We all know that one of the interesting side-effects of the pandemic has been a serious surge in gardening, with people all over the country discovering their green thumbs for the first time as a result of spending so much more time at home over lockdown.
However, it seems that some of you have been discovering more than just green thumbs, with the New York Times reporting that all sorts of buried treasure has been found over the last few months because of this surging interest in landscape gardening.
According to the British Museum, more than 47,000 archaeological finds were made in 2020 as the covid-19 crisis saw an increase in backyard gardening.
In Hampshire, for example, one family found 63 gold coins and a silver coin dating back to the 16th century and King Henry VIII’s reign. Not only that but four of these coins were inscribed with the initials of his wives Anne Boleyn, Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour!
And over in Milton Keynes, gardeners came across 50 solid gold South African Krugerrand coins, minted back in the 70s during apartheid.
So if you were looking for another reason to get digging and landscaping, besides a love of flora and fauna, the prospect of finding a hoard of gold might well have you reaching for the spade.
This isn’t the first time that discoveries have been made by members of the public, of course. Back in 2007, for instance, a hoard of gold coins was found in Hackney by one Terence Castle who decided to dig a frog pond in his back garden.
In so doing, he and his cohorts came across a glass jar with numerous American coins in it, dating from 1854 – and worth an impressive £100,000!
Do you need help with landscaping in Chester at the moment? Call LW Landscapes today.