A treasure trove has been unearthed in Silsden.

Now the man who unearthed the treasure - one of the most valuable hoards of gold coins discovered in the North - is campaigning to have them displayed in Keighley's Cliffe Castle museum.

Hairdresser Jeffrey Walbank used a metal detector to unearth the staggering find of 2,000-year-old Celtic coins in a field near Silsden.

Now he is calling for the 27 coins to stay in the area where they were found.

"I hope that by the new millennium the coins are back in the area and displayed in Cliffe Castle," says Mr Walbank, 49, of Tufton Street, Silsden. "I want them to stay in the area."

His find, which was declared Treasure Trove by a coroner in Bradford this week, has been likened to winning the National Lottery.

The mint collection of gold coins, dated from the first half of the first century AD, have staggered experts.

Also among the hoard was a Roman-era iron finger signet-ring with an emblem of an athlete which British Museum experts believe is unique.

Bradford archaeologist Gavin Edwards says: "Nothing like this has been found in this area before. It is a one-off - it's like winning the lottery the odds are so massive.

"What makes the find so exciting to archaeologists is the combination of coins and where they were found.

"The find was completely unexpected in that area, nothing of this combination has been found before. It is unique.''

The coins will now be sent to the British Museum for evaluation and a decision made on how the money raised from their sale should be shared out.

Mr Walbank found the first coin in August and took another four months to unearth the others with help from his wife Gill.

"I was absolutely in a state of shock," he says. "I couldn't believe it. I just felt that I had touched time. It was incredible. I am still in a state of shock - I still can't believe it."

The coins were scattered over an area about the size of an average living room. Mr Walbank believes they remain in such pristine condition because they were hardly disturbed.

"Land is not traditionally ploughed in this area and perhaps it was only ploughed a couple of times in the last 2,000 years - most probably during the second world war when people were encourage to grow crops," he says.

"So the coins remained almost like new."

He believes they were most likely buried in a container which rotted away and then the coins became disturbed.

The hoard is made up of coins from three different British tribes - one based on the old British capital of Colchester and the other two from further north.

How they found their way to Silsden - whether they were lost or buried - and to whom they might have belonged will be the subject of study and speculation.

Gold coins of this era were not used to purchase goods or for everyday living. They were often used to buy power, influence and allegiance from warlords. Alternatively, they could have been payment to British mercenaries who fought for the Romans on the Continent.

The coins are not Mr Walbank's first significant find.

Three years ago he discovered four Bronze Age axe heads in the Aire Valley and as a 13 year-old he unearthed a neolithic axe head which was on display in Cliffe Castle for a number of years.

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