The New Murrey and Blue blog

On 12 October 1216 King John and his great retinue set off across the Wash from King’s Lynn for Lincoln, over what was then part of an estuary and salt marsh. He was followed by cart after cart of his treasure, which included the crown jewels. But the treasure may not have been quite as vast as we think, as you can read here Excavation looks to solve mystery of King John’s lost treasure after 800 years (yahoo.com).

What we do know for certain is that the treacherous tide swallowed every cart, goods and all. So John, never renowned for his sweet nature, must have been in a foul mood when he was taken ill at Newark. But he was probably past caring when he died there on 18 October 1216. It’s thought that dysentery saw him off. I doubt very much if many of his subjects mourned his loss.

The exact place where the rushing tide engulfed the carts has never been established, although it’s thought likely it was it was somewhere on 200 acres of Walpole Marsh between Walpole Cross Keys and Sutton Bridge. It’s on this site that work is soon to start on building a new solar farm, presenting an opportunity for archaeologists to get out their trowels and go to work.

You can read much more here, here and here