He was looking for farm machinery parts, and instead he found a coin depot

On 26 February, a hoard of Lithuanian coins from the 17th century was accidentally discovered in the Polish village of Zaniówka. The discovery was made by farmer Michał Łotys, who scanned a field with a metal detector to find lost parts of mechanical agricultural machinery. Instead, he discovered a ceramic jug containing coins.

Unlicensed metal detecting is against the law in Poland. So Łotys immediately contacted the provincial office for the protection of monuments (WUOZ) in Lublin, which sent archaeologists to the site. They conducted an excavation and found that the treasure had been deliberately buried in a layer of bedrock on the edge of a historic agricultural area.

A ceramic jug and fragments damaged by agricultural activity, scattered coins and several pieces of cloth were recovered from the excavation. The container and its contents weighed a total of 3 kg. The total number of coins found is about 1 000, most of the Lithuanian crowns and shillings were inside a siwak-type container - a traditional Polish form of stoneware jug with a large handle and a wide neck. As a result of damage to the jug, 115 individual coins were spilled out, and a further 62 coins were found in oxidation-induced blanks.

At the time the coins were minted, Poland and Lithuania were united in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which at its peak in the 17th century was one of the largest states in Europe with a population of 12 million. However, internal religious conflict and wars with Russia and Sweden disrupted the community and it began to disintegrate. This find is testament to the pressures that forced people to store their valuables in fear of turbulent times.

Under Polish law, all such finds are considered state property. In the event of their accidental discovery, this fact must be reported to the relevant authorities: "Anyone who accidentally finds an object which is to be an archaeological monument shall secure it by available means and mark the place of its discovery and shall immediately report the find to the competentThe persons who have discovered or accidentally found an archaeological monument are entitled to a reward, provided that they have fulfilled the obligations laid down by the Law of 23 April 1999 on the discovery of archaeological monuments. July 2003 on the Protection of Monuments and Monument Care.

The treasure is now undergoing a thorough study and analysis in the archaeological department of the Museum of Southern Podlasie in Biała Podlaska.

Sources: wkz.lublin.pl, historia.dorzeczy.pl