Left: yet another treasure from the past, happened upon by chance. Image courtesy of Nigel Himpson.
An Oxfordshire builder went to a friend's house to help dig a patio and came away having uncovered a 1,400-year-old gold ring.
Decorated with a cross and four glass beads, the Anglo-Saxon ring has now been declared as Treasure by an Oxfordshire coroner and is awaiting valuation by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
An experienced metal detectorist, Nigel Himpson recognised his find as Anglo-Saxon and reported it. Experts at the British Museum were able to identify it as having belonged to someone of a high rank during the seventh century AD.
"I've been doing it on and off for 15 years, you get a few grotty bits and coins, but never anything like this," Mr Himpson explained. "Never in a lifetime will I ever find anything like it again. When you see something like that you know it's special straight away."
Speaking to the 24 Hour Museum Mr Himpson described how he came across the ring while helping his friend Terry Woodward dig a patio at his home in Abingdon.
Right: it just goes to show, make a builder a cup of tea and who knows what might happen. Image courtesy of Nigel Himpson.
"He had an extension built and started digging a patio and I went over there and said I'd give him a hand with it. I'd done one wheelbarrow full of earth and in the second one I noticed something a little bit shiny."
"I picked it up and all I could see was the back of it and it looked quite plain - I thought it was an old gold cufflink, I asked Terry about it, but as soon as I saw the stones I thought this is no cufflink."
"Abingdon is one of the oldest towns in the country so it is a great bit of local history."
Under the Treasure Act 1996, any finds containing a substantial proportion of gold, silver or other valuable elements must be reported to the local coroner within 14 days.
If, after identifying an object, a local museum - or national if the find is deemed of national importance - wishes to acquire it, an inquest will determine whether or not it is treasure. If it is a reward is payable to the finder and in some cases the landowner.
