Quality | 2009.11.04
Metal detectorist on first trip finds iron-age treasure
A man who bought a metal detector because he wanted a hobby that got him out in the fresh air struck gold the first time he used it when he discovered an iron age treasure hoard possibly worth £1m.
Safari park keeper David Booth, 35, had owned his metal detector for five days when he discovered four 2,000-year-old gold neckbands in a Stirlingshire field.
The neckbands date from between the 1st and 3rd century BC and represent the most important hoard of iron age gold in Scotland to date.
Booth, the chief game warden at Blair Drummond safari park, near Stirling, joined experts at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh as the treasure, unearthed in September, was revealed today . "It\'s absolutely unbelievable," he said. "I don\'t think it\'s really sunk in yet since the moment I discovered it.
"I\'d just practised around the house with nails and bits and pieces. I went with it for the first time, parked the vehicle up, got out, picked a direction to set off on, and about seven yards away that was the first thing I came across. I was completely stunned, there was a bit of disbelief. This was my first find."
Booth took the bands, known as torcs, to his home near Stirling and contacted the authorities.
Under Scottish law, the crown can claim any archaeological objects found in Scotland. Finders have no ownership rights and must report any objects to Scotland\'s Treasure Trove Unit. But Booth may receive a reward equal to the value of the jewellery. "There are loads of figures getting banded about, so you just need to wait and see what the valuation committee values it at," he said. "I\'m trying not to speculate about it at the moment."
Despite the realisation that he might never match his initial find, Booth said he would stick with his new hobby. "A lot of people say you might as well throw it away, but I\'ll keep on going, there might be other stuff out there," he said. "It\'s a good hobby and it gets you out in the fresh air."
Experts said the hoard was of European significance, showing the wealth and connections of people in Scotland at the time. The exact location of the find is being kept secret to stop it being flooded by other metal detectorists. The Treasure Trove Unit, an independent body based at the National Museum of Scotland, is continuing to excavate the site.
The collection consists of two ribbon torcs in a local style made from a twisted ribbon of gold, half an ornate torc of southern French origin and a unique braided gold wire torc that shows strong influences of Mediterranean craftsmanship.
Dr Fraser Hunter, iron age and Roman curator at the National Museum of Scotland, said he "almost fell off my seat" when he first saw photographs of the discovery.
"The archaeological value is stunning," he said. "Archaeologically speaking, this is a remarkable find. It\'s one of the most important hoards from Scotland ever. We haven\'t found anything of this quality.
A similar band found in Newark, Nottinghamshire, in 2005 sold for £350,000.
Earlier this year, metal detector Terry Herbert unearthed the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found , in a Staffordshire field.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/nov/04[...]etectorist-finds-gold-treasure
