Most of our attics are stuffed full of Christmas decorations, a pair of old, moth-eaten curtains and some dusty toys that haven’t been played with for decades.
But one family is set to become very rich indeed after what they discovered in theirs, having stumbled upon a bunch of Indian artefacts from a couple of centuries back.
In fact, the items are thought to be worth so much, that it’ll be ‘like a lottery win’ for the couple, who have lived in their semi-detached home in Berkshire for years.
The items had been taken by their ancestor – British army officer Major Thomas Hart – from the palace of freedom fighter Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore, following his defeat to the Duke of Wellington in 1799.
The pieces are expected to fetch millions of pounds at auction.
Back in 2016, a sale of other items that had belonged to Tipu sold for £6 million, but auctioneer Anthony Cribb said this latest collection is said to be more significant.
He explained: “It is impossible to put a price on these items but I would say this collection is more important than the previous one that sold.
“That one was put together over 40 years and came from lots of different places.
“But these weapons were picked up at the battlement by a military officer who was there and have been in the same family for 220 years.
“When I first saw the gun I nearly fainted. It is a once in a lifetime find.
“The owners are just an ordinary family who live in a Victorian semi-detached house.
“You could describe this find as like a lottery win for them.”
The haul is believed to include the gun of the ‘Tiger of Mysore’, which has Tipu’s tiger stripe pattern and was used in his last stand against the British. It also features some damage, which was caused by a musket ball that’s thought to have killed him.
