11th century Hoard found in Sluszkow

About 6,500 silver coins dated to the 11th and 12th centuries AD were found in the village of Sluszkow in central Poland. The hoard was buried alongside golden wedding bands, rings and bits of silver and lead.

One of the rings bears an inscription in Cyrillic, which reads: "Lord, help your maid Maria." The woman may have been a Ruthenian princess. The wife of King Bolesław Wrymouth was a Ruthenian princess named Zbysława. Her sister was named Maria, who was married to Piotr Włostowic.

Termopolium revealed at Pompeii

A termopolium, Latin for hot drinks counter, was discovered in the Regio V site, which is not open the public. The frescoed hot food and drinks shop served up the ancient equivalent of fast food to Roman passerby. The front of the counter was decorated with brightly colored frescoes, some depicting animals that were part of the menu.

Archaeologists found a decorated bronze drinking bowl known as a patera, ceramic jars used for cooking stews and soups, wine flasks and amphora. Traces of food were found in some of the deep terra cotta jars. It is the first time such a stand has been entirely uncovered.

Largest Celtic stater hoard found in UK

The UK's biggest hoard of Celtic gold coins, worth £800,000, was unearthed by a birdwatcher. He saw a glint in a ploughed field while watching a buzzard, rubbed off the mud and found it was a 2,000-year-old gold “stater”. He fetched his metal detector and hours later had uncovered 1,300 coins dating from 40-50AD in east England. During the middle of the first century the Celtic warrior Boudicca was at war with the occupying Roman forces.

The coins may have been a 'deposit' from her war chest for her eastern campaigns.

Stunning 800 year old gold from 'Nanhai I'

Two exquisite gold necklaces found in an 800-year-old shipwreck have been put on display in the Guangdong Museum, China, along with other artifacts from the Song Dynasty. The Nanhai I is a Chinese merchant ship which sank off the south China coast during the Southern Song Dynasty between 1127 and 1279. It was first discovered by a joint Chinese-British diving expedition in 1987.

'The Route of the Sea: Nanhai I shipwreck and Maritime Trade in the Southern Song Dynasty' is being presented at the Guangdong Museum

The entire shipwreck was lifted off of the seabed on December 21, 2007 and transferred into the specially-built Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum on Hailing Island, Guangdong.

Minoan Gold

Minoan, about 1850-1550 BC. 'Master (or Mistress) of the Animals'

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age society that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from about the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. 'Minoan' was coined after the mythic King Minos.

Minos is associated in myth with the labyrinth, which identifies with the site at Knossos.

According to Greek mythology, King Minos of Crete had the craftsman Daedalus construct the Labyrinth in order to conceal the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a half bull and half man creature that yearly ate the Athernian tribute of fourteen young men and women. Salzburg Multiple lane labyrinth with Theseus and the Minotauros in the center.

The Bronze Age began in Crete as locals on the island developed centers of commerce. This enabled the upper classes to expand their influence. Eventually the ground would be laid for a monarchist power structure - a precondition for the creation of great empires. Around 1450 BCE, Minoan culture experienced a turning point due to a natural catastrophe, possibly the eruption of Thera. (Santorin) The palace in Knossos seems to have remained largely intact. The Minoan palace sites were occupied by the Myceneans around 1420 BC. By 1200 BC the Minoans had faded into history.

Signet ring dates to around 1500 BCE

Stunning Ancients

Mint State Tarentum Stater. ITALY. Calabria. Tarentum. AV Stater (8.56 gms), ca. 276-272 B.C. NGC MS, Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5. Fine Style. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin; Reverse: Nude male youth (Taras or Phalanthos?), driving biga. A VERY RARE type. Bidding starts at $30k.

SICILY. Syracuse. Dionysios I, 406-367 B.C. AR Dekadrachm (42.60 gms), Reverse die signed by Euainetos, ca. 405-390 B.C. NGC Ch EF, Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5. Fine Style. Obverse: Charioteer, holding kentron and reins, driving quadriga. Reverse: Head of Arethousa. Est: $30k to $50k.

12th century abbot's grave

Remains were found beneath the ruins of Furness Abbey when emergency repairs were made to the abbey at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Cracks appeared in the ‘mouldered walls.’ They were caused by medieval wooden foundations rotting away. Structural engineers found an unknown grave. Medieval jewellery and a silver and gilt crozier, a senior abbot’s staff of office was found.

Furness Abbey is a former Catholic monastery that dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the UK. Whoever was buried here had been placed in the presbytery – the most prestigious position in the abbey, usually reserved for those held in greatest esteem.

Massive ancient hoard found in French looter's home

A French treasure hunter who claimed to have dug up 14,154 Roman coins in a Belgian field has been accused of being one of the greatest archaeological looters in European history. In France, metal detectors are only allowed to be used for scientific research, but in Dutch-speaking Flanders they can be used for personal searches. A raid by French officials on the man’s house revealed an astonishing hoard of 27,400 objects. There were bracelets and necklaces dating from the bronze and iron age, Roman brooches known as fibulae, Merovingian and Renaissance belt buckles, parts of statues and Roman and Gallic coins – all of which are said to have been illegally unearthed in France.

A hollow copper Roman dodecahedron was recovered, of which there are only a hundred known copies. Their use remains an archaeological enigma. The looter, who is awaiting trial, had been exploiting the difference between French law and Flemish regulations to amass his cache. He faces huge fines and prison time for his many thefts.

UK hoard donated to Hertford Museum

A hoard of 47 silver Roman coins and British Iron Age gold coins have been donated to a museum after being declared treasure. They were unearthed in a Hertfordshire field in 2017 by a group of metal detectorists. The oldest of the coins dates to 129 BC and is a Republican Roman denarius. The latest was issued during the reign of the emperor Claudius in AD 50‒54. The group waived a finder's reward of £2,500 to donate the hoard to the Hertford Museum, where the coins will be put on display. A report stated: "This is a typical hoard deposited between the Roman invasion in AD 43 and the Boudicca uprising of AD 61."