Buried treasure

Have you ever dug up anything old and interesting in your garden? Wouldn't it be wonderful to live on the site of a medieval village or a Roman fort, a place where hundreds of people have spent their lives and discarded everyday items. What fun it would be unearthing objects from the past.

Unfortunately our garden is not on a site of historic interest but a few years ago a new water main was laid under our road and as the deep trench was being dug a variety of interesting objects came to the surface. There were a number of ink bottles and here are a few of the undamaged ones that I found.

And there were numerous aqua glass bottles. Don't you just love that colour?

I was cautious when picking up these medicine bottles for fear they might still contain something toxic. Embossed in large letters on the blue bottle are the instructions 'NOT TO BE TAKEN' (I hope no one did!)

Broken china lay everywhere and I gathered the blue and white shards with plans to make a mosaic one day. I'm still planning and adding to the stash whenever I break a plate!

Throughout Britain people keep a watchful eye open for 'buried treasure' but unfortunately broken clay pipes are often all that is found. Most men smoked them in days gone by and when they broke they were instantly thrown away. The one pictured above is a typical 'find'.

And here is the kind of treasure I'd love to discover. They are early British silver coins dating back to around 1250 and I bought them a few years ago from an auction sale. They'd been found by someone using a metal detector and are not particularly valuable but to me they are priceless. I love the idea that these tiny silver discs were being exchanged for goods and services over 700 years ago. Were they lost by their owner or maybe hidden from robbers and forgotten. They must have a few interesting stories they could tell!

I suppose I should just keep digging and one day I might discover some real treasure!

Until next time,
Eli

Comments

[clarice]

It looks like you found a tresure to me. Clarice

[Erin]

I think you found some treasure in the bottles and pottery. That is a large number of bottles to find....but it would be nice to find some of those coins and wonder about who used them and what they bought!

Erin :)

[Marqueta]

Dear Eli,

Wow, I'd say you have quite a treasure there! We might be lucky to find an arrowhead from the Indians who lived here,but haven't so far :) .

Thanks for sharing your goodies with us.

Love,

marqueta

[anne marie]

thank you for stopping by my Potager today.......it is so nice to meet you~

we too have dug up things in the garden very similar to those....and some dangerous things as well -
sharp and rusty! -

your blog is SO cute with your dolls and garden pictures......

and yes, please keep me updated on your progress :)

[Paula]

Dear Eli,

Oh, we are so delighted to see all the treasures you found and read the account of their findings! I love the beautiful ink bottles and aqua glass bottles. That is a lovely color, indeed! The medicine bottles are beautiful, too. Such vibrant colors. I love the blue china and look forward to seeing what type of mosaic you will make. I would love to cover a birdhouse in my collection of broken china... maybe someday!

The pipe and coins are wonderful! The age of the coins is truly amazing! Justin and I both enjoyed seeing your found treasures. Thank you for sharing!

Love, Paula

[Rhondi]

Hi Eli
I think you did quite well with what you found. They look like treasures to me! The china is very pretty.

[Peter Shaw]

On your website you feature 'an old children's encyclopedia' and a photo of 'flags of Britain's neighbours in the world.' I have been trying to track this book down for 40 years. Can you tell me its title and publisher. I would be terribly grateful.