A Christie's employee stands behind the Crosby Garrett Helmet at Christie's Auction house in London, England. The Roman bronze helmet was found by a metal detector enthusiast, in Cumbria in May 2010. The helmet dates back to the late 1st to early 2nd century AD, and is one of only three comparable pieces ever to be discovered in the UK in the last 250 years.Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Chalk up another one for the metal-detector enthusiasts. A spectacular Roman helmet, only one of three found in the past 250 years according to experts, is about to go on sale in London after being discovered in northern England by a clever hunter with a wand.
It's valued at £300,000 or more - we'll know when Christie's auctions it on Oct. 7 (the person who discovered the helmet in Cumbria has asked for his or her identity to remain a secret).
The next time you see a fellow with a metal detector in a field, don't laugh; it might look silly but there could be riches underfoot. A year ago, another enthusiast, Terry Herbert, discovered a vast cache of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver treasure, weighing five kilos; historians were beside themselves, and when the Staffordshire Hoard went on display at the Birmingham Museum, people lined up for hours to see it. Herbert became the subject of a television documentary.
I'd like to know what this means for The Bill Wyman Signature Detector, '"a lightweight treasure-finding instrument ideal for newcomers to detecting of all ages." Yes, that's right: the man best known as the Rolling Stone's former bass player, his face as immobile as the ground beneath our feet, is also a keen treasure hunter, and has developed a tool for like-minded enthusiasts.
Apparently it all began in the early 1990s when Wyman bought a house in Suffolk, southeast England, and started scouring the land for long-buried artefacts (I guess when you don't get royalties from songs you need to be enterprising.) He has found coins, a seal ring, and uncovered the sites of a Roman villa and a "lamb fair."
On the website where Wyman sells his non-musical instruments for £120, he offers tips for the amateur setting out on a first expedition: steer clear of live ammunition, always shut gates behind you, never trespass, and above all, keep Britain tidy. Now that's rock and roll.