A BOY was shocked when he stumbled across an “exceptionally rare” gold bracelet while on a walk with his mum.
Rowan Brannan was just 10-years-old when he discovered the incredible find in Pagham, West Sussex – which dates back to the first century.
Two years ago he nearly ditched the shiny bangle, when mum Amanda told him it was most likely dirty junk.
However, the young lad had a gut feeling this piece would be worth holding on to.
The now 12-year-old youngster admitted he was always hoarding relatively pointless dog-walk finds, but this one seemed special.
“It was just normal to me because I pick up a lot of things that I probably shouldn’t,” he joked as he told SussexWorld.
His mum added: “Rowan has always been into finding all sorts of bits and pieces. Picking stuff up of the floor.
“I’m forever saying ‘put it down, it’s dirty’ but on this occasion he kept holding this bit of metal, convinced that it was actual real gold.”
Rowan tirelessly researched all the features of the precious metal and was sure he had, quite literally struck gold.
This was even backed up by a jeweller, much to the young lad’s growing excitement.
He was then spurred on further to solve the mystery when a hairdresser with a passion for metal detecting suggested the item could be valuable.
The hair stylist showed a picture of the piece to the leader of their metal detector group and was also confident it could be treasure.
Rowan’s curiosity in the bracelet was sparked again when a Roman settlement was uncovered in the same area he found it.
Skeptical mum Amanda eventually caved and they took the bangle to Finds Liason Officers.
These officials work to identify and record archaeological objects found by members of the public.
By this point, Rowan was sure he had stumbled upon something incredible, but was desperate to have his mounting questions answered.
He said: “We took it to the jeweler and that got me a bit excited, and when it was sent away and it was like ‘gold’ and then it got more exciting.
“Then it got to the treasure process and it just got even more exciting.”
The bracelet was analysed at the British Museum and has been processed through the Coroner’s Court.
It was revealed the once mud-covered jewelry was in fact a first century Roman piece called an armilla bracelet.
Rowan and Amanda have been receiving thrilling updates about the history of their find ever since.
Amanda added: “The Coroner’s Court emailed and said ‘it’s been so lovely to deal with Rowan’s treasure’.
“It’s a first century Roman bracelet of armilla type.
“An armilla bracelet – our understanding is – was given to the Roman soldiers as a mark of respect and valor and service.
“It’s a portion, it’s not a full circular bangle.”
It comes as a secret stash of gold coins worth £118,000 was discovered in an old sock.
More than 300 sovereigns spanning three centuries were found – but the homeowner admits to not having a clue they were there.
The earliest pieces date back to Queen Victoria‘s reign in the 1800s while later coins were minted this century.
Meanwhile, a rare gold coin dating back nearly 700 years is set to fetch an eye-watering sum after being found down a field drain.
The incredible 14th-century artefact was discovered alongside a trove of precious pieces in East Raynham, Norfolk.
Plus, a metal detectorist who thought he found one “lucky penny” was stunned to dig up a haul worth £200k.
Tony House stumbled across a single coin, but gut instinct told him to keep digging – and he uncovered a hoard of 570 more pennies.
A fellow detectorist, Jon Randle, found a hoard of 400-year-old silver coins – on his second outing.
And, one man thought he’d found a cheap piece of plastic in the ground – but it turned out to be a rare ring worth £12,000.
Peter Pawel was sceptical when his metal detector picked up a signal in Greatham, West Sussex but something made him stop to check.
Source; finds.org,uk
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