Success had been a long time coming for two British treasure hunters — until their metal detectors literally struck pay dirt and revealed three Bronze Age gold bracelets worth six figures.
After years of searching, the detectorists, Alan Daniels, 48, and Andy Crammond, 34, found the 3,000-year-old bracelets in a farmer’s empty field near Carlisle, England, The Sun reported.
Published photos show the bracelets, also known as “torcs,” in remarkable condition.
The bracelets have a combined weight of 18.27 ounces, or 1.14 pounds, and are estimated to be worth $400,000, according to Bournemouth News and Picture Service (BNPS), per Fox News.
Fox carried the quotes from the treasure hunters when they spoke to BNPS.
“Gold doesn’t tarnish at all, and they came out of the ground just the same as when they went in over 3,000 years ago,” Daniels said.
Crammond joked he almost had a “heart attack” when he unearthed the first bracelet under just a few inches of freshly tilled soil. He alerted Daniels, who searched the area and soon found a second one.
“Detectorists dream of these things and that is how it still feels, like a dream,” said Crammond. “I’m waiting for someone to come out of the woodwork and say they aren’t real. It is the find of multiple lifetimes.”
Amazingly, it was the first time the pair found something valuable, with Daniels saying that in their years of detecting together they “always come home disappointed.”
In fact, they initially thought their excursion the day of the discovery was looking like another “waste of time” after they had only found “some bits of aluminum cans” after two hours of detecting.
Found earlier this year, the torcs are still being assessed by the British Museum, Fox News reported, where officials will ultimately determine whether they “legally qualify as treasure under British law.”
Should that be the ruling, a museum or institution could buy them at market value, with the proceeds being split between the two treasure hunters and the owner of the land where the items were found.
If no institutional buyer comes forward, the finders can sell them at a public auction.
Breitbart News contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.