When I saw the headline and subhead for this article my first thought was "Could this be the fabled Polubotok's Gold of ancient lore?
But of course, this stash predates Polubotok by several centuries. So much for that theory! (If you don't know the legend, here it is in a nutshell: Back in 1723 a rich Ukrainian Cossack leader named Polubotok stashed gold in a bank in England shortly before the Russians killed him.)
The Brits have deemed this unearthed find a Viking treasure but did concede that many of the items were from various parts of the world, suggesting (to me anyway) that it was looted treasure.
It's an interesting article, and quite fun, as it picks up on the "lore" aspect of the whole notion of Ukrainian gold squirrelled away in jolly ole' England. In particular, there's an anachronistic reference to "Russia" ... a political entity which was not even a gleam in Prince Ihor's eye at the time this treasure was buried.
Ah well, it's difficult to cram so much history into a few column inches ... which is, I suppose, how legends are created.
I wonder if there is a song about Polubotok's gold ... or if anyone is planning to record one?
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4 comments:
what a great story - and interesting that the british gold is split between the finders and the land owners.
Hmm, yes ... brings to mind the old adage about possession being nine tenths of the law.
Under Soviet law, a treasure finder could retain ¼ of the trophy’s value. The rest went to the state:)
Gee, sounds just like Canada!
Actually, probably more like the U.S. At least Canadians don't pay taxes (yet)on treasures like lottery wins.
Not that I'm speaking from experience, unfortunately...
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