英國菜鳥尋寶獵人, 靠著一個最陽春的金屬探測儀，讓這位英國的一位菜鳥尋寶獵人的首次行動就發現了，一個公元4世紀之羅馬時代的藏金庫，估計價值為十萬英鎊，或約16萬美元。專家認為代表在英國的歷史上最大的發現之一。
Armed with a basic metal detector, a
first-time treasure hunter in Britain
reportedly has uncovered a trove of Roman-era gold coins that experts believe
represents one of the largest such finds in England’s history.
The cache of coins – Roman solidi dating
back to the 4th century – is estimated to be worth £100,000, or about $160,000 in U.S. dollars.
根據Helmel
Gazette newspaper的報導，這名男子 (姓名未公開) - 據說他在伯克漢斯黛德哈福德郡區的一家商店買了一個初階的金屬探測器。幾個星期後，這名男子返回到店，向店主展示了所發現的40枚金幣，並問他們：“我該怎麼做呢？”
這家商店的老闆，大衛·休厄爾和馬克·比徹，當時相當震驚。他們告訴這菜鳥尋寶獵人先通知當局，他發現，添加的文件。當這菜鳥獲得了當局的許可證後，便與店主們以及其他的人一同返回發現金幣的地點。
According to the Helmel Gazette newspaper,
the man – whose name has not been made public – reportedly bought a beginner’s
metal detector from a shop in the Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, area. A few weeks
later, the man returned to the shop, showed the shopkeepers 40 gold coins, and
asked them: “What do I do with this?
The shop’s owners, David Sewell and Mark
Becher, were stunned. They told the novice treasure hunter to notify
authorities of his discovery, the paper added. When he obtained the required
permits, Sewell, Becher and others returned with the man to the discovery site.
休厄爾告訴”每日郵報”：“我們帶著性能較為強大的裝備與他們一同回到了現場，並且找到了119金幣，。 “一共有22克拉的黃金，這些黃金保存的相當完好，就好像是剛被住造出來的金幣一樣。”
“We went with them and took with us a
couple of slightly more potent machines and we pulled 119 more coins out of the
ground,” Sewell told the Daily Mail newspaper. “These are 22 carat gold, they haven’t got any damage
and they came out of the ground looking like the day they were made.”
他補充說：“我也有找到一些不足為道寶物，但從來沒有像今天這樣的發現。對於這傢伙來找我們買機器，並帶我們也參予了這尋寶行動，我感到非常的滿足。但若是我說”我不希望是我發現這些金幣的話”，那我肯定是在撒謊。
He added: “I’ve found bits and pieces but
nothing like this. I’ve got immense satisfaction that the guy came to us and
bought the machine from us, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t wish it had
been me.”
據美聯社報導引述Verulamium博物館館長大衛說，托羅爾德的解釋，這些金幣上面的日期為公元第四世紀結束前的幾年。這些金幣通常會因主人需要遠行或是遇到戰爭而以掩埋的方式獻給神明。
The solidus coin dates to the closing years
of the fourth century. They typically were buried as a sacrifice to gods when
the owner was going on a journey or in times of war, said David Thorold, a
curator at the St. Albans’ Verulamium
Museum, the Associated
Press reported.
當地政府表示，這些金幣是在私人土地上被發現的。原則上會請大英博物館的專家做研究並確定其此批金幣的真正價值。據報導說，根據專家們的意見，這位菜鳥尋寶獵人至少可以得到的部份的獎賞。
The local government said the coins were
found on private land. Experts at the British Museum
will examine the haul to determine its final value. Depending on their opinion,
the amateur treasure hunter could get at least a share of the proceeds, reports
said.
