Metal detecting seems like a pretty boring hobby. After all, you spend long hours waiting for a beep, and ultimately the payoff is a few stray coins. However, one Welsh hobbyist would beg to differ after he discovered something huge right in his own backyard. Archeologists were stunned by his incredible story, and it all started with an everyday metal detector...
Meeting Mike
Mike Smith has always had a knack for his hobby, metal detecting. Born and raised in Pembrokeshire, Wales, going out to search for buried treasure was just another day for the enthusiast. A loud beeping was usually good news, but one day, the beeping led him to something bigger than anything he had ever discovered before. What could possibly be down there?
Casual Encounters
Mike had been digging up treasures for several years. He had a natural curiosity that drove him forward, but his finds were never more than a few stray coins or old pieces of metal. While these were certainly pretty exciting at the time, they paled in comparison to what would later become his greatest find of all time. His detector went off, and Mike set himself to digging...
Sweeping the Premises
Before digging, Mike swept his detector over the rest of the grassy field. He was waiting for the beeping to subside, but he was confused to see that it continued, no matter where he went. He wondered if maybe his detector was broken, but in fact, it was actually picking up on something that Mike couldn't even begin to fathom...
First Dig
Mike was done with wondering, he needed to know. He set shovel to dirt and began to destroy the earth beneath his feet. His instincts were telling him that this was going to be something incredible. He crafted a hole measuring about one foot wide and two feet deep. He had no way of knowing that this tiny hole would not be nearly enough to collect what was down there...
Artifact #1
The first artifact was a coin, but not a penny or a nickel. This time, he had discovered something that was unlike anything he'd ever seen. He rubbed some dirt off of the surface, but he was still unsure as to what he was looking at. Was it some kind of ancient currency? As he cleaned the object, an engraving became visible...
Looking Deeper
This was certainly one of the more intriguing things Mike had found in his career, but it wasn't too fascinating to him. The coin had a figure etched into one side as well as some words he couldn't make out. He didn't spend too long trying to analyze the artifact. Why not? Well, his detector was still picking up on something beneath the coin...
Trapped Underneath
This was no ordinary excavation. As he dug down, deeper and deeper, he noticed that the digging was not doing him much good. In fact, it was barely doing anything at all. The next object was completely stuck in the mud, so much so that he could not even move it. Whatever was lying under the dirt, he would need a little more power. Mike was not about to give up yet...
Some Kind of Connection
While he was shifting the soil around, Mike started to see signs that the mysterious artifact was just out of reach. He also saw that it looked like it was connected to something. He tugged at it once more and noticed how incredibly heavy the object was. Whatever was down there, someone didn't want him to get it easily. He had no idea what else he would uncover...
Linking Up
Mike continued to dig and dig until he thought the object was beyond discovery. Nevertheless, he soldiered on. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Mike discovered that he was digging up chain links! What could they be chaining down? Well, he knew that this was bound to be a bigger project than he had anticipated. It was going to change the course of his life forever...
Digging Deeper
Mike was ecstatic. He decided to work throughout the rest of the day. Of course, this would mean that he was going to be digging the entire day. The more he dug down, the less excited he felt. These chains seemed to go on forever! He dug up several feet worth of the links. He had some ideas as to what lay below the surface, but he never expected this...
In Trouble
Mike dug as much as he could in one day but eventually had to retire so he could have the energy for the next long day of excavation. When he awoke the next morning, he hurriedly ran out to the site, but he wasn't alone. Apparently, members of the authorities had some words to say to him, and they weren't exactly going to be kind about it. Mike was in some hot water...
Breaking Ground
After getting the go-ahead by local police, Mike continued digging. He eventually came across a hole underneath the links. When he put his shovel into the dirt, he was shocked to realize that the hole began to crumble. The earth was opening up beneath his feet. Once he looked inside the hole though, everything he had been confused about became very clear...
An Underground Cave
Eventually, after digging some more, the hole opened up into a giant cave! Mike was nervous but excited. This was way beyond his wildest dreams! He accidentally fell in, but only dropped down a few feet, so he was safe from injury. He turned on the handy flashlight he had kept in his pocket and scoured the interior. This was no ordinary metal detecting adventure...
Strange Markings
The first thing Mike noticed was strange markings covering the lining of the cave. They looked like some kind of hieroglyphics. Notably, the letter "V" appeared to be quite common, repeated dozens of times over and over on the wall. What could this mean? The closer he looked, the more confused he got. Something had happened here, and he wanted to know what...
More Markers
The cave was absolutely covered in the triangle images, etched into every crevice and wall Mike could find. The symbols were hauntingly done, almost like they had been crafted by shakey hands. The markings were leading somewhere deeper in the cavern. It might not have been the safest idea, but Mike knew he had to follow them to learn the full story...
Calling the Police
Finally, after a trek, MIke came across something that made his jaw drop. Though he wanted to keep the treasure to himself, he knew it had to be public knowledge. As an avid member of the metal detecting community, Mike knew his find was too big to keep to himself. Before he went any further, he would have to contact the police and let them known what was going on.
Human Bodies
Inside the cavern was something pretty unsettling, in fact, his worst fears were confirmed. There were human remains in the heart of the cavern! Why was there this hidden world underneath the farm, and who did he discover? Once he picked up the teeth of a skeleton, Mike decided things were getting too creepy to stay down there for much longer, but there was still a lot to learn...
Alerting Archeologists
Mike called upon authorities with his findings, and they didn't even believe him! They laughed at his call. "What the archaeologists said at the time was that because there had never been a find down here before, they didn't believe it," he recalled. However, once he described the finding of the teeth deep in the cavern, they finally agreed to check out the scene. They were not disappointed...
Now or Never
Mike patiently awaited their arrival. Honestly, there wasn't much of choice, he was trapped down there! Climbing out had proven to be harder than he anticipated, so he trapped himself with the haunted remains. When the officials and professionals arrived at the site, they were totally in shock. In a later interview, Mike said that "the look on their faces when they saw it said it all."
Sweet Chariot
The archaeologists quickly got down to business with their excavation. Their first discovery was a chariot that had been kept under the surface for centuries. The full discovery took several months, but as they would soon find out, that extra time made everything well worth it. Mike could not believe that this all started with a weird coin he found, and now it was something incredible!
Much More Clear
With more and more excavations, Mike was able to figure out what those chains were actually from, and it made so much sense. "My first find was a Celtic horse harness junction piece. When I found it, my friends said I would never top it, but the next day I went back and found the rest," said Mike later. But there were still deeper parts of the cavern to explore...
The Story of the Symbols
Turns out, there was an explanation for those weird wall markings. According to archeologists, it was a sign often used in witchcraft. The kind that Mike discovered is called Marian marks, believed to be the initials of the virgin Mary. The inscription is often meant as a blessing in dark times. Who was down here that needed a million blessings like these? He shuddered when he thought about it...
Door to Hell
Archeologists believed that the townspeople who once housed this cavern likely thought of it as a kind of gateway to the underworld. The markings were probably blessings to keep demons away from their location. Researchers concluded that the scribbles were probably from around the 14th century. Not too unusual for Europe, but the markings revealed something deeper...
Explaining the Chariot
Though townspeople in the 14th century might have thought it was a demon gateway, there was no denying the history there. Well, researchers believe that a chieftain was buried with the chariot. "I knew the importance of them straight away," said Mike, "I'd read all about chariot burials and just wished it could have been me, so finding this has been a privilege."
Buried Upright
Further investigation revealed that Mike discovered no human remains. The teeth belonged to a horse. The horse and chariot were buried with the owner, which explained a lot, considering the burial was for a high-ranking official. One thing that perplexed historians was that the chariot was buried upright, not on its side as was customary at the time. It was a weird discovery...
Further Research
With the discovery of an empty burial ground, Mike and the rest of the team knew it was time to bring in bigger resources. One of these was a ground-penetrating radar that could scour the farmland for anything Mike might have missed in his investigation. Mike's discovery was certainly pretty huge, but once technology got involved, the story only got more massive...
Digging Ditches
A scanner revealed that the team had barely scratched the surface. Further digs found what archeologists called a ditch ring. This ditch ring is a 12-meter circle that surrounded the site. Even crazier, there was more than one hidden right under their noses! They found two more burial ditch rings. Mike had found an ancient Celtic settlement that has been overlooked for several centuries.
Mike's Findings
All in all, amateur metal detector hobbyist Mike was able to collect 34 other artifacts, including a brooch, tool handles, and a few bronze bits. "Obviously, I’ve read other people’s finds," recalled Mike in a later interview, "I’ve watched them on the telly, and I’ve always thought, I wouldn’t mind finding that, it’s still surreal, and life-changing." It's true, his life was forever changed...
Under Investigation
The many artifacts are currently under investigation by a man named Adam Gwilt, who acts as the principal curator of prehistoric archaeology at the National Museum of Wales. He says that these objects were "witness to some great historical events of the time, as Iron Age people defended their ways of life and identity from the expansion of the Roman Empire." They still need funding but remain hopeful...
Mike's Greatest Find
To this day, he can't wrap his head around it all. He received about six or seven figures for the find. "It's the biggest ever metal detecting finds, as in there’s never been a chariot ever discovered by a metal detectorist," said the enthusiastic explorer, "There have been hoards found, but never anything like this." Hopefully, Mike goes on to find many more exciting things below the surface!