Article XXVII written by Alexander Gunn was published in
the Northern Ensign on 8 February 1883 – Part A
Gold at Houstry, Dunbeath
“We have heard of gold discoveries in Kildonan, and in the
Berriedale River, but there is not a word said about the discovery of the
precious metal that was made at Dunbeath a number of years ago, yet true it is,
and no mistake, gold has been found in Dunbeath. In Houstry of which we have
been speaking in the past articles, gold was found, not as on the Kildonan and
Berriedale in small particles which require much skill and labour to perceive,
but in bars and wedges.”
“Somewhere about thirty years ago, a crofter in Houstry, in
preparing his ground for the seed in the spring time, turned up some yellow
metal, in the form of bars, wedges and rings of a large size. It looked very
pare and yellow, not having suffered from rust, or being tarnished in the
least, from having been embedded in the soil.
The man examined it very
minutely, and came to the conclusion that the metal was copper. He told his
neighbours about it, and showed them what he had found, and also expressed his
opinion as to what metal it was. His neighbours seemed to agree with him as to
its being copper; one of them a shoe maker, got a few of the bars, and by means
of a cold chisel cut the most of it into ‘sparables,’ which he used in the
heels of women’s boots, under the impression all the time that it was copper
that he was using. Others of the neighbours got some of the rings, in shape and
size like dog’s collars, all the while in the belief that they were copper
rings or collars.
After a week or two had elapsed, by some means or other the
original finder came to the knowledge that what he had considered all along to
be copper was nothing less than pure gold. His first thought was to get
possession of the bars and collars he so freely gave to his neighbours, and
keep the secret of its real quality to himself. He succeeded in some cases in
regaining possession of part of the stuff, but so true it is that ‘murder will
out,’ that by some means or other it came to be known what the real quality of
those bars and collars were, and those who had not returned them to the finder
refused to give them up; the pretence they made was that they considered them
so valueless that they threw them aside and they were now lost.”
“The original finder, however got a considerable portion of
his lucky find into his possession, and he was determined that no one would
deprive him of them. The authorities in Wick heard of the find and the nature
of the metal, and they set inquiries on foot with a view of getting possession
of them as treasure trove, but the story that the man’s neighbours concocted in
answer to his inquiries, he found suitable for his own case, and the
authorities did not succeed in getting possession of a single ounce.
By and by
the poor man paid a flying visit to Edinburgh, on pretence that he was visiting
friends, while in reality he was disposing of his gold and rings to some of the
Edinburgh jewellers. It was reported that he got a couple of hundred pounds as
the proceeds of his unexpected find, but he was old fashioned enough not to
tell anybody what he got, and by and by the story about the gold bars, wedges
and rings was forgotten and the poor man was allowed to reap the fruits of his
good luck in peace. No doubt he searched and scanned the place where the
treasure was found with great interest and care ever after this, but whether
his searches were rewarded with success or not he kept to himself. How these
pieces of gold came to be there was a mystery that could never be solved. The
same bit of ground had been under cultivation for a long time previous to this,
and there never was the least trace of anything of this kind see in it; and how
or when it came to be there was a profound mystery.”
My Comments:
Hoards
There have been a number of ‘Hoard’ finds in Scotland over
the years, some very recently.
 |
| Derek McLennan with a Minelab Metal Detector & holding ingots and arm-rings discovered in Galloway |
- The Galloway Hoard, also known as the Dumfriesshire Hoard
is a hoard of more than 100 gold and silver objects from the Viking age discovered
in 2014 by a metal detector enthusiast.
- The Dairsie Hoard of late 3rd century Roman hacksilver was found in 2014 by a teenage boy at a metal detecting rally. The hoard comprises over 300 pieces of silver, including fragments of at least four vessels.
- The Migdale Hoard is a collection of early Bronze Age jewellery discovered by workman at a granite knoll behind Bonar Bridge in 1900. They include a bronze axe head, sets of bronze bangles and anklets and some carved jet and cannel coat buttons.
The Treasure Trove Unit
In Scotland any ownerless objects found by chance or
through activities such as metal detecting, field walking, or archaeological excavation
become the property of the Crown and therefore may be claimed as treasure trove.
The role of the Treasure Trove Unit is to ensure that objects of cultural significance
from Scotland’s past are protected for the benefit of the nation and preserved
in museums across the country.
The Blacksmith's Hoard
One possible older hoard which was relevant to the
inhabitants of Badbea was that said to be associated with the Horne family. In Memorabilia
Domestica of 1889 Donald Sage comments “Langwell was purchased by Sir John Sinclair
and when he too got unhappily involved, was by him forfeited, at a valuation of
£40,000, to one Horne, the son of a blacksmith at Scouthel in Caithness, but
who had prospered as a lawyer in Edinburgh.
On 20 May 1977 an article was published in the John O Groat
Journal connecting James Horne, the new Laird of Langwell, with the possibility
of a hoard.
“There is some mystery surrounding this gentleman James
Horne. He was born at Scouthel,
Caithness, the son of a local blacksmith.
A part of the mystery lies in the rise of a blacksmith’s son to the
prominence of an Edinburgh notary, and his subsequent possession of the
Langwell estate in 1813 for the reported figure of £42000.”
“Caithness conjectural lore has it that somewhere about
1750 Horne the Blacksmith, while ploughing on land near Scouthel, turned up
treasure trove in the form of massive gold artifacts. Caithness was at the time host to many
forgers and coiners. The lucky find of Horne’s
was soon converted into gold coin of the day and thus, James Horne was enabled
to enter the Edinburgh legal profession for the initial training, and
subsequently obtained substantial estate retainers…one of which was that of Sir
John Sinclair.
Series
Unfortunately there are a number of articles in this series by Alexander Gunn that are missing. The previous article was XVII – 17 Nov 1881, and this one XXVII - 8 Feb 1883, so ten articles over a year are missing. It is possible that they may have survived in the records at the Wick Library but the librarian has not located them and I am not able to go and search again right now.
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