Builder in Monmouth finds gold crucible from Ancient Britain

The bowl, made from hard clay, measures less than five centimetres across but local archaeologists believe it could be more than half-filled with gold.

"Apparently, it's a unique discovery," Stephen Clarke, of the Monmouth Archaeological Society. said. "A lot of crucibles have been found [in the UK] but not with silver or gold in an amount like this."

He added: "In a way, it's better than finding a load of gold coins, because it shows [ancient] craftsmen worked at this site."

The gold crucible found on the Monmouth building site. Picture: courtesy of Stephen Clarke/Monmouth Archaeological Society

The crucible is the latest discovery in an area teeming with ancient artifacts. Other finds include parts of a Bronze Age boat and remains of Stone Age settlements.

A construction site worker named Paul Evans, from Abercynon, found the crucible while working on the Parc Glyndwr housing development off Monmouth's Rockfield Road, where Mr Clarke and his colleagues are employed on an archaeological watching brief.

"I happened to be on site at the time," Mr Clarke said. "We've been doing [watching briefs] for several years now, and we've found all sorts."

Mr Clarke, who has worked as an archaeologist for 60 years, said evidence showed the area around Monmouth had once been the site of a large lake, around which generations of Ancient Britons built their homes.

People lived on its shores for around 1,500 years, he estimates, and local digs have uncovered remains of stilted houses and domestic items.

Mr Clarke said the lake may have been drained by the time the Romans arrived in southern Wales, because archaeological evidence shows Roman-era workings on what would have been the lake bed.

He believes it may have been drained by a Roman army under the command of Frontinus, a renowned water engineer who served as governor of Britain in the first century AD.