Novice finds £1m Iron Age treasure

A novice metal-detecting enthusiast has said he was "stunned" to unearth a £1 million Iron Age treasure hoard during his first outing with the machine.

Safari park keeper David Booth, 35, had owned his metal detector for just five days when he discovered four 2,000-year-old gold neckbands in a Stirlingshire field.

The neckbands, dating from between the 1st and 3rd century BC, are worth an estimated £1 million and the find represents the most important hoard of Iron Age gold in Scotland to date.

Mr Booth, the chief game warden at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling, joined experts at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh as the treasure was revealed.

He said he was still trying to come to terms with the importance of his discovery. He said: "It's absolutely unbelievable, I don't think it's really sunk in yet since the moment I discovered it."

He described how he uncovered the hoard just minutes into his first outing with his new metal detector.

"I'd only had the detector for five days. I'd just practised around the house with nails and bits and pieces. I went with it for the first time, parked the vehicle up, got out, picked a direction to set off on, and about seven yards away that was the first thing I came across. I was completely stunned, there was a bit of disbelief. This was my first find."

Mr Booth took the bands, known as torcs, back to his home near Stirling and contacted the authorities.

Under Scots law, the Crown can claim any archaeological objects found in Scotland. Finders have no ownership rights and must report any objects to the Treasure Trove Unit. But Mr Booth may receive a reward equal to the value of the jewellery.

Asked about any financial reward he could receive, he said: "There are loads of figures getting banded about, so you just need to wait and see what the valuation committee values it at. I'm trying not to speculate about it at the moment." "