Digging the ground to make a fence, the man found a box full of gold

While digging for a new fence, a man unexpectedly found a box filled with precious gold jewelry.

Paul Hardcastle, 52, from England was shocked to discover a 1,400-year-old Anglo Saxon "treasure" in his garden.

Specifically, while digging the ground to prepare to build a fence in the garden, Mr. Hardcastle accidentally found some jewelry, called "Acomb Jewel", believed to have belonged to a high-ranking Anglo Saxon woman in the 7th century.

The man found the treasure while digging for a fence.

However, when he learned that the treasure was only valued at £2,800 (VND92 million) , not £48,000 (more than VND1.5 billion) as previously consulted, Mr. Paul was very angry.

Despite the low valuation, Mr Paul may have to sell the jewellery to the Yorkshire Museum due to British Treasure laws.

Mr Paul tried to sell the jewellery on an antiques website to see if anyone would bid, and the price reached nearly £50,000 (VND1.6 billion) before he cancelled the transaction.

This person said that instead of selling all the jewelry for 2,800 pounds (92 million VND), he will find a way to keep them.

Paul said that his garden fence had collapsed due to strong winds. He and his son dug about 1m deep to make a new fence. During the digging, Mr Hardcastle discovered a box full of jewelry.

Some gold jewelry in the newly found treasure.

York Regional Surveyor Rob Turnbull concluded after an investigation that the items found, which included several pieces of brooches decorated with elaborate gold and garnets, were treasure.

This gives museums the opportunity to buy it back once its market value has been determined by the Independent Treasure Valuation Commission. The York Museums Foundation has said it is interested in buying it for the Yorkshire Museum .

According to the British Museum, because the find was declared a treasure, it belongs to the Crown, not the finder or landowner.

" Under the Treasure Act 1996 , as the museum wants to own the object, the finder and landowner cannot keep it but are eligible for a reward equivalent to the market value of the object," the spokesman said.

However, she added that the finder could provide evidence, such as a valuation from a member of the antiques trade, to support his view that the price was too low.

Natalie Buy, curator of archaeology at the museum, said: "These are beautiful and interesting finds from a remarkable area of ​​the city of York. 

We can't wait to learn more about them and then put them on display for everyone to enjoy . "