<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When a father and son turned on their metal detector at a remote piece of land in Ireland on February 17, 1980, they had no idea it would change their lives.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Businessman Michael Webb and his son, Mike, were visiting the early Christian site on a desolate bog at Derrynaflan in County Tipperary hoping to find an artefact, such as old coins.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But soon after starting their sweep of the ground on that chilly winter morning, their detector picked up a very strong signal.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/robert-duvall-actor-dead-aged-95/80650053-dae8-40c5-8c1a-8d67ddc4d491" rel="" target="_blank" title="Oscar-winning screen legend Robert Duvall dead at 95"><strong><span>Oscar-winning screen legend Robert Duvall dead at 95</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair began digging with a trowel and their bare hands, and pulled out a bronze, ancient-looking basin. But that was just the start of their discovery.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite heavy rain, they kept digging and soon found an ornate chalice, silver paten, and a liturgical strainer, instruments used in the 10th and 11th centuries by early Christians during religious ceremonies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Known as the Derrynaflan Hoard, the precious items had been hidden beneath the ground hundreds of years previously to prevent them being seized by Viking raiders.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-february-17-what-happened-on-this-day--derrynaflan-hoard/866f260e-f542-4d31-ab75-bfa3d8a067be" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Webbs, realising they'd stumbled upon something special, carried the hoard in darkness to their car and returned home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Webb senior later contacted Ireland's National Museum, which began an archaeological dig at the site.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But then the question of who owned the ancient treasures came up, and what reward should be paid to the Webbs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/australian-citizens-with-alleged-is-ties-depart-syrias-roj-camp-for-repatriation/c0a6d761-598e-4a1a-8cbd-9cb6891cd6e0" target="_blank" title="Australians with alleged IS ties turned back after departing Syrian camp"><strong><span>Australians with alleged IS ties turned back after departing Syrian camp</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Irish authorities offered them the equivalent of about $20,000 to give up their claim on the Derrynaflan Hoard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the Webbs regarded this as a trifling figure, given that Sotheby's auctioneers in London valued the treasures up to $6 million.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both sides lawyered up, and a bitter six-year legal battle kicked off.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An Irish court ruled that the Webbs should be awarded the $6 million, but with the country in deep recession, the government baulked at handing over such a large sum and appealed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Supreme Court ruled in 1987 the hoard belonged to the state, but said the reward for the Webbs should be upped to $100,000.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Derrynaflan Hoard discovery and the subsequent legal disputes led to the Irish government banning metal detectors from the country's archaelogical sites.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>