The Treasure of Guarrazar

In 1858, after heavy rain opened the ground near Toledo, locals uncovered a hoard of Visigothic votive crowns and crosses in gold, set with sapphires and pearls, hung up in a 7th-century church and hidden, most likely, ahead of the Muslim conquest in 711. Several crowns carry the names of kings in hanging gold letters. Pieces were sold, broken up and scattered before the state intervened; some are in Madrid, some in Paris, and some were stolen and never recovered. One of the finest hoards ever found in Europe, and a lesson in what happens without archaeology.