The gold was unearthed by metal detectorist Terry Herbert in July and is expected to fetch a seven figure sum when it goes on sale.

Mr Herbert, 55, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, discovered the hoard just below the surface of a cultivated field to the south of the county.

The treasure - which includes a large number of sword pommels and hilt plates as well as a quantity of silver - has been hailed as "a fantastically important discovery" which will redefine perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England.

Leslie Webster, former keeper at the British Museum's Department of Prehistory and Europe, said: "This is going to alter our perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England as radically, if not more so, as the Sutton Hoo discoveries.

"(It is) absolutely the equivalent of finding a new Lindisfarne Gospels or Book of Kells."

The cache - thought to date back to between 675 and 725AD - was unearthed in what was once the Kingdom of Mercia.

After its public showing the hoard's worth will be assessed by the Treasure Valuation Committee.

Once a market value has been ascertained, museums will be able to bid for the collection.

A joint acquisition between Staffordshire County Council, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery has already been proposed.

Making his ruling on the cache of gold and silver objects -- many of them taken from weaponry -- Mr Haigh said: "This is a magnificent find, both in terms of its content and its likely history."

Roger Bland, head of portable antiquities and treasure at the British Museum, told the inquest in Cannock that the significance of the find was "only beginning to dawn" on the small number of experts who have examined it.

Mr Bland told the coroner: "It is at least as significant as any of the major discoveries of this period that have been made in the past."

Conceding that it may be difficult to establish the story which lies behind the astonishing find, Mr Bland added: "It is a fantastically important discovery.

"It is assumed that the items were buried by their owners at a time of danger with the intention of later coming back and recovering them."

The inquest heard that the haul was found by metal detectorist Terry Herbert just below the surface of a cultivated field in south Staffordshire in July.

Mr Bland said the hoard, thought to date back to between 675 and 725AD, was unearthed in what was once the Kingdom of Mercia.

"I think wealth of this kind must have belonged to a king but we cannot say that for absolute certain," the expert told Mr Haigh.

A total of 1345 items have been examined by experts, although the list includes 56 clods of earth which have been X-rayed and are known to contain further metal artefacts, meaning the total number of items is likely to rise to around 1500.

Mr Bland said the "great majority" of the treasure was gold or silver.

The expert added: "Our best guess is that it was buried some time between the late seventh century and the early eighth century.

"We hope that further research will enable us to be a little more precise."

Experts have so far established that there are at least 650 items of gold in the haul, weighing more than five kilogrammes (11lb).

It also includes 530 silver objects totalling more than 1kg (2.2lb) in weight.

"That in itself is an enormous quantity of precious metal," Mr Bland said.

"It's bigger than any other hoard of precious metal from the Anglo-Saxon period by quite a large margin."

Mr Bland said the Staffordshire hoard was quite different to the Sutton Hoo burial site, which was uncovered in Suffolk in 1939.

He said: "It’s a hoard of objects and it’s going to be hard to try and uncover the story that might lie behind it.

"At the moment all we can really do is speculate and hope that more detailed study will help us to pin it down more precisely, but it is a hugely important discovery."

The finder of the haul and the owner of the land have agreed to split the proceeds of the sale of the artefacts, which include sword pommels and at least two crosses.

Mr Haigh heard just 30 minutes of evidence before deciding that the haul should be formally classed as treasure.

Expressing hopes that the collection will eventually be bought by a museum and go on display in Britain, preferably in the West Midlands region, Mr Haigh said: "This is a massive and fantastic find.

"These seem to be largely male items, probably military-linked items."

Archaeologists have said the discovery in Staffordshire is so significant that it is akin to the discovery of a "new Book of Kells".

Mr Herbert, from Burnt-wood, Staffordshire, has described unearthing the haul as "more fun than winning the lottery".

"My mates at the [metal detecting] club always say that if there is a gold coin in a field, I will be the one to find it," he said.

"I dread to think what they’ll say when they hear about this."

 

 

All that glisters

Here are some of the collection’s highlights:

Sword hilt fittings

At least 84 pommel caps from swords and 71 sword hilt collars have been identified so far. They would have adorned a sword or seax (short sword or knife). Their elaborate and expensive decoration -- many made of gold and inlaid with garnets -- suggests the weapons were once the property of the highest echelons of nobility.

Helmets

Experts are piecing together what they believe are parts from several splendidly decorated helmets, including what appears to be a cheek-piece with a frieze of running animals. It has a relatively low gold content and has been specially alloyed, probably to make it more functional and able to withstand blows. There are also fragments of silver edging and reeded strips that may have been helmet fittings, and an animal figurine that was possibly the crest of a helmet.

Biblical inscription

A strip of gold bearing a biblical inscription in Latin is one of the most significant and controversial finds. One expert believes that the style of lettering indicates it is from the seventh or early eighth century, while another dates it to the eighth or ninth century.

The warlike inscription, mis-spelt in places, is thought to be from the Book of Numbers, Chapter 10 verse 35. The translation reads: "Rise up, o Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee be driven from thy face."

Folded crosses

The largest of two or three crosses in the hoard may have been an altar or processional cross. It has been folded, possibly to make it fit into a small space. The apparent lack of respect shown to this Christian symbol may point to the hoard being buried by pagans.