NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A group of metal detectorists recently went on an epic summer-long adventure in the European countryside – and discovered a jackpot of ancient riches.
Based in the central Polish city of Kalisz, the metal detecting group Denar Kalisz recently uncovered pots filled with coins and hundreds of grams of gold – all worth a fortune.
Przemysław Kurowiak, president of the organization, told Fox News Digital the group had been searching for treasure for over two decades before their recent successes.
SURPRISED ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH ANCIENT GRAVES CAUGHT BETWEEN PAGAN, CHRISTIAN RITUALS IN POLAND
The group was actually searching for German V-2 rockets when they stumbled on their first treasure.
“Our association is a group of friends who love uncovering history,” he said. “We do it as a hobby.”
The first find, discovered by group member Hubert Piasecki on June 7, was a clay pot filled with treasure.
“[The pot was] filled with coins, ornaments and silver ingots from the early Middle Ages, containing 631 artifacts,” Kurowiak said.
ANCIENT CIVILIZATION’S GOLD COINS, LUXURY ARTIFACTS UNEARTHED DURING ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ DIG
“These included cross denarii, foreign coins such as English ones (including from King Harold I of England), as well as German, Hungarian, Czech coins and others.”
A few weeks later, on June 28, member Michał Makuch found a pot full of coins from the early Middle Ages.
Though it hasn’t been opened yet, Kurowiak said the vessel is packed with silver coins, based on recent CT scans.
“And just when it seemed we couldn’t get any luckier, we came upon another treasure – an incredible one, containing a gold necklace (222 grams of pure gold) from the Roman influence period, possibly up to 1,800 years old,” he added.
“By pure accident, we [have been] transformed from rocket hunters into treasure hunters.”
“This is an archaeological sensation in Poland. The lucky finder this time was Mateusz Lachowicz.”
Kurowiak described the discoveries as “pleasant surprises.”
“By pure accident, we [have been] transformed from rocket hunters into treasure hunters,” he said.
The group leader added that he cooperates with professional archaeologists during excavations, and all artifacts are handed over to Poland’s Conservator of Monuments and, eventually, the Museum of the Kalisz Region.
Kurowiak said the group has an international following, including some American fans.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxnews.com/lifestyle
“We’re very proud of this, and it gives us even greater confidence that what we’re doing is right and important,” said Kurowiak.
Poland has been the setting of a number of exciting archaeological discoveries over the past few months.
In Gdańsk, archaeologists recently uncovered an elite knight’s burial beneath a former ice cream parlor.
In the city of Krakow, excavators at Wawel Royal Castle found a remarkable centuries-old ring earlier this summer.
Read the full article here
