Landowner's anger as council loses Roman artefacts

A landowner who handed over two Roman finds to local heritage experts six years ago has spoken of his frustration after the artefacts were mislaid.

The coin and horse boss were discovered on Mike Walsh's field near Brancaster, Norfolk, in 2018 but have gone missing after they were given to the county heritage team for cataloguing.

"I would like them back, they're important and have a sentimental value as part of the history of the house," said Mr Walsh.

A Norfolk County Council spokesperson said it could "wholly understand Mr Walsh’s frustration" over the "extremely rare" loss and a thorough search for the items was under way.

The two items, found by a metal detectorist who was allowed access to Mr Walsh's land, were a coin stamped with the head of Faustina the Younger, wife of emperor Marcus Aurelius, dating to about AD170, and a horse boss or harness decoration, of about the same era.

Mr Walsh was told the heritage team wanted to illustrate the boss and study the coin before returning them to him as they were not going to be declared treasure, as first reported by the East Anglian Daily Press.

He said he has since been told they have been "misplaced and they will be found, but this is the same story they have repeated for three years".

"I would like someone to take responsibility that this will not happen in the future," he added.

The council spokesperson said its team recorded more than 10,000 items a year.

"While highly regrettable, instances like this are extremely rare," they added.

"We are continuing to conduct a thorough search to locate the items and will invite Mr Walsh for a meeting to discuss this case further."

Norfolk has more treasure finds declared than any other county, according to the British Museum, which runs the Portable Antiquity Scheme.

Finds reported by members of the public allow experts to map potential archaeological sites and tell the history of an area.

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