A suspected Bronze Age sword with a gold hilt that may be up to 4,000-years-old has been uncovered on the site of a new community football pitch.

Diggers moved into the site in Carnoustie, Angus, in Scotland after a collection of relics were unearthed while workmen began laying foundations for the new sports field.

Work to the playing fields has now been halted while archaeologists scour the site.

Archaeologists have uncovered what could be a gold-hilted Bronze Age sword dating back as far as 4,000 years - on the site of a new community football pitch. Work to the playing fields has now been halted while archaeologists scour the site

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SWORD The find appears to be a sword with a gold hilt, or handle, dating back to the Bronze Age. It looks as though it could be two items - possibly a spear point or a broken sword. Due its fragile nature the find has to be specially lifted out in order to conserve it for experts to examine in a lab. Advertisement

Early excavations have revealed a trove of ancient artefacts, which the archaeologists believe could date back thousands of years.

Earlier today experts from GUARD Archaeologists discovered what appears to be a sword with a gold hilt, or handle, dating back to the Bronze Age.

Due to the fragile nature of the find it has to be specially lifted out in order to conserve it for experts to examine in a laboratory.

Chief archaeologist Alan Hunter Blair said: 'We're going to try and lift it today by block lifting it. It will be more carefully excavated in lab conditions.

Archaeologists discovered what appears to be a broken sword with a gold hilt, or handle, dating back to the Bronze Age (pictured). However, they said it could also be a spear point

Due its fragile nature the metal blade will have to be carefully lifted out still encased in its surrounding earth so it can be examined in a laboratory

Diggers moved into the site in Carnoustie, Angus, after a collection of relics were found while laying foundations for the new sports field. Famed for its golfing heritage the small Tayside town could now hold the key to how Scots lived as early as 2000BC

'It looks as though it could be two items. Possibly a spear point or a broken sword. At this stage it's hard to tell.

'We might never know until we get it back to the office and excavate it there. It's a rare find.'

Famed for its golfing heritage the small Tayside town could now hold the key to how Scots lived as early as 2000BC.

This is not the first time evidence for Bronze Age settlements have been found in Carnoustie, which is just north of Dundee in Scotland.

Cropmarks found earlier this year indicate a Bronze Age settlement in the Craigmill area of Carnoustie.

Further afield, evidence for Bronze Age dwellers in Scotland is widespread.

A recreation of a skeleton earlier this year indicated the people who inhabited the Scottish Highlands at this time looked not so different to us.

Known as 'Ava', the Bronze Age woman died more than 3,700 years ago, but was brought back to life in a two-dimensional image in July.

The moment they unearthed a bronze age sword with a gold hilt is pictured left. The volume of material the archaeologists are unearthing is probably more than what was anticipated, they said

Archaeologists pictured on the site at Carnoustie, Angus where they unearthed a bronze age sword with a gold hilt while laying foundations for the new sports field

Early excavations have revealed a trove of archaic artefacts the archaeologists believe could date back thousands of years. Flints were also unearthed at the site in Carnoustie, Angus, indicating evidence of a prehistoric settlement (pictured)

Alan Hunter Blair (pictured) said he believed the site may have been occupied as a settlement from the Iron Age but it could date back even further

EARLY DAYS FOR THE SITE Alan Hunter Blair, chief archaeologist at the site, said: 'The volume of material we're unearthing is probably more than what was anticipated. 'Another interesting feature which possibly dates from the Iron Age period looks like a circular structure. 'It could be that there's been a continuous settlement here.' The ongoing dig could last for weeks with Mr Hunter Blair saying that site exploration was still in its 'early days'. Advertisement

Mr Hunter Blair said: 'The volume of material we're unearthing is probably more than what was anticipated.

'Another interesting feature which possibly dates from the Iron Age period looks like a circular structure.

'It could be that there's been a continuous settlement here.'

The ongoing dig could last for weeks with Mr Hunter Blair saying that site exploration was still in its 'early days'.

'We're currently excavating it and don't know what the timescale is at the moment,' he said.

Archaeologists (pictured working at the site in Carnoustie) say the site could reveal a picture of what life was like in Scotland thousands of years ago

Another interesting feature which possibly dates from the Iron Age period looks like a circular structure (pictured). It could be that there's been a continuous settlement there, the archaeologists have said