New Forest metal detectorist Greg Livermore may have found one of 18 lost Alfred the Great aestal artefacts

A METAL detectorist from the New Forest has unearthed a rare gold artefact he believes was commissioned by Alfred the Great in the 9th century.

Greg Livermore found the ornate Saxon aestel – a pointer designed to mark a place in a religious manuscript – on private land in the Forest.

Around a week later in the same field he found a stater coin which could date back to 60BC.

Both finds have been reported to the county’s finds liaison officer who will write a report for the county’s coroner.

The ownership of the stater and the aestel could eventually be decided at an inquest, which will determine if the items are treasure trove.

Blackfield-born Greg, who works as a marine recruitment manager in Fawley, told the A&T: “I was out detecting with a friend and I saw this glimpse of gold, what turned out to be the aestel, in the ground.

“He was on the other side of the field so I video called him on WhatsApp so we could take a look at what I had found.

“I wasn't too excited at first, but then I realised what it might be and how important a find it could be.

“Then I had a sleepless night researching it and then the excitement really began to kick in, especially after seeing so many comments on my Facebook page saying what it could be.”

Greg and many others believe the aestel he found is one of 18 commissioned by Alfred the Great in the 9th century to give to bishops so they could mark their places while reading holy manuscripts.

Alfred the Great is recorded as having sent an aestel to each bishopric along with a copy of his translation of Pope Gregory the Great's book on pastoral care.

In the preface of the book, Alfred wrote: “And I will send a copy to every bishop's see [ecclesiastical jurisdiction] in my kingdom, and in each book there is an aestel of 50 mancusses (gold coins) and I command, in God's name, that no man take the staff from the book, nor the book from the church."

So far, only eight of these aestels have been unearthed, with Greg believing he has now found the ninth.

In 2008, auction house Bonhams sold the Yorkshire Aestel for £10,800.

Another rare feature of the aestel Greg found is that it still has its original gold pin, which would have held a sliver of wood, bone or reed in place as a pointer on the manuscript.

“This would be the find of a lifetime for most detectorists,” Greg said. “I’ve found gold rings and things like that before, but never anything like this.”

Around a week after finding the aestel, in the same field, Greg found a Westerham South Stater dating back to 50 or 60BC.

“Any time you find an item that’s more than 300 years old, and more than 10% gold, it has to be reported to the county’s finds officer.

“Now I’ve done that, she needs to write a report on it to pass to the coroner. If there’s going to be an inquest then myself, as the finder of the object, and the landowner will be invited to attend the inquest into its ownership so we can ask questions.

“There would also need to be a 90-day period during which museums can try to buy it if it is determined to be treasure. But all of this could be years away yet.”

Greg has been a detectorist since 2019 after being introduced to the hobby by a friend.