Metal-detector enthusiast to get €500k for gold find

A FIRST-TIME metal-detecting enthusiast who discovered a hoard of Iron Age gold in a field could be in for a £460,000 (€526,641) windfall, officials confirmed yesterday.

Safari park keeper David Booth, 35, had owned his metal detector for five days when he discovered four 2,000-year-old gold neckbands in a Stirlingshire field last year.

Dating from between the 1st and 3rd century BC, the bands – known as torcs – represent the most important hoard of Iron Age gold in Scotland. They were buried six inches beneath the surface.

Yesterday, the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer announced that she was “minded” to allocate “Scotland’s most outstanding treasure trove find” to National Museums Scotland, provided they meet the ex-gratia award of £462,000 which would be payable to Booth.

Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer Catherine Dyer said: “This is a very significant find, the most important hoard of Iron Age gold ever found in Scotland. That these stunning artefacts have been unearthed in such excellent condition after being buried for 2,000 years is amazing.

Booth, the chief game warden at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling, made the find last September.

The collection consists of two ribbon torcs, half an ornate torc of southern French origin, and a unique braided gold wire torc which shows strong influences of Mediterranean craftsmanship.

Gordon Rintoul, director of National Museums Scotland, said: “These magnificent Iron Age gold torcs are of national and international importance and we are delighted that National Museums Scotland will now have the opportunity to acquire them for preservation and display.”