When this British metal detectorist realized he wasn’t unearthing a metal peak but an ancient Roman gold earring, he “knelt down in disbelief”.
After many fruitless searches, Nick Bateman, a 53-year-old British builder and metal detectorist from Burston, Norfolk, named this seemingly barren area of treasure in south Norfolk. is “Disappointment”. However, on Christmas Eve 2021, the treasure hunter was surfing his detector in ‘Disappointment’ when his detector emitted a small chirp leading to the discovery of a precious gold earring rare.
At first, Bateman thought the earring was a medieval artefact, but a jewelry expert confirmed that it actually dated from the Roman occupation of Britain. According to a report on the BBC, news of the earring’s Roman heritage had the lucky finder “dancing in the kitchen with Badger,” his dog.
Mr Bateman said the “disappointing” sector was now one of “the best sectors he had ever been involved in”.
Nick Bateman and his dog, ‘Badger’ pictured here, go exploring together. (Nick Bateman)
Bateman is becoming a treasure-finding machine
Nick Bateman is considered “lucky” in the opening lines of this article, but his latest discovery is perhaps even more so thanks to the skill he was taught in the art of treasure hunting by his Experienced and famous Suffolk discovery, Joe Edwards-Gill. . In 2020, Gill told EPD24 that “East Anglia is one of the best places for metal detecting in the world”.
Joe told the BBC that “Nick Bateman has been exploring for five minutes and he’s got five pieces going through the treasure hunt.” And underlining how impressive this is, Joe admitted that he’s been exploring for over 10 years and that he’s “only found one official treasure” so far.
Quite beaten up, but really worth it
Nick Bateman said he finished all his “Christmas stuff” and decided to “for a sneaky hour or two” dive into his detector. He said the signal was poor but he dug down 7 to 10 centimeters (3 or 4 inches) to check and he noticed what he thought was “a gold metal bottle cap.” Bateman told the BBC that when he wiped away the mud and realized it was an earring, “I fell to my knees in disbelief.”
Described as “rather shabby”, when Bateman unearthed the antique earring he followed due legal process and reported his findings to the local coroner. It was then analyzed by numismatist, Adrian Marsden, from Norfolk Historic Environment Services. By the way, “Numivists” include collectors, professional dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currencies in object-focused research.
The earring has a small cross-shaped indentation, visible above right here (Portable Artifact Diagram)
“Field of Disappointment” needs to be renamed
Created from two gold discs carefully soldered together, this tiny artifact measures 20.5mm x 22.1mm (0.8in). On closer inspection, Marsden identified a small cross below its hanging ring, a laurel wreath and an eagle, which he said were “exactly the type of design you would expect to find on Roman objects”. It is said that the earring originally had two loops, one to hang on the ear hook and another to hang from the second loop, allowing it to dangle and sparkle in the sunlight.
So it turns out Bateman was wrong after all, and his so-called “Field of Disappointment” was actually the holder of a rare Roman treasure. The finder told the BBC that everything had changed, and now as he looked across the field, his mind drifted back in time and he wondered “what life was like for that Roman woman, What she looked like and how she lost her earring in an accident.” Norfolk Fields.” Let’s answer that question.
Wealthy Roman women wore and collected a lot of exotic jewelry because it was the leading symbol of a person’s social status. They adorn themselves with jeweled necklaces, jeweled bracelets, rich gold and silver rings, and they often have their ears pierced in which they wear a set of earrings.
Top image: Roman earring found by Nick Bateman Source: Nick Batman.
