Intriguing tale of the gold collar found while ploughing

It's amazing how, with the passage of time, all but the mightiest of structures disappear from sight. As long-forgotten homes, villages and forts fell into disrepair, the stones were removed to build new structures and the foundations became covered over with an ever-increasing layer of soil.

I believe it is important for us to value and protect those longlost archaeological sites, most of which are on farmland. Some, such as stone circles or even single standing stones are clearly visible. Others, like ancient villages and farm settlements are now hidden from view by a blanket of Sitka spruce, have become merely unusual humps and bumps in an otherwise level field, or can only be seen from the air or detected by geo-physic imaging.

Of course, many settlements have always been established in the same strategic or sheltered locations, close to reliable sources of food and water. Each succeeding generation of buildings has been built on top of the previous, that's why many farm steadings appear to be built on a mound. They literally stand on top of centuries of history.

It's amazing how much archaeology can be uncovered when ploughing. Sometimes, the plough will turn up a patch of charcoal, bits of old pottery, or even on rare occasions dislodge a stone to reveal an ancient burial.

The farm I used to rent is called Auchentaggart, which means "fields of the priest" and probably got its name as a result of being associated with an ancient chapel that stood on a neighbouring farm.

Anyway, whatever the origins of the name, a gold collar called the Auchentaggart Lunula was found on the farm during the winter of 1872-73 by John Wilson, then ploughman to the tenant at the time, Mr T B Stewart. He was ploughing stubble with three horses, a furrow rather deeper than usual, when the plough turned up what appeared to be a piece of thin metal folded together and rolled up almost like a ball.

He took it home with him, and after washing and unrolling it, found it to be a plate of yellowish metal, shaped, as he described it, "like a man's collar". It was then placed on the mantlepiece, where it remained along with the candlesticks and other articles usually found there. The ploughman moved a year or two afterwards to another farm in the same parish and took with him the odd piece of old metal.

In the beginning of 1878 he became unwell and was attended by a local doctor, who, while visiting his dying patient, observed the yellow metal collar, and thinking it a curiosity, though he did not know what, obtained it from the finder. He eventually ascertained that the yellow metal collar was in fact made from over four ounces of gold.

As the doctor was about to go abroad, it was obtained from him through an intermediary by the Duke of Buccleuch, on whose estate Auchentaggart was then part of. The collar or "lunette", which is estimated to have been made between 2000 and 2500BC, has now been passed on to be displayed at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh.

About two miles to the north-west of the place where the "lunette" was found there is a supposed Druidical circle on a hill, and nearer there is a small crannog or lake dwelling. Between these and Auchentaggart there is a ridge, on which there are a number of small tumuli (mounds of earth and stones raised over graves), which tradition makes the scene of a battle.

There are no apparent remains of antiquity where the "lunette" was ploughed up, and the manner in which it was folded up and rolled together suggests the idea that, when lost, it was being concealed.

It may have been in the possession of its rightful owner, or it may have formed someone's share of a rich plunder, but in any case one cannot but think that on Auchentaggart it was either concealed or cast away by some fugitive who was never able to return. Sadly, although I ploughed most of the fields on Auchentaggart several times, I never found buried treasure. All I ever uncovered were rusty spanners and horseshoes.