A dad-of-four struck gold, quite literally, finding a unique brooch that was recently declared treasure. 

William Nordhoff has been metal detecting since 2017, but in March last year he found his first piece of gold that a coroner has dated back to the medieval period between 1150-1350 AD.  

The 49-year-old was navigating a ploughed field in Pewsey Vale that he nearly didn't stop at as it was difficult to walk on, when he got an interesting signal on his detector. 

At first, he thought it was a piece of lead but when he pulled it up "there was this glint of gold looking back at me". 

“I was so shocked it made me sit down,” he added, “for what seemed like ages I was just sat there looking at it.

“I knew straight away it was something special, because I’ve seen these brooches before but I’ve never seen these brooches with so much writing on them.”

This Is Wiltshire: The moment William Nordhoff first held the brooch. The moment William Nordhoff first held the brooch.

Knowing it was important to follow the correct procedure, he reported his find promptly to the relevant authorities. 

William, who is part of the Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), said: “As much as I would have loved for it to stay in my cabinet, I thought it was important to do the right thing.

“I wanted everybody to see it. That’s what I do it for, to uncover this history, and if I can find some treasure along the way then that’s great.”

Earlier this month the brooch, which weighs 5.77g, was officially declared treasure under the Treasure Act 1996 as it consists of 10% precious metal and was over 300 years old at the time of finding.

The roughly circular brooch has a beveled edge that has part of a Christian devotional prayer inscribed on its four surfaces along a diameter of 24mm. 

The inscription is in Latin and Hebrew and uses Lombardic text, decorative letters often used in medieval times. 

The latin translates to: “Hail Mary full of grace the Lord/is with thee/blessed art thou amongst women/and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen.”

The Hebrew letters A, G, L, and A on the inner inscription are believed to have amuletic properties, according to the coroner's report, invoked as a charm against fever during the medieval period.

This Is Wiltshire: The Medieval brooch discovered by William Nordhoff is unique for having four inscriptions. The Medieval brooch discovered by William Nordhoff is unique for having four inscriptions.

Although there are many inscribed Medieval brooches recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme’s database, which records archaeological finds discovered by members of the public in the UK, in the coroner’s preliminary search they couldn’t find one quite like William’s brooch. 

What makes it unique is its four inscribed surfaces, its relatively good condition, and the fact that there were no spelling mistakes made in the inscription. 

The only missing letter is ’S’, which seems to have been omitted due to the pin construction, and an additional colon. 

The treasure is currently being valued, and although William joked it might be "worth a fortune" he said that the real value for him is finding it so that others can enjoy it too.

“You find these personal objects and you think wow, who was the last person to hold this and wear this," he said.

“I just wish it could talk sometimes.

“You can clearly see it's gotten a little bit of damage here and there, it's not quite round anymore, but that’s to be expected. It spent 800 years in a field getting hit by a plough every now and again.

“It's had quite a traumatised life, and that’s part of its character.”

William grew up in Wales in the Gower Coast near Swansea, and was part of the British Army Royal Engineer Corps for 10 years which ultimately brought him to Wiltshire. 

Missing the Army, he moved back permanently as a member of the MPGS and is now based in Upavon, on the edge of Salisbury Plain, where he has four children aged seven to 22. 

He hopes that the brooch will be displayed in the Wiltshire Museum, so that others can enjoy the discovery he made.

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