An archaeologist uncovered a cache of rare religious artifacts deliberately thrown in an English river — and has now shed light on why they were dumped. Gary Bankhead, an archaeologist at Durham University, has found a variety of valuable Christian artifacts in the River Wear in Durham. The artifacts included a bronze crucifix, a silver trowel and a christening spoon, as well as a silver key, a 19th-century Russian icon depicting  Jesus on the cross  and a silver medal from 1964 showing Christ with open arms, surrounded by Greek letters in a Byzantine-style font. Other significant finds included gold, silver and bronze medals commemorating the Second Vatican Council, as well as a gold Greek Orthodox cross pendant and other medals, including one marking the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Bankhead has linked the hoard to Michael Ramsey, an English bishop who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 to 1974 and later retired to Durham.…