Ancient Greek gold crown kept for decades in a box of old newspapers under bed

A rare gold crown believed to be more than 2,300 years old was discovered in 2016 under a bed in a Somerset cottage. The delicate Greek myrtle wreath, which is thought to date to 300 BC, was found in a cardboard box in a modest Taunton property. Its elderly owner was stunned when he found out the artifact is worth at least £100,000. Stylistically it belongs to a rarefied group of wreaths dateable to the Hellenistic period and the form may indicate that it was made in Northern Greece. It is eight inches across and weighs about 100 grams. It's pure gold and handmade and it would have been hammered out by a goldsmith.

Gold wreaths like the one found were meant to imitate the wreaths of real leaves that were worn in Ancient Greece in religious ceremonies and given as prizes in athletic and artistic contests. They usually depicted branches of laurel, myrtle, oak and olive trees, which were symbolic of concepts such as wisdom, triumph, fertility, peace and virtue. Due to their fragile nature, they were only worn on special occasions. Many were dedicated to the Gods in sanctuaries or placed in the graves of royal or aristocratic people as funerary offerings.

The current owner's grandfather was a collector who was fascinated by the ancient world. Although his family don't know how or where he acquired it, it's likely he bought it sometime in the 1940s. Similar gold wreaths can command £200,000.

Rare ancient coins solid investments

Results for the Stack’s Bowers Galleries August 2020 auction illustrate numismatics stands firm even during times of economic uncertainty. Over 92% of the ancient coin and world coin and paper money lots changed hands. Highlights among ancient coins included a gold octodrachm of Arsinoe II Philadelphos, which garnered $38k, a gold stater of Kroisos that sold for $30k, and an exceptional silver half shekel from year 3 of the First Jewish War that made $22k.

SICILY. Syracuse. The Gameroi, ca. 500-490/86 B.C. AR Tetradrachm (17.21 gms). NGC Ch F, Strike: 5/5 Surface: 2/5. Marks. Obverse: Charioteer, holding reins in both hands, driving slow quadriga right; Reverse: Head of Arethousa left in incuse circle in center of quadripartite incuse square. A VERY RARE type, this piece emanates from the earliest coinage at Syracuse. Est $5k to $10k, hammer price $13,200

The sarcophagus of Hercules

The sarcophagus of Hercules was brought from Zurich to Istanbul in 2017 and was put on display in the museum of Antalya, a southern city where the second century artifact originated. Numerous Roman marble funerary coffins were decorated with scenes from the mythic labours of the hero Hercules, a very popular theme showing his triumphs over death.

The sarcophagus is believed to have been stolen from the ancient city of Perge, 18 kilometers (11 miles) east of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, sometime in the 1960s. After undergoing restoration in the U.K. several years ago, it was seized by Swiss customs authorities in 2010. The fabled Twelve Labors of Hercules, from the killing of a mythological lion to cleaning the stables, are depicted on the exterior of the sarcophagus. Since 2003, Turkey has been pursuing a legal process for the retrieval of several artifacts. Over 4,000 smuggled historical artifacts were repatriated to Turkey from 2004 to 2016.

The piece was placed next to the "Weary Heracles" statue, which itself was retrieved from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The top half of the statue was missing for decades before being located in the Boston museum, which purchased it in 1982. The bottom part was discovered in Perge in 1980 and was showcased in the Antalya Museum.

Gold Bowl of Hasanlu

The Iron Age fortified hilltop site of Hasanlu Tepe in northwest Iran was sacked around 800 B.C. Hasanlu developed into a significant commercial and production center during the early Iron Age (1400–800 B.C.), owing to its location on important trade routes between Mesopotamia and Anatolia.

In 1958 archaeologists were exploring the complex at Teppe Hasanlu near the city of Naghadeh in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan. They came across a layer of an Iron Age city that had been frozen in time - a ‘burn layer’ containing remains preserved in ash and rubble. The Gold Bowl of Hasanlu was discovered not far from a skeletal hand who was likely the last to touch it almost 3000 years ago. Evidence suggests when the citadel of Hasanlu was under siege some soldiers penetrated into the citadel grabbing a handful of valuable treasures, including the gold bowl. The theory suggests that the whole building collapsed, crushing the looters and their possessions under layers of debris. And here they remained for thousands of years.

The Gold Bowl weighs more than two pounds and bears remarkable repoussé and chase decorations.

Different kinds of weapons, including daggers or swords, bow and arrow are depicted in various scenes in the lower and middle registers of the Hasanlu bowl.

The 'Dolphin Rider' coinage of Tarentum

Tarentum, the city upon which modern Taranto, Italy was built, was founded in the eighth century BCE. Some attributed the civic beginnings to Taras, the legendary son of Poseidon and Satyria, a local nymph. In his myth, Taras falls from his ship during a storm, and is miraculously rescued and brought to shore by a dolphin. Starting in the very late sixth century BCE, Tarentum began issuing coinage paying tribute to the dolphin.

Though many denominations were struck over the ensuing three centuries, the most iconic was that of the nomos, a silver coin equivalent to two drachmai. Corresponding in size to U.S. nickel, these coins were a staple in regional trade. A vast quantity were struck owing to the fact that Tarentum was one of the most populous cities in the world around 500 BCE.

Ancient artifacts and DNA testing

Ancient people in Scandinavia used birch pitch as chewing gum.

Scientists were able to sequence a complete human genome from a piece of birch pitch that was chewed up and spat out in southern Denmark some 5700 years ago. The chewer was female, with dark skin, dark hair, and blue eyes. Trapped within her gum was genetic material from one of her meals—duck and hazelnuts—along with DNA from the bacteria and viruses she harbored in her mouth. 17,000-year-old puma shit from the southern Andes contains the oldest parasite DNA yet recorded. It proves pumas were infested with roundworm long before humans and their animals arrived.

Centuries-old manuscripts are appreciated for their words and illustrations, but recent research has shown they can also be treasure troves of DNA.

Scribes often wrote on parchment made from the skin of animals. Religious pages containing oaths are rife with human microbial DNA, likely because they were often handled and kissed by clergymen. DNA played a crucial role in identifying the bones of Richard III, which were unearthed beneath a city parking lot in Leicester, England in 2012.

Rodents of millennia past were nest builders.

They collected bits from their surroundings and sealed it with their urine, which acts as a binder that preserves the nests for tens of thousands of years. These nests, middens, offer a snapshot of the local environment at the time they were made. Because the enamel that coats our teeth is 97% mineral, human teeth are more likely to survive through time. In 2010 genetic material from a wisdom tooth discovered in Siberia lead scientists identify the Denisovans, a little-known group that shared a common ancestor with Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.

Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius, also known as Antoninus, was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.

138-161 AD. Aureus, 7.30g. Rome, 140-4 CE

Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held various offices during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. He is remembered by history as a kind, just, and wise emperor. Antoninus Pius was an “Adopted Emperor”, where succession was a conscious decision, not a birthright. After the death of Hadrian’s first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, on February 25, 138 CE, Antoninus was formally adopted by Hadrian. It was agreed that he would be made emperor with the provision that he would, in turn, adopt Marcus Aurelius.

His humanitarian efforts were significant, and he was loved by the Roman people. Antoninus Pius died in his sleep at the age of 74. His successor Marcus Aurelius spoke very highly of Antoninus: “Remember his qualities, so that when your last hour comes your conscience may be as clear as his.” His last spoken word was “aequanimitas”, meaning equanimity – mental calmness and composure.