Florida student finds 1,100-year-old gold artifact during dig in UK. ‘Amazing’
An international university student from Florida unearthed a “rare” 1,100-year-old gold artifact during her “first ever excavation” in the United Kingdom. Photos show the decorative item, which may have had a “religious or ceremonial use.”
A team of undergraduate archaeology students from Newcastle University and professional archaeologists began excavating a site in Northumberland in July. The excavation followed the “chance discovery” of a gold artifact by a metal detectorist in 2021, the university said in an Aug. 11 news release.
“Within the first 90 minutes of the fieldwork,” Yara Souza, a student from Orlando, uncovered a small gold object, the university said.
Archaeologists identified Souza’s find as a “rare” gold artifact from the 9th century and very “similar” to the metal detectorist’s earlier find. A photo shows the decorated, roughly 1.6-inch-long item and its key-like shape.
“I couldn’t believe I’d found something so quickly into my first ever excavation,” Souza said. “It was actually quite overwhelming. … It was amazing to discover something that hasn’t been seen for more than a thousand years, I was really geeking out over it!”
“This is an exciting find of exceptional quality,” James Gerrard, an archaeology professor at Newcastle University, said in the release. “I’m delighted for Yara that she has made this discovery at the beginning of her career as an archaeologist.”
Based on the age and location of the gold finds, “experts involved in the excavation think the two objects could have had a religious or ceremonial use,” the university said.
“It is possible that this pair of objects may have been deliberately buried,” Gerrard said.
Souza’s find will be analyzed further and may “eventually be displayed in the Great North Museum: Hancock,” the university said.
Andrew Agate, an officer with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, an organization involved in the find, said in the release that “this project is a great example of how metal detectorists and archaeologists can come together to add to our understanding of the past in Northumberland.”
Northumberland, England, is a region in the central UK and a roughly 300-mile drive northeast from London.
This story was originally published August 12, 2025 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Florida student finds 1,100-year-old gold artifact during dig in UK. ‘Amazing’."
