A gold ring made by "amazing workmanship" was found by a metal detectorist in Norfolk 3,000 years later.

The Bronze Age relic was declared treasure at an inquest in Norwich on Thursday.

It was discovered in a field, in an undisclosed location in north Norfolk last September.

Johanna Thompson, assistant coroner for Norfolk, said the item was found by Dr Andrew Carter.

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It is an almost complete circle 15mm in diameter, with a 6mm central hole, weighing 5.39g.

Ms Thompson said the ring is an even colour and slight cracking suggested it was made by coating gold over a core made from another material. 

She said Helen Geake, Norfolk finds liaison officer for the Portable Antiquities Service, had dated the ring at between 1150 and 800BC.

Dr Geake said after the hearing those who created such "amazing pieces of workmanship" would have been thought to have had magical powers.

"If you're taking a copper or a tin ore, it looks like a piece of stone," she said.

"When you put it in a fire it comes alive and you can cast it into something totally different.

"They've covered it with gold, so they would have had to find the gold and beat it out over the core."

Ms Thompson concluded the ring was treasure because it was made of more than 10pc of a precious material and more than 300 years old.

No value was given in court for the ring. After the hearing Brett Hammond, an independent treasure valuer for the British Museum, said it would be worth between £600 and £800.

Around 10 penannular rings, believed to have been worn on the nose or ear, have been found in Norfolk since 1997.