A FATHER and son came across buried treasure - while digging a hole in their Acomb garden to install a new fence post.

An inquest heard the pair found jewellery including fragments of a brooch, decorated with filigree gold foils and garnets, which were thought to have been buried with a ‘high-status’ Anglo Saxon woman in the 7th century.

Now the jewellery may be bought by York Museums Trust to go on display at the Yorkshire Museum - if the price is right.

York area coroner Rob Turnbull concluded the find was ‘treasure,’ which means museums must have the opportunity to acquire it after its full market value has been established by an independent Treasure Valuation Committee.

The father told The Press his fence blew down in high winds last spring and his son, a builder, dug down at least three feet into the ground to create a secure position for a replacement fence post.

“I was telling him he didn’t need to go quite so deep, then I spotted something green in the ground and realised it was a copper pot which had turned green in the moist environment,” he said.

“Then I saw fragments of gold, gleaming in the soil. I couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable. I was so excited.”

York Press:

He contacted the museums trust, which organised a dig in the garden but found little more. He had no idea what the find, which he dubbed The Acomb Jewel,’ was worth as yet.

A trust spokeswoman said it had expressed an interest in acquiring the treasure for the Yorkshire Museum.“Once the value has been confirmed by the Treasure Valuation Committee, we will be in a position to decide whether this will be possible.”

A British Museum spokeswoman said: “The assemblage is likely to have been buried with a high-status Anglo-Saxon woman during the 7th century.

“The most notable finds are delicate fragments of a disc-shaped brooch decorated with filigree gold foils and red garnets, and glass and amber beads from a colourful necklace.”

  • The man's name and precise location have been withheld to protect the site