Metal detectors are patient folk. Most of what they discover is worthless. But every once in a while, they hit the jackpot. Which is exactly what happened to two lucky treasure hunters in Staffordshire, England.
The haul—currently on display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, in Stoke-on-Trent, near where the pieces were found—reportedly includes three necklaces and an 18k gold bracelet, believed to have dated from the Iron Age.
“This unique find is of international importance,” Dr. Julia Farley, curator of British and European Iron Age Collections for the British Museum, said in a statement. “It dates to around 400 to 250 B.C., and is probably the earliest Iron Age gold work ever discovered in Britain. The [necklaces] were probably worn by wealthy and powerful women, perhaps people from the continent who had married into the local community.”
Take note, all you treasure hunters out there: with a little patience and persistence, your bounty awaits!