A DETECTORIST could not believe his luck when he discovered 350-year-old treasure in the Wiltshire countryside.

The hobbyist began digging after his device alerted him to something buried 28cm below the ground on private land near Devizes.

He believed it to be a 17th-century gold mourning ring and sent it off to the Salisbury Museum in March 2021 to verify that it was actually a valuable and historically significant piece of jewellery.

The history fan did not want to have his name or the exact location of his find published in the press because he believes other treasure hunters may try to follow him around on his search for more gold.

He said: "As I pulled the ring from the ground, it glistened in the sunlight and my heart skipped a beat.

Swindon Advertiser:

"I dropped my pin finder to the ground and did my ‘gold jig’.

"It was a tense wait from the moment the ring was sent off to the British Museum to confirm it was treasure and as old as I thought.

"There are several museums interested in acquiring the ring but my hope is to have in the Devizes Museum to keep it local."

The Salisbury Museum finds liaison officer recently wrote to him confirming that the object could indeed be considered treasure because it was more than 300 years old and more than 10 per cent of it contained precious metals.

The shiny trinket is a post-Medieval gold mourning ring from 1673-1674, it weights 3.373 grams.

The ring is a triangular-sectioned gold hoop with an exposed gold ridge and heavy blue-black enamelling on the surface, as well as a white Death head.

Some of the enamelling has been worn off and the facial features of Death's skull are no longer visible.

The interior of the hoop has ‘Animae Vita Mors’ engraved on it, which means ‘ the life of the spirit is death’.

There are similar examples of this treasure in the British Museum already. A gold mourning ring from 1706 is being sold online by its private owner for £1,770.

A mourning ring is worn in memory of someone who has died.

It often bears the name and date of death of the person, and sometimes an image of them, or a motto.

They were paid for by the person commemorated or their heirs, and often specified - along with the list of intended recipients - in wills.

If you would like to learn more about your property/land and have it metal detected by a licensed and insured professional, email the Dirt Detectives at Usethisplease@icloud.com