THE Daily Mirror tells us that treasure hunters in Staffordshire have discovered what is believed to be the oldest Iron Age gold ever found in Britain.

The collection, which has been named the Leekfrith Iron Age Torcs, was found on farmland in the Staffordshire Moorlands.

Three necklaces and one bracelet, were found separately about one metre apart and experts believe they were made in the third or fourth century BC, making them approximately 2,500 years old.

Julia Farley, curator of British and European Iron Age collections for the British Museum, said: “This unique find is of international importance. It dates to around 400-250 BC, and is probably the earliest Iron Age gold work ever discovered in Britain. The torcs were probably worn by wealthy and powerful women, perhaps people from the continent who had married into the local community. Piecing together how these objects came to be carefully buried in a Staffordshire field will give us an invaluable insight into life in Iron Age Britain.”