Recent discoveries around the world have been mind boggling. After almost 30 years of relentless search, two amateur treasure seekers stumbled across the biggest ever find of Iron Age silver and gold coins in the United Kingdom – a full ton of it and valued at $15 million.
Reg Mead and Richard Miles found the stash using a high powered metal detector called a deepseeker. What they discovered was a large block of clay containing 30,000 to 50,000 gold and silver coins dating from the 1st Century BC.
The coins—which could have been buried to prevent Roman troops from getting them during Julius Caesar’s invasion of the British Islands—come from Armorica, modern day Brittany and Normandy. They have been buried for more than 2,000 years.
It is a mind boggling find, though not the only impressive one. During the past few years, several astonishing discoveries have been unearthed. Here are the 25 most astonishing unearthed recent discoveries.
25| Chinese Cave Holds 20,000 Year-Old Pottery
Pottery fragments found in a cave in South China in June 2012 have been confirmed to be the oldest known pottery in the world. The fragments are 20,000 years old. (AP Photo/Science/AAAS)
24| Explorers Find Sunken U-Boat Off Massachusetts
Divers located the remains of a German submarine, 70 years after it perished near Nantucket Island. (Photo: AP Photo/U.S. Navy)
23| Amateur Treasure Hunter Makes $15 Million Discovery
Two English metal detector enthusiasts discovered about 50,000 coins dating back to the Iran age in Bailiwick of Jersey, an island located off the northwest coast of France. (Photo: Orchid Communications)
22| Missing C-124A Discovered 60 Years Later
The Alaska National Guard discovered the wreck of a military plane that crashed more than half a century ago. The C-124A Globemaster went down in 1952. More than 50 people died in the crash. (Photo: AP Photo/U.S. Air Force)
21| Archeologists Discover East Asia’s Oldest Farming Site
South Korean archeologists unearthed evidence of East Asia’s oldest known farm site. The farming fields may be more than 5,600 years old. (Photo: AP Photo/Cultural Heritage Administration)
20| Viking Shipwreck Discovered
Archeologists discovered an 800-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Sweden. Lars Einarsson, an underwater archeologist at the Kalmar County museum, said the craft may date back to the year 1250 or 1300. (Photo: farm8.staticflickr.com)
19| Royal Tomb Found In Ruins Of Ancient City
Excavators in Mexico found what they believe to be the 1,300 year-old remains of Mayan prince. (Photo: Uxul Archeological)
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