article_snippet: An ornate scabbard chape belonging to Admiral Lord Nelson - discovered on the bed of the River Thames the River Thames by a police diver in the 1970s - has surfaced at auction for £70,000.
article_snippet: It is believed the 6in long enamel and diamond decoration that fixed onto the bottom end of the naval hero's sword case was tossed into the water by thieves decades before.
article_snippet: It was discovered in 1973 purely by chance by a police diver searching for a weapon used in a crime.
article_snippet: Five years before The chape discovery, an ornate locket with an identical decoration that was used on the top part of Nelson's scabbard was found during dredging work of the River Wey in Surrey.
article_snippet: The location wasn't far from the Thames at Windsor where The chape was found, nor from Nelson's palatial home at Merton.
article_snippet: Both discoveries were featured on BBC's Blue Peter.
article_snippet: Mr Moorcroft added: 'Both the locket and The chape were found at the bottom of rivers just five years and a few miles apart.
article_snippet: an ornate locket with an identical decoration that was used on the top part of Nelson's scabbard was found about 20 miles from Nelson's estate at Merton.
highlights_snippet: An ornate scabbard was discovered by a police diver on the bed of the River Thames in 1970 .
  