'Someone digs up an ancient relic every day in Britain'

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Every year the British public discover no fewer than 90,000 archaeological artefacts, some up to half a million years old. They are enthusiasts, collectors – or simply members of the public who happen upon something unexpected while building a patio.

A farmer from East Yorkshire realised his pigs had uprooted a golden Anglo-Saxon cross, studded with garnets but the bulk of these finds happen not by chance, but by a very British passion for collecting, and a very British virtue – patience.

Treasure island: Because of Britain's benign climate it has been a good place to make history

Within seconds of staring through the ruddy, iron-rich water one can find a fragment of fine Roman pottery – ancient Samian ware imported to Britannia for high-end dinner-parties. Five minutes later, the butchered bones of a Roman soldier’s rations and within half an hour a farthing-sized silver coin boasting the image of the Emperor Antoninus are uncovered.
 Golden rings, pudgy cupids, Roman armour – a massive haul.

The English are lucky with their history; it is rich and deep and lies beneath every footstep. A benign climate has attracted people and ideas. Britain is a good place to make history. Protected by its island status, there have been very few aggressive invasions – so an unusual amount of artifacts have survived. These finds piece together the jigsaw puzzle of a nation’s story.

Shaping history: Domitianus Coins that led to the discovery of the Roman Emperor Domitian

The Chalgrove Hoard; 5,000 coins from around AD271 and buried in Oxfordshire - led to an an expert who spotted a coin that looked different from the rest – bearing the head of Domitianus, a breakaway Roman Emperor whom academics had dismissed as myth. That coin has proved Domitianus existed.

Ancient: A 2000-year-old Tanworth Iron Age comb

Under Durham bridge seeker look for medieval cloth-seals.These kitemarks of the day give a picture of trade networks, fashion choices and disposable incomes.

Failure to report what you have dug up to the local finds liaison officer means you are breaking the law. Looters end up with a criminal record, punitive fines and possibly a jail sentence. Because it’s not just the archaeological or monetary value that counts here. Each find is heavy with human history.

Some might not be as glitzy as the Crosby Garrett Roman parade helmet that recently sold for £2 million, or the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire hoard, found in Lichfield in 2009 and valued at more than £3 million; but they all are a contact with a distant past.

Treasure: Beautifully decorated Staffordshire Moorlands Roman copper pan

Discovery: Crossby Garrett Roman parade helmet

A pot packed with $20 gold coins had been buried in 1940 by a Jewish family, fearing a Nazi invasion but then the house took a hit from a German bomb, killing all who knew about the gold. The coins have been sold and the money used to restore the graves of those who died.

Extraordinary finds by ordinary people.

The finding, and the finds themselves, make  them proud to be British.