Undisclosed Sutton Bridge site could hold King John's treasure says engineer

After lying hidden for more than 800 years, King John’s treasure may finally be discovered.

Raymond Kosschuk (63) says that he is ‘100 per cent confident’ that he has found the hoard on an undisclosed site in Sutton Bridge.

King John lost the treasure to The Wash during an ill fated crossing on October 12, 1216 - just days before the unpopular monarch’s death in Newark Castle.

Using equipment he has designed, Raymond says the anomalies in the readings of magnetic fields from this site are ‘phenomenal’ and hopes to do further tests later this year.

Raymond, who is an electrical and mechanical engineer with an interest in metal detecting, said: “I am 100 per cent confident that I have found King John’s treasure.

“It is sitting out there and if it was so easy to find it would have been found. This has been hidden for 800 years. There is something definitely in this field, there are anomalies and it fits the profile.”

King John was fighting to retain control of his kingdom when he left King’s Lynn to travel further north.

Raymond believes that the King had set off from King’s Lynn without a guide and the baggage train was then caught up in a thick fog.

He said: “I have seen that heavy fog and in the 13th century they did not have compasses. If the sun was blocked out because of the fog, they would have meandered off.”

The Keighley man has been researching the project for 18 months and discovered the site while testing out his equipment last year.

Raymond says his equipment, which is awaiting a second patent, picks up the magnetic fields emitted by objects such as gold and metal horse shoes.

He said that the baggage train had been made up of 2,000 men along with 400 horses and that he has detected signals from the horse shoes close to the site.

Raymond also believes that the baggage train had encountered a small tributary which flowed from The Wash in land.

He said: “My biggest positive is that this artery is still visible today and there has been a lot of broken pottery found close to it.

“I have never seen anything like the field itself. It is phenomenal the amount of readings it is giving off there.”

Raymond, who is hoping to eventually use his equipment to detect narcotics, plans to carry out some bore testing for the site later this year.

He said: “I expect to find items anywhere between 2ft and 11ft down.”

However, Raymond does not expect to find the full treasure as he believes that some of it had been stolen by a baron in the 13th century but he has been in contact with Lincolnshire’s Finds Officer and is also hoping to work with local archaeology groups.