Buried Treasure. What a great name for a book. Oh, yes. The mystery, the intrigue...the riches.Who among us wouldn't rather unearth a hidden treasure than win a lottery? Marry rich? Or write a New York Times Best Seller? Well, okay then--forget that last example.
Today, author Gilli Allan shares her family's folklore regarding a genuine, historic treasure and introduces us to her most recent novel,
BURIED TREASURE.
I've read Allan's previous novels and love her writing. Her style is unique, free from genre constraints. Her plots are always compelling. Her characters, to die for.
Take it away, Gilli!
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| Author, Gilli Allen |
Not many people dig up treasure, but my
uncle did …. or did he?
My childish imagination was very inspired
by the idea of archaeology – the closest science there is to
treasure-hunting. I was probably influenced
by the fact that my great uncle, Sydney Ford, ‘discovered’ the hoard of Roman silver
tableware, named the Mildenhall Treasure, on his Suffolk farm during WW2.
I put discovered in inverted commas because
on more recent investigation, the story is a lot less straightforward than uncle
Syd ever admitted to.
I admit to plundering Syd’s story when I
began to write BURIED TREASURE, a book with an archaeological theme. In his account (which I heard from his own
lips), he was driving the tractor and plough which turned up the hoard from one
of his fields. He took it home and cleaned it up. At the time, he thought it
was pewter. He tried to declare the find and took a piece to London - to
the British Museum - to show them and ask their advice.
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| Reputed treasure-finder, Sydney Ford |
However, because it was war-time
the British Museum was closed, so he kept it. What else could he do? At
Christmas he kept his fruit and nuts in the great dish. But a nosy
neighbour tipped off the police and the hoard was taken away from him after the
war, so he never got any credit for finding it, nor any recompense.
This was
his story and of course we all believed it.
In more recent years I’ve learned more
about the ‘official account’. It was not Sydney but his farm worker,
Gordon Butcher, who turned up the treasure. It wasn’t even found on my uncle’s
farm at all, but on neighbouring land that he was looking after. He was unable
or unwilling to be clear about the specific location where it was unearthed,
the account changing every time he was interviewed on the subject.
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| Ford's Great Great-nephew, Tom Williams, poses with the Mildenhall Treasure |
Partly because of this vagueness, there has
even been doubt cast over the fact the hoard originated in the Mildenhall area
at all. Roman villas have been found around
that location, but nothing of sufficient grandeur to have owned such a service
has ever been excavated in the environs.
Other suggestions I’ve read, linked to the
previous point, is that it was stolen (from whom or from where?) and had been
hidden by twentieth century villains or by airman flying from Italy into the
airfield at Mildenhall during the war.
The treasure wasn’t snatched from him
unexpectedly, as Syd would have it later. He did know in advance he was going
to be relieved of his fruit bowl and the rest, apparently, and (because he knew
they were coming) rumour has it he was able to keep back a cache of coins or
some other choice artifact from the hoard.
Declared 'treasure trove', the Mildenhall Treasure can now be seen in the
British Museum. Contrary to Uncle Syd’s claim,
he was recompensed - £2,000 divided between Sydney and his ploughman, Mr
Butcher – but he never did get any credit.You won’t see his name attached to the treasure at the British Museum.
Great Uncle Syd, was a favourite. We always
loved seeing him. He was mischievous and rascally and had a definite
twinkle in his eye which, looking back, I suspect was something to do with the
fact he knew he was fibbing. But when I was young, I took on board the story as
he recounted it. Of course it was true. Now,
though? I can quite believe him capable
of a degree of roguery, but I don’t suppose we will ever know the real story;
Syd is long gone and unable to provide any answers.
Their backgrounds could hardly be further
apart, their expectations in life more different. And there is nothing in the
first meeting between the conference planner and the university lecturer which
suggests they should expect or even want to connect again.
But they have more
in common than they could ever have imagined. Both have unresolved issues from
the past which have marked them; both have an archaeological puzzle they want
to solve.
Their stories intertwine and they discover together that treasure
isn’t always what it seems.
Gilli Allan began to write in childhood - a
hobby pursued throughout her teenage years. Writing was only abandoned when she left
home, and real life supplanted the fiction.
After a few false starts she worked longest
and most happily as a commercial artist, and only began writing again when she
became a mother.
Living in Gloucestershire with her husband
Geoff, Gilli is still a keen artist. She draws and paints and has now moved
into book illustration.
She is published by Accent Press and each
of her books, TORN, LIFE CLASS and FLY or FALL has won a ‘Chill with a Book’
award.
Following in the family tradition, her son,
historian Thomas Williams (pictured above with the Mildenhall Treasure), is also a writer. His most recent work, published by
William Collins, is ‘Viking Britain’.
Connect with Gilli Allen and her books through the following links:
