21. 5. 2011 Ancient gold necklace

The massive gold necklace was found ten years ago by David Spohr using a metal detector. The jewel, estimated by experts to be worth £20,000, was discovered in a field in Dorset where cows normally graze.

The beautiful necklace was found just as the engineer was about to take his lunch break. Suddenly, however, the metal detector began to indicate that Spohr had hit something. He then dug a gold necklace out of the ground, called a "little moon" because of its shape. It was worn by ancient tribal leaders as a symbol of power.

Spohr was very lucky indeed, because he was determined to stop searching on that particular day. He had not been successful since the morning and was in no mood to continue exploring the field. When he pulled the jewel out of the dirt, at first he thought he had found something insignificant, like discovering an old rusty sardine can.

But he didn't give up, he started to clean the jewel from the mud and was shocked. Suddenly he realized he had found a massive gold amulet. Experts say it's a crescent-shaped necklace engraved with ancient Bronze Age designs.

Photo gallery here: farmers-field-grazing-cows

The jewel weighs 71.5 grams and is one of the few such amulets ever found in the UK. Spohr is the first ever to find the "little moon" with a metal detector. No one has ever done it before. A total of three such jewels have been found in the UK, the last in Wales in 1869.

Fifty-five-year-old David Spohr works as an engineer. The necklace is worth around £20,000. According to Spohr, it could have been higher if the jewel had not been damaged in the ploughing of a field. "I headed across the field to get my sandwiches and left the detector on as I walked. All of a sudden it started signaling that there was something in the ground. And it was a gold amulet," Spohr recalls.

"I dug very carefully and was quite impressed when I got it out. When I cleaned it, I saw it was yellow and shiny. I also saw a few symbols engraved on it and realized it was something special. I've been searching with a metal detector for over six years, but so far I've only found junk. I hope the coroner will declare the jewel a treasure," the lucky finder said at the time.

Sources: www.dailymail.co.uk, www.bbc.com