people metal-detecting at 95% and in agricultural regions, where they could have been lost to ploughing and farm activity if not discovered.

Michael Lewis, head of portable antiquities scheme (PAS) and treasure at the British Museum, said: “2023 was an incredibly successful year for the portable antiquities scheme and it is great to see such a high number of finders, showing us their discoveries to advance our knowledge of Britain’s past.

“Over 70,000 archaeological items were recorded onto the PAS database.

“Although finders are required to report treasure, most of these finds are reported on a voluntary basis, which makes this a truly remarkable contribution.”

Lincolnshire and Norfolk led the way with the most reported finds, with 6,674 and 6,315 finds respectively.

Somerset also had a record year thanks to a hoard made up of 5,500 Roman coins, pushing their total for the year to 6,849.