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A metal detector enthusiast is celebrating after uncovering an extremely rare Roman brooch - just four months after taking-up the hobby.

Craig Pulley found the jewellery while scouring a field on the outskirts of his home town, Aldridge, near Walsall. And the 50-year-old almost threw away his “once in a lifetime” find, believing it to be “tat”.

But last week Birmingham Museum confirmed the significance of Craig’s discovery. It’s an Aesica brooch, measuring 60mm by 40mm, dating between AD70 and AD100.

The brooch, made from copper alloy, won’t make Craig a rich man - “like anything else, it’s worth what someone wants to pay for it,” he shrugged. But it is significant for two reasons:

*IT is in a bow shape - and few of those survive. “Fibula” clasps are more commonly uncovered.

*IT is rare evidence of a Roman settlement in Aldridge.

Craig, who took up the hobby to keep fit after sustaining a shoulder injury, said: “It was six inches down and I hadn’t got a clue what is was. It looked like a door handle.

“I thought it was tat, but decided to hang onto it. When I showed it to someone at a metal detecting rally, his eyes almost popped out of his head. Now Birmingham Museum have confirmed what I’d found.”

House-husband Craig came across the brooch in May, close to a site where he’d previously uncovered a piece of Roman jewellery.

Not surprisingly, he’s keen to return to the farmland, but will have to wait until crops have been harvested.

Craig has enjoyed happy hunting since purchasing an “all singing, all dancing” detector for over £1,000.

But he’s admits the odds of uncovering another Staffordshire Hoard, the haul of Saxon gold discovered in Hammerwich, are very long.

He added: “It’s a per centage game. If you’re not out there, you’re not going to find anything. The number of coins I’ve found is more than some find in a lifetime. I’ve been very lucky. It’s about doing your research and the hardest part is getting permission from landowners.

“Other metal dectorists aren’t envious, they’re just happy the brooch has been found. While something’s in the ground, it’s lost.”

Because the brooch is not made from precious metal, Craig can keep it. And he has no intention of flogging the rare item.

“Hopefully, it’s the start of quite a collection,” he added.

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