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A man unknowingly bought two historic artefacts for just £4 at a Willington car boot sale before finding out one of them was 4,000 years old.

Karl Martin, did not realise just how old one of the pots was and started using it as a toothbrush holder.

It turned out the ancient pot was made by a Bronze Age civilization in what is now Afghanistan, 1,900 years before the birth of Christ.

Mr Martin, 49, said: "I feel a bit guilty about keeping my toothbrush in it now - it even ended up getting a few toothpaste marks on it."

A keen collector, Mr Martin joined the team at Hansons Auctioneers seven years ago before buying the artefacts at the car boot sale in 2013.

"I suspected it might be very old but forgot all about it," Mr Martin said.

(Image: Hansons)

"Then, one day at work, I was helping Hansons antiquities expert James Brenchley unload a van and noticed some pottery which was similar to my toothbrush pot.

"The painting style looked the same and it had similar crudely-painted animal figures.

"I rescued the pot from my bathroom and asked him to examine it for me. He confirmed it was a genuine antiquity from Afghanistan and dated back to 1,900 BC."

Mr Marton, from Derby, decided to put the item up for auction at Hansons on November 26 and it sold for £80.

His colleague James Brenchley had identified the artefact as a pottery jar from the Indus Valley Harappan Civilisation from the north-west regions of South Asia.

He said: "Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early cradles of civilisations of the Old World, and of the three, the most widespread.

"The civilisation was primarily located in modern-day India and Pakistan as well as Afghanistan.

"I do come across items like this from time to time and was familiar with the painting technique. It was probably brought back to the UK years ago by wealthy travellers."

The other pot, bought at the same car boot sale at £4 for both, was a black and silver vase which Mr Martin bought because it "suited the black décor" in his bedroom.

(Image: Hansons)

It has been harder to identify its origins, however, with experts saying it's thought to be of Islamic or Turkish origin, dating back to the 17th or 18th century. It is made of pure silver.

The Islamic vase is due to go to auction on December 15 at Hansons' London Auction Centre in Teddington with an estimate of £150 to £250.

Chris Kirkham, associate director of Hansons London, said: "The vase is a fascinating piece and I hope it does very well.

"In our February auction, a late 19th century copy of the Quran sold for £6,500 from a guide price of £150 to £200.

"The beauty of auctions is that you never know what might happen if someone wants something badly enough."

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