"Record-Breaking Year: Public Unearths 50,000+ Treasures, Including Tiny Bone Rosary Bead"

The British Museum reported a record-breaking 53,490 archaeological discoveries in 2022, with over 1,300 classified as "treasure cases" found by the public, mainly through metal-detecting and mud-larking. Notable finds included a 3,000-year-old gold dress fastener and a hoard of Iron Age gold coins. The United Kingdom's Portable Antiquities Scheme, managed by the British Museum and Museum Wales, has recorded nearly 1.7 million finds, with the definition of "treasure" updated in 2023 to include items providing exceptional historical insight.