Over 100 artefacts discovered

More than 100 objects, some of them made of gold, were discovered on church land at an undisclosed location in Dumfries and Galloway.

The rich hoard of artefacts, many of which are unique, includes some of Carolingian and Irish origin. The material comprises many silver ingots, armbands and brooches, as well as several gold objects, Scotland's Treasure Trove Unit announced.

When the discovery was made in early September, Derek McLennan was in the company of two ministers who are also detectorists; Rev Dr David Bartholomew, a Church of Scotland minister of a rural Galloway charge, and Mike Smith, the pastor of an Elim Pentecostal Church in Galloway.