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Sunday, June 28, 2026

6/28/26 Report - Aestel from Galloway Hoard and Other Antiquities. Academics Study Treasure Hunting.


Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Found by Detectorists as Part of the Galloway Hoard
  Currently Offered in Christies Auction of Antiquities.

You can learn a lot from auctions especially those like this Christies auction that offers an extensive collection of fine and varied antiquities.  Not only can you learn to identify many different kinds of finds but you will also see what they might be worth at auction.

Astels are thought to be pointers or handles, sometimes described as manuscript pointers, however there are examples that suggest other uses.  You might recognize this one as part of the Galloway Hoard found by Rob, Paul and Robin while using their XP Deus detectors in North Yorkshire.

This one has an auction estimate of 16 to 18 thousand British pounds.

This find is listed in the PAS database.  You can find it using this link and then scrolling down.


This auction ad reads as follows. 

From a Greek helmet to a dinosaur skull: wonders of ancient civilisations and the natural world

Offered online during Classic Week in London is a new auction, Ancient Wonders: Antiquities and Natural History, spanning four millennia of human achievement and 2.5 billion years of Earth’s history. Highlights include a Triceratops skull more than two metres long and an Anglo-Saxon treasure discovered by a metal detectorist...

Below is another example you will find when browsing the auction lots.


Here is the link to the auction if you want to see more treasures of this quality.


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There are several articles written by psychologists or anthropologists on treasure hunters, their characteristics and what distinguishes treasure hunters from the general population.  Having started out my professional career as a college psychology teacher and having spent many years practicing and writing about treasure hunting, I've thought about it quite a bit, conducted a few polls and written about it some.

Psychology professor Allen King performed a peer-reviewed study about these treasure hunters. He identified over 400,000, although his research was based on a much smaller group. Around three-fourths are male, and many are natural risk-takers. It’s the challenge and the striving with a clear sense of purpose that attracts them. They like the feeling of mastery when they link a clue to something that moves them a step closer to the goal (“Hey, a guy named Brown lived in that house!”). The problem is that they could be wrong about their interpretations, which, like Seyler, moves them closer to missing the fortune.  (Why Would People Push Themselves to Emotional Turmoil to Find Buried Treasure? | Psychology Today)

The next one is hard to read and starts out with the typical archaeologist's perception of treasure hunters as being primarily motivated to get rich quick but eventually it gets into something more worthwhile (if you can wade through the heavy academic jargon).

The author who focuses on hunters seeking antiquities brings came to see treasure hunting as an exercise in reviving historical (he calls it spectral) memory.  

Here is the link.

Seeking Ever-Elusive Treasures: Reflections on Collective Memory and Spectrality of the Past - Anthropology News

And here is one that focuses on the attraction of one particular type of treasure - crystals.

Rockhounding and Our Primordial Fascination With Crystals | Psychology Today

Below is a brief excerpt from that one.

Sam, a retired mining engineer, described being fascinated by rocks since early childhood. He told me, “As a kid, all I really wanted to do was analyze my rocks…I analyzed everything imaginable...I’m pretty much of a seeker, a looker, an analyst.” (S. Dunaway, personal communication, April 4, 2026). He described an innate satisfaction in searching and digging for rocks that people, even small children, enjoy for hours. They like turning over things on the ground and finding unique, interesting, and pretty pieces. Visits to the mine are filled with surprises. Sam marveled at how people love to tell the stories of finding their treasures.

I've shown some crystals found in Florida. We have those nice fossil shells.

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BIG ASTEROID FLYBY THIS WEEKEND: Earth is in a shooting gallery, and this weekend you can watch one of the bullets streak by. On Saturday, June 27th, a kilometer-class asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth in more than 400 years--close enough to see in a backyard telescope. Full story and sky maps @Spaceweather.com.

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One reader identified my recent mystery find as a cribbage board.  Thanks much

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NHC.NOAA.org.

Here is the current National Hurricane Center map.  A little development but nothing interesting.

The surf will get up to around two feet later next week.

Very few people on the hot beach this morning.

Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net


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