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Archaeologists have also found gold and silver brooches at the secret site near Loftus, which could be the the only known Anglo Saxon royal burial site in the North of England.

Many of the finds have been sent to the British Museum for examination, but atre thought to date back to the mid-seventh century and may have connections with the kings of Northumbria.

The excavations were started two years ago by freelance archaeologist Steve Sherlock, who became interested in the area, after seeing an aerial photograph, which seemed to show evidence of iron age workings.

One of the brooches appears to be of Merovingian gold and many of the finds suggest the people buried here moved in the highest social circles and wore the finest kind of jewellery in Anglo-Saxon England.

The Teesside coroner now needs to conduct an inquest into the find, before it can be officially classified a "treasure trove". In the meantime, some of the artefacts have had their first public showing at Kirkleatham Museum.