The Economic Times

In 1992, an English metal detectorist searched a field for a lost hammer; moments later, he uncovered a Roman hoard containing thousands of ancient objects

Today, the Hoxne Hoard remains one of Britain's most extraordinary Roman archaeological discoveries, and its unlikely origin continues to capture public imagination. A lost hammer brought Eric Lawes into a Suffolk field, but his metal detector revealed a buried collection that had remained hidden for roughly 1,500 years.