How To Define Treasure in England and Wales
The Law From Treasure Trove to the 1996 Treasure Act
Sep 7, 2009
Say the word ‘treasure’ and the usual images come to mind – piles of gold and silver, of precious stones and golden ingots. In law, however, treasure has long been a slippery concept. Just how golden – or silvery – does something have to be for it to qualify as treasure?
The Law and Treasure Finds
In the United Kingdom, the answer to that question was left vague for a long time. The common law of treasure trove, first mentioned in medieval times, held that ownerless objects of precious metal belonged to the King, essentially acting as a way to swell the coffers of the Crown. It is likely however that many finds were not reported. While some finders were rewarded for their honesty, others were treated as little better than common criminals.
With the growth of antiquarianism and archaeology in the nineteenth century, there was an increasing awareness of the importance of the context of such finds, as well as the need for finders to be fairly rewarded. The campaign for the law to be reformed finally came to fruition with the Treasure Act of 1996, which came into force a year later, replacing the law of treasure trove in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The 1996 Treasure Act
The 1996 Treasure Act defined for the first time exactly what constitutes treasure, and ensures that material found in association with such finds also qualify. In addition it abolished the requirement that the find had to have been deposited with the intent to recover it at a later date.
This meant that finds from burials had not previously been considered treasure, a problem brought to the fore by the discovery of the seventh-century ship burial at Sutton Hoo in 1939. If landowner Mrs Edith Pretty hadn’t donated the find to the nation, it is likely that the extraordinary finds from Sutton Hoo would have been dispersed far and wide.
Requirements of the 1996 Treasure Act
The 1996 Treasure Act defines treasure as:
- Any object, other than a coin, more than 300 years old when found which is made of more than 10 percent gold or silver;
- Any metallic object, other than a coin, of prehistoric date containing less than 10 percent of precious metal, provided there are at least two such objects from the same find;
- An object of prehistoric date provided any part of it is precious metal;
- All coins from the same find, at least 300 years old when found (but if the coins contain less than 10 percent of gold or silver there must be at least ten of them);
- Any object found in association with treasure;
- Any object that would previously have been treasure trove, falling outside the categories above - only objects that are less than 300 years old, that are made substantially of gold or silver, that have been deliberately hidden with the intention of recovery and whose owners or heirs are unknown will come into this category.
What To Do On Finding Treasure
All finds of treasure must be reported to a coroner for the district in which they were found within 14 days of the discovery, or within 14 days of the day it was realised the find might be treasure. After due investigation, finders of treasure have been fairly – sometimes amply – rewarded. Further information on what to do if you have found treasure can be found on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website.
Sources:
The Treasure Act 1996 - Code of Practice (Revised), England and Wales, (Department for Culture, Media and Sport Cultural Property Unit)
Treasure: Finding Our Past, Richard Hobbs (British Museum Press, 2003)
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