When A Man Went Out With His Metal Detector, He Found A Treasure Trove That Made Him A Millionaire

It’s November 1992, and Eric Lawes is trudging around British farmland in search of a missing hammer. Then, all of a sudden, his metal detector starts going haywire. As Lawes begins digging into the ground, though, it isn’t the lost tool that he finds. No, the metal detectorist has just uncovered an incredible haul of Roman artifacts. And the discovery will change his life forever.

Eric Lawes was born on May 1, 1923, in Hoxne in Suffolk, England. He had two siblings and was raised by his mom, Florence, and dad, Joseph. His father worked as a gamekeeper, but it seems that Lawes had a modest upbringing. Indeed, he reportedly grew up in poverty, with little in the way of a formal education.

You see, Lawes’ formative years fell between World Wars I and II. And this interwar period was a tough time for nearly everyone in Britain – even those living in rural areas that one might have imagined would have been less affected by conflict. Indeed, in villages such as the one where Lawes grew up, many children didn’t attend school and were instead educated outside the walls of the classroom.

Lawes, himself, spent his youth in Hoxne – a small village located around 100 miles northeast of London. And with a population of less than 1,000, Hoxne may at first appear as a charming yet unremarkable place. However, it is in fact rich in ancient history – not that Lawes knew this when he was young.

But although Lawes’ early life was seemingly as ordinary as the village he grew up in, he later actually played a part in uncovering Hoxne’s history. You see, Lawes found a haul of treasure in the area. And not only did the discovery put the village on the map, but Lawes himself also became a minor celebrity and made a small fortune as a result.