News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Uri Geller wants to excavate a Scottish island in search of treasure which he says was buried by an exiled Egyptian princess.

The illusionist and psychic is planning an archeological dig in the uninhabited Lamb Island, in the Firth of Forth, off Scotland’s southeast coast. Geller, 70, bought the land for £30,000 in 2009.

He says he has felt the presence of metal, diamonds, sapphires and gold in the southern part of the island, which he claims was once visited by the ancient Egyptians.

Geller says he has “absolutely no doubt” he will find treasure there, hidden by Scota, the half-sister of pharaoh Tutankhamen 3,500 years ago, and he plans to locate it by divining.

The TV star said: “There are things there that I know are precious and are priceless. When I was on the island, I felt it.

(Image: PA)

"Obviously, I will not keep what I find – I’ll donate it to the Scottish museums. It will shatter the idea of Scottish historians that the Egyptians never came to Scotland.”

Geller has only been on the island once, camping overnight in March 2010 and exploring the terrain with divining rods.

The magician says that Lamb, which is just 100 by 50 yards, is one of the most significant sites in the UK, with links to King Arthur, Robert the Bruce and ancient kings of Ireland.

Along with neighbouring Craigleith and Fidra, Lamb forms a chain of three small islands off the southeast coast of Scotland which are said to mirror the layout of the pyramids at Giza, in Egypt.

Now he says he will return to carry out excavations in two years after first seeking permission to dig on the protected site.

Like nearby Bass Rock, Lamb is home to a colony of seabirds and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said Geller would require consent to dig from Scottish Natural Heritage - unless he already had planning permission from a local authority or written permission from a designated regulatory authority.

The granting of consent would depend on a number of factors, including the extent of the digging and timescale.

And any “significant operation” could also require a Habitats Regulations Appraisal to determine if it would affect breeding seabirds.