Medieval bling dug up in man's backyard

A trove of medieval jewellery and other precious objects found by a man working in his backyard includes pieces made for a royal court and may be worth as much as $136,817.

The officials from Austria's department of national antiquities and the Academy of Sciences said they were only at the beginning of their investigation into the provenance and other details of the find.

"We have in front of us high-end products (made) for the highest consumer class of Central Europe" of the Middle Ages, academy member Thomas Kuehtreiber told reporters.

Austria's Federal Office for Memorials said the trove consists of more than 200 rings, broaches, ornate belt buckles, gold-plated silver plates and other pieces or fragments, many encrusted with pearls, fossilised coral and other ornaments. It says the objects are about 650 years old and weigh about three kilograms.

Some of the more stunning objects on display today included a delicately formed brooch adorned with pearls and coral and a ring inlaid with an amethyst-like semiprecious stone.

A media statement said the find was tentatively valued at tens of thousands of euros. Employees with the memorials office told The Associated Press they could be worth as much as nearly $136,817.

The memorials office said the man, who did not want to be identified, came across the objects in 2007 while digging in his back yard to expand a small pond. But he did not report it to authorities until after rediscovering the dirt-encrusted objects in a basement box while packing up after selling his house two years ago.

Officials presenting the pieces did not say when the finder first came to them with the ancient trove. They said that investigations into the find had only begun.

They speculated that the objects could have been plunder from a conflict or owned by a trader who had buried it for safety ahead of approaching potential customers to make a deal.

The location of the find lies on an important medieval trading route that ran between Poland and Italy, they said.

"We will probably never find an answer" to the treasure's origins, said Nikolaus Hofer of the memorial office.

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