British Man Strikes Seventh-Century Gold

"This is what metal detectorists dream of," 55-year-old Terry Herbert told reporters about the 1,500 pieces of seventh-century gold he discovered near his house in Staffordshire, England. Herbert, who has been a detectorist for more than 18 years, found the treasure over a four-day period in July while searching on a friend's farmland. "Imagine you're at home and somebody keeps putting money through your letterbox, that was what it was like," he said. "I was going to bed and in my sleep I was seeing gold items." Officials have declared the cache a national treasure, meaning that it now belongs to the English crown. The find is one of the largest on record in Englan, and has been described by archaeologists as "absolutely the equivalent of finding a new Lindisfarne Gospels or Book of Kells." A selection of the items is now on display at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery until the second week of October.

Read original story in BBC | Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009