IS IT a brooch, an ear-ring or some other form of fancy jewellery?
No, it's a solid silver medieval ear scoop and tooth pick - and its discovery in a field near York may be set to make a metal detector enthusiast several hundred pounds richer.
A York treasure trove inquest yesterday heard how Karl Draper, from Blackpool, found the item three inches under the surface while detecting last September in a ploughed field at Middlethorpe.
He handed it in at the Yorkshire Museum, and it was then sent on to the British Museum for identification. A report from a museum expert said it was a an ear scoop at one end, for removing wax, and a toothpick at the other, and it probably dated back to the 14th century.
Coroner Donald Coverdale said the item counted as treasure, and Mr Draper would be entitled to compensation, although he did not know how much.
He said he understood that the Yorkshire Museum had expressed an interest in acquiring the ear scoop.
Mr Draper said afterwards he thought it was probably worth a few hundred pounds.
Updated: 10:56 Friday, June 20, 2003
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