By Isle of Wight Observer
Island metal detectorist Mark Smedmor has described discovering a rare Bronze Age gold object as his “second find of a lifetime” after previously uncovering a Henry VIII gold Angel.
The discovery was made during a Vectis Searchers IW dig on private land on March 29, with proceeds from the event donated to the IW Hospice, the charity supported by the group.
Members had gathered on arable land where detecting had taken place for more than six years, joking beforehand that it would be typical if someone found gold.
After searching one field for several hours, Mark moved to another area previously used as a training ground during both World War One and World War Two, where members had been warned there could still be live munitions underground.
Having found several cartridge cases, he was returning to the car when a gold-coloured object was spotted on the surface.
Initially thought to be part of a broken modern charm, the item was shared in the club’s WhatsApp group, where another member identified it as a Bronze Age penannular gold ring.
The find is believed to date back around 3,000 years.
It will now be entered into the club’s Find of the Month competition before being passed to the local finds liaison officer for recording on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database.
According to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, only 12 similar examples have been recorded in Britain since 1997.
