During the early part of the 20th-century, several privately sponsored archeological attempts had been made to discover the exact location of King John's long-lost treasure, on of reclaimed land between Sutton Bridge and Wisbech. Modern scientific equipment, such as the magnetic variometer method were implemented, from the headquarters of Fen Research Ltd., located at Dovecote Farm in Walpole St. Peter, which had been purposely formed to search for King John's treasure. The research company was financially sponsored by the wealthy American James R.H. Boone of Baltimore, and included on the board Sir Francis Hill and Sir R.E. Mortimer Wheeler, keeper of the London Museum.