Immediately people may think of 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' or perhaps Howard Carter and the treasures of Egypt.

My treasures were a lot less significant; as a boy I'd head up into my grandfather's roof space to search for my treasure. Hours later I would reappear, arms laden with an assortment of junk of 'stuff I'd found'; a recurring adventure that led to me being called 'wee John Rid' by my aunts.

The name was lost on me, but I assumed it was due to the fact that I regularly emptied all the old boxes and cases in the attic and took their unwanted junk away.

My grandfather, Robert Luke, then turned to me one day, and said "I have something very special to give you. You must promise to keep it safe, and look after it"

My grandfather regularly gave me things of sentimental value, like pen knives, old watches, etc, but today's gift started an interest that would continue as long as I lived. He produced a piece of tissue paper, and said "There you are" I opened it, and in the tissue lay a coin.

It was a very delicate coin, wafer thin, and the markings were quite faint. On the front was the impression of a lady's head, along with the words Regina Elizabeth. On the reverse was a date 1561.

My grandfather told me the story that went along with the coin.
My grandfather's cousin, also called Robert, worked for Stevenson's Quarry, which in 1937 was located at Casheltown, outside Ahoghill. Whilst drawing soil from the surface of some rock, in preparation for blasting, he noticed something lying in the soil.

It appeared to be a cloth bag, which disintegrated as he tried to lift it. In the bag was a slab of bog butter, and several silver English coins.

He reported the find to the authorities, and several archaeologists came from Queens University, and studied the site. The find was declared treasure trove, and as was customary, the finder was permitted to keep some of the coins. This then was one that he had given to my grandfather.

My grandfather might as well have given me £1000! For years I kept this little coin, and wondered about it. Who put it there? Why? When? These were questions that I needed answers to.

So many years later, I set about trying to find out more information on the find. It was at this point that I realised just how difficult researching a subject such as this really was.

All the information I needed wasn't filed in a book in a library somewhere. It was scattered to the four winds. Little bits here, a scrap there, a mention somewhere else. It was laborious to say the least.

Finally, I pieced together everything that I needed; and what I discovered was very interesting indeed.

The coins were found in a field in Casheltown; I knew that already from the official report (which was found by Elizabeth Hoy at the local studies section of the local library, in a newspaper article in the Ballymena Observer).

As always the big problem was finding exactly where in Casheltown. You might think there wouldn't be too many quarries in Casheltown, but then you'd be wrong.

It seems that over the years, several attempts at quarrying stone in the area were made, most of them being abandoned due to low quality rock. Through a process of elimination, I called at farm after farm, until I eventually found an old man who recalled the incident, who pointed me in the right direction.

I found the quarry on the Casheltown Road, and called with the people there. I talked with them about the coin find, and they were able to fill in the missing blanks.

They live in a modern farmhouse, but until recently lived in a building to the side of their new house; a rather quaint little stone built cottage not uncommon in Ulster.

Built around 1609 during the plantation of Ulster, the cottage originally comprised living quarters, a room for a weaving loom, and a byre for animals. This is where Robert lived, at the time the coins were found.

Attached is a copy of an aerial photograph showing the site and the approximate find-spot of the coins.

The modern farm is built within the quarry, the entrance being roughly in the middle of the photograph.

I know from separate investigations into my own family history, that the Luke family came from Scotland and settled in the North of Ireland during the Montgomery Plantation c. 1609.

Three brothers came by boat, and landed in North Down, at a place in Bangor still known to this day as 'Luke's Point'. The three brothers parted company, and looked for an area to set up home. One settled in present day Whiteabbey, another settled in Larne, later moving to an area outside Broughshane, and the third settled in Ballylummin, not far from Casheltown.

It is interesting to note that with the exception of the Broughshane family, there are still family names in these areas. My ancestors are the ones from Broughshane – the last relative to live there was my grandfather, Robert Luke, who went to school in Pollee.
His father, Edward Luke, moved into Ballymena about 1907, in search of work.
However, whilst I have no definitive proof, it is reasonable to assume that perhaps this cottage was built by an ancestor, perhaps one of the three brothers, or maybe his son, when he married.

One of the main problems faced by settlers in this area was the frequent raids carried out by the indigenous Irish clans from across the Bann.

Whilst efforts were made to stem this flow of invaders by Elizabeth I, by posting Sir Francis Stafford with 800 foot soldiers at Portglenone, it was still wise to keep any valuable belongings hidden.

Whilst it is merely speculation, I wonder if this was the problem that my ancestor faced as he lived at Casheltown, and being faced with this problem, hid his money in the field to the rear of his house.

When he died, of course, no-one would have known where the money was hidden, and there it lay for over 330 years, until it was discovered by a great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of his? Perhaps this is a romantic notion, but possible, I feel, nonetheless.