The tale of the lost jewels of Cheapside

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It's June 1912. A pair of workmen deposit a heavy ball of clay in the antiques shop of George Fabian Lawrence, or ‘Stony Jack’ as he's better known. As Lawrence picks through the mud, a speck of gold catches his eye. A pearl earring tumbles into his hand, then another. A Burmese ruby follows; then Colombian emeralds, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and turquoise from Iran; tankards; watches; topaz; amazonite. Stony Jack has discovered the greatest single cache of Elizabethan treasure. What follows is a thrilling history of mudlarkers, charlatans, experts and chancers. All of this is the subject of a new book 'Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside: Treasure and Ghosts in the London Clay' by Victoria Shepherd. BBC Radio London's Robert Elms has been speaking to her. (Image credit: Getty Images)