A 55-year-old metal detectorist has unearthed the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found, archaeologists said.
The staggering discovery, on private farmland in Staffordshire, will redefine perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England, experts predict.
Terry Herbert, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, came across the hoard as he searched a field near his home with his trusty 14-year-old detector.
Experts said the collection of more than 1,500 pieces - which will be officially classified by a coroner as treasure - is unparalleled in size and may have belonged to Saxon royalty. The hoard, believed to date back to the Seventh Century, contains around 5kg of Gold and 2.5kg of silver, far bigger than previous finds - including the Sutton Hoo burial site.
It may take more than a year to value the collection and, given its scale, the financial worth of the hoard cannot be estimated.
Awesome. You can see several hundred pictures of the loot here. Things like this -
Keep that metal detector going. Incredible discovery, wonder which museum it will end up in, there were a few similar items in the British Museum that fascinated me. Would love to visit there again some day Dad and I are watching a taped history of Britain. Gives me new interest again.
You are the first person I thought of when I heard about this story.