The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-02-09
CONCEALED WEALTH.
Traditions of Buried Treasure in Grea
Britain.

| Traditions of Buried Treasure in Great
Britain.
Of traditions of buried treasure at
taching to the sites of Roman camps
and deserted cities there are plenty
still to be met with. A familiar in
stance is that of the riches to be found
at Uriconium, the modern Wroxeter,
Near the brook OF Bell
There is a well
Which is richer than any man can tell
Doubtless in wealthy commercial
city overwhelmed with sudden destruc-
ton, as was the case with the ancient
Uriconium, much treasure was actually
buried or thrown into wells or drains.
! But then the treasure seekers of the
Middle Ages have generally exploited
such sites pretty thoroughly, and mod
ern excavations made in the interests
of archaeological researches have
brought little to light in the way OF
treasure. Great boards of copper coins
of the empire have often been brought
to light, but not much in the way of the
precious metals
We might expect that more treasure
was concealed here and there during
the long-con tinued strife between
Brton and Saxon, and the Norman
conquest may have caused some de-
posits of buried boards. But the Nor
man kings themselves, with their habits
OF accommodating boards of specie
against rainy day, offer the most
tempting studies to the treasure seeker.
King John, for instance, is capital
cNa IA loot H. - F.,.
and hider of treasure. We find him
| digging for treasure in Northumber-
| land about the sites of the stations on
the Roman wall. and he was reputed to
have great stores of treasure in
| his favorite strongholdS. Somewhere
buried in the sandy estuaries of Lin
| colnshire are the golden crown and
jewels Of King John, with the chests
| of treasure that were carried in his
train. But we may speculate, too,
about other boards, chiefly buried be-
meath the foundations of his castle
walls, the secret of which was lost in
the sudden death of the greedy king.
Again there is royal treasure, per-
| haps, at this moment, lying hid in some
| rocky chasms of the mountains of Wales
nothing less than the treasure of
King Edward the Second, which he
carried with him in his flight from his
| triumphant queen and her paramour,
| and which they vainly, it would seem,
after his capture, endeavored to recover.
The Wars of the Roses too, with
| their sudden catastrophies and total
! reversal of fortunes, gave rise without
doubt to many secret deposits, the clue
| to which was lost by the destruction of
those who made them. Then came
the dissolution of the monasteries,
and though rumor exaggerated the
wealth of these establishments, and
the kings commissioners had vigilant
eye to all their belongings, yet many
precious treasures must have been hid
den away by devout brethren, who
looked forward to seeing them once more
devoted to the service of the sanctuary.
The civil wars, too, had their de-
posits, both of plumber and of secret
boards: and we may be on the trail of
buried treasure in following the de-
tours of plots and conspiracies for
which secret deposits of coin nay have
been made. abandoned in the heat of
fight or lost sight of by the violent
deaths of those concerned How COM
mon and necessary the practice was of
burying ones savings in time of panic
we may learn from Mr.. Pepys' Dairy"
who on the alarm of the Dutch inva-
sion, hurried down with all his guineas
to his fathers house in Huntington,
and there buried his treasure in the
garden. His aTonies of mind for the
safety of his treasure and the trouble
he had in digging it up and sitting
, earth from guineas, are naiveiy told by
the diarist. All The Year Round