Metal detector hobbyists find treasure

Gold finds made by two amateur metal detector enthusiasts in Norfolk, England this year were declared treasure trove in an inquest last week, before going to historic museum collections.

Retired clerk Charles Sproule found treasure in Norfolk earlier this year, turning up a section of sword sheath made in Anglo Saxon times and 17 coins aged around 2,000 years old.

In over 25 years of metal detecting, Mr Sproule has discovered ancient jewellery and coin hoards, now displayed in British museums.

Terry Norman, a painter and decorator by trade, has been metal detecting for 12 years. His most valuable find to date has been an Iron Age axe head, but this time, he struck gold.

Mr Norman told the local paper the Lynn News that he thought he had found a piece of lead when he followed a signal from his metal detector.

Instead, the artefact was a gold decoration from an Iron Age torque, or neck ring, of authority. As Mr Norman's find has been claimed as treasure trove under UK law, he stands to receive a reward worth hundreds of pounds.

"I don’t do it for the gain, it's the historical side – to know I am picking up something that hasn't been touched for thousands of years," Mr Norman told the Lynn Times.