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Treasure find man unearths rare brooch in Norfolk

Portable Antiquities Scheme The Medieval silver gilt broochPortable Antiquities Scheme
The brooch, which is about 800 years old, was found in a freshly ploughed field last year

A man who unearthed a £145,000 Anglo-Saxon pendant has found more treasure dating back about 800 years.

Tom Lucking's latest find saw him dig up a brooch dating back to between 1200 and 1300 in Wymondham, Norfolk in September.

In 2014, the then student found a pendant in Winfarthing, Norfolk dating from circa AD630.

Mr Lucking, 27, said the brooch, which features two lions and is studded with two pink stones, was a "special" find.

"I dug a few inches and this thing popped out," he said.

"When I first broke it out of the mud, I just saw the back of it but I turned it over and saw the settings.

"I sat there and just admired it for a bit. It's that satisfaction that comes from finding something that special."

Mr Lucking now works as a full-time archaeologist but found the pendant and silver gilt brooch while metal detecting in his spare time.

British Museum Anglo-Saxon pendantBritish Museum
The pendant found by Mr Lucking is made from a sheet of gold and attached with gold cells, set with garnets

He said his share of money from the sale of the Winfarthing Pendant had helped him buy a house in Diss, Norfolk in December.

It was voted the UK's favourite work of art in a poll last year.

Mr Lucking has been metal detecting since he was 11 and has discovered other items classified as treasure.

John Rainer Tom Lucking at the dig site inJohn Rainer
Tom Lucking (far right) graduated from the University of East Anglia

Norfolk coroner Jacqueline Blake declared his latest find as treasure, saying that Norwich Castle Museum had expressed an interest in buying it.

If purchased, it would join the Winfarthing Pendant in the museum's collection.

Anyone who finds gold or silver artefacts thought to be more than 300 years old is required by law to report them to the authorities.