Window Cleaner Strikes Gold

Stephen Lovering said: "I do all of my research on Google Earth, I use it to search land and find old paths and roads.

Roman gold coin found at site of lost village in Devon by window cleaner: A window cleaner from Devon has discovered a solid gold coin dropped by a Roman soldier more than 2,500 years ago. Metal detector enthusiast Stephen Lovering made the discovery last week after scouting an area believed to house the remains of a lost village.

Heavy to hold and about the size of a 5p piece, the Heraclius gold tremessis is believed to date between 610 and 642 AD and was preserved, in pristine condition, in the water bed. Stephen from Tiverton, said: "My heart raced when I found it. It was about five inches down but I think it must have moved over time. "It was in this shiny condition. I didn't do anything to it I just washed it off and it was gleaming. I reckon there's lots of gold around and all sorts of other things."

Stephen, 60, has been searching for historical artifacts since 1972 after seeing an article about metal detecting. His first detector cost him just £15 and since then Stephen has upgraded his machines throughout his 35 years of detecting, and now uses the internet to study land and unearth Roman sites in the area. He said: "I do all of my research on Google Earth, I use it to search land and find old paths and roads. In 1992 I found Palmers Village which was founded in 1238."

The gold coin is the second big find for Stephen who also uncovered 50 Roman coins near Homebase in 1997. Those coins are now in Tiverton Museum but Stephen says that his latest find will not be joining them, nor will he be revealing the site of the lost village where he uncovered the treasure.

He said: "I always ask for permission to search land and when I found the hoard of Roman coins in 1997 a lot of people found the site and now the farmer has banned me from his land. So I won't reveal the location of this site.

"The coin is worth about £900 today but it was maybe worth a week's wages then. To me it's not about the money it's about the history of it. I'd love to go back in time and see why it was dropped. They used to throw coins into water to make wishes so this could have been a wish – or was it a fight?"

Despite recently spending £900 on a new beach metal detector, Stephen is adamant that he will not be parted from his gold coin. Instead, he will be adding it to his growing collection of artefacts which also includes a George III coin, a Celtic Stater and an unused arrow head. Stephen has now been given permission by the landowners to search the entire area that houses the lost village site.

And the Twyford Cleaning owner is also willing to help others with their own searches for long-lost objects of value. He said: "One woman asked me to search for a ring that she had lost 20 years ago and I found it for her. "If anyone wants me to search their land for them I do offer a free service."