Amateur treasure-hunter stumbles on £½m hoard

AN IRON Age hoard of gold, unearthed by an amateur treasure hunter, has been highlighted as the major discovery of a host of “outstanding finds” from Scotland’s past which have been allocated to museums over the past year.

The dramatic discovery of the four golden neck ornaments – known as torcs – near Stirling has resulted in the rewards being made through Scotland’s Treasure Trove Unit (TTU) leaping from just under £11,000 in 2010 to £483,702 this year.

The majority of the reward money – £462,000 – went to David Booth, the chief ranger at Blair Drummond Safari Park, who found the valuable pieces of 2,000-year-old jewellery, hailed as one of the most important hoards of Iron Age Britain. He discovered them in a field near his home, buried six inches beneath the surface, using a £240 metal detector.

The ceremonial neck pieces have already been saved for the nation and are on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Catherine Dyer, who is responsible for claiming objects for the Crown under the law of Treasure Trove as the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer, said the annual report of the TTU showed that 2011 had been an outstanding year for finds in Scotland.

She said: “The report confirms that this has been another magnificent year, with some outstanding finds being reported, preserved and displayed in breathtaking museum collections around Scotland.

“Every artefact recovered tells us a story of life in Scotland through the ages.”

Ms Dyer added: “March 2011 saw the allocation of one of the most outstanding finds we have ever had reported – the magnificent gold Iron Age torcs found in Stirlingshire. The torcs rightly feature prominently in the list of Treasure Trove claimed for the nation and are on display in the National Museum for everyone to marvel at and enjoy.

“It is truly astounding that such beautiful items were around in Scotland so many centuries ago and further that they lay hidden, but largely undamaged, under the earth in that Stirlingshire field for so long.”

The treasure trove report states: “This hoard comprises the most significant discovery of Iron Age gold objects from Scotland for well over 100 years.

“Two of the torcs are ‘ribbon torcs’, finely twisted ornaments of a type found in Scotland and Ireland. The remaining two are far more unusual; a fragmentary torc in two pieces is of a type known to originate from south-west France, while the last piece has an unusual mixture of styles.

“This last torc has a body made from braided gold wire, a common technique for torcs made in the British Isles. However, the terminals are highly unusual, decorated with beading and gold wire. This latter technique is typical of the Mediterranean.”

The report reveals the torcs were among 269 finds reported to the Treasure Trove Unit.

Among the other important finds, unearthed from Scotland’s past and given to museums over the last year, were half of a silver penny of King William the Lion, minted during his reign in the 12th century, which was found in Prestonpans in East Lothian, and a mid-16th to early-17th century gold button found in Braco, Perth and Kinross.

One of the other more intriguing finds was a 13th century Papal Bulla of Pope Gregory IX which was found at Culross in Fife. Bulla were lead seals used to authenticate documents and communications issued from the Vatican.

According to the report, the Bulla had been pierced to allow the lead seal be to converted to be worn around the neck, much like a pilgrim badge.

The report states: “This is an unusual example of a mundane item of ecclesiastical bureaucracy being transformed into one of personal significance.”

Other discoveries include a medieval dagger pommel, decorated on both sides with heraldic shields on both blue and red enamels, found at Blair Drummond, and a Bronze Age spearhead at Yetholm in the Borders.

Professor Ian Ralston, chairman of the Scottish archaeological finds allocation panel, said: “The objects which were allocated to museums range from the relatively everyday in terms of category of finds, but nonetheless significant, right through to the spectacular, including the Blair Drummond torcs.”

He added: “The panel is very pleased that those individual chance or metal-detector finds have been allocated to public museums in many communities across the country, and their public-spirited finders suitably acknowledged.”

But Prof Ralston warned: “The panel remains concerned … that there seems to be serious under-reporting of casual archaeological finds from Scotland. The current decline in the number of archaeologists employed in the museum sector in Scotland seems likely to mean these issues become more acute.”

The report reveals that during the year the unit handled 128 claimed Treasure Trove cases. The total sum paid in respect of ex-gratia awards was £483,702. Individual payments ranged from £10 to £462,000. In four cases, the finders chose to forgo their ex-gratia awards.