Two metal detectorists in England have unearthed a Bronze Age gold treasure worth an estimated $400,000. Alan Daniels, 48, and Andy Crammond, 34, found three solid gold bracelets, known as torcs, in a field near Blackford, close to Carlisle, in May.
The bracelets date to around 1100 B.C., near the end of Britain’s Middle Bronze Age. Together they weigh about 18.3 ounces and are made of at least 22-carat gold.
British officials estimate their combined value at more than £300,000, or roughly $400,000, though a formal valuation has not yet been completed.
Metal detectorists describe finding rare gold treasure
The find happened during an organized detecting rally that drew dozens of hobbyists to search about 470 acres over four days. Crammond found the first torc just inches below the surface and initially mistook it for an animal ring before realizing what it was.
Daniels found a second bracelet nearby soon after. An event marshal roped off the area, and about 20 minutes later, Daniels located a third torc roughly 20 feet from the others.
Jim Morris, an archaeologist at the University of Lancashire, said most surviving torcs from that period are found only in fragments, making a complete example rare and three of them even more unusual.
Daniels said he and Crammond have detected together for years mainly for the social side of the hobby and had never made a valuable find before. Crammond said the discovery still feels like a dream and joked that he expects someone to eventually claim the bracelets are not real.
The torcs are now with the British Museum for assessment. A coroner will determine whether they legally qualify as treasure. If they do, a museum could purchase them at market value, with proceeds split among Daniels, Crammond and the landowner, Richard Forbes.
If no institution buys them, the pair could sell the torcs at auction and share the proceeds with Forbes.
Find joins a growing list of notable detecting discoveries
The rally was organized with a local group opposing a planned National Grid substation nearby, part of a project meant to link the electricity networks of Scotland and England.
Group spokesperson Allan Harty said the find has boosted local morale and strengthened the case for protecting the site, noting it also holds Roman and medieval remains.
It is one of the largest gold treasures found by metal detectorists in Britain in recent years. Other notable finds have included a 2,700-year-old bronze sword unearthed in Poland and an unusual coin found at a former gold rush site in Australia.
In 2024, a similar Bronze Age torc valued at $297K was stolen from a museum in Cambridgeshire.
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