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A UK-based Kiwi expat was shocked during a recent metal-detecting adventure when he uncovered a 3000-year-old ring on Cornwall farmland.
Novice metal detector Lemuel Lyes is still reeling over the discovery of the artefact which is now in the hands of the UK authorities who are determining whether it will legally be classified as “treasure”.
Lyes said he had only been metal detecting for a month to the day when he headed out on a metal-detecting rally organised by a group on February 18 in Cornwall.
He had spent six hours in the freshly ploughed, muddy farmland without much luck and was about to head home when he got the signal.
The possible treasure is likely to be a Late Bronze Age gold penannular ring c1150-800 BC.
He did not know what he had found when he picked up the ring on top of the mud.
Researching on the way home and speaking to others in his group, he found it was likely to be a roughly 3000-year-old late Bronze Age gold penannular ring.
The exact purpose of the ring is still unknown, but it is believed they were used for personal adornment by someone of high status
Lyes said he was “blown away” by his once-in-a-lifetime find and has since read “anything he can get his hands on” about the Bronze Age.
“It’s the next best thing to time travelling, to hold a beautiful object like that in your hand and be the first to appreciate it in thousands of years,” Lyes said.
The artefact was handed over to the local Finds Liaison Officer and an official process is underway to determine if the ring is legally treasure.
The ring is about 3000 years old.
A spokesperson from the United Kingdom Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said the ring would have been referred to a coroner.
If the coroner declares the find as “treasure”, it is offered to a national or local museum.
“If a museum wishes to acquire a treasure find, they pay a reward to the finder and landowner equivalent to the market value of the find,” the spokesperson said.
“The market value is recommended to the Secretary of State by the Treasure Valuation Committee, following the commission of an independent valuation.”
If a museum does not want the ring, it will be returned to Lyes.
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
