A silver bodkin, or needle, that was found in Wanstrow was officially classed as treasure at an inquest this week.

The post-medieval silver bodkin is thought to date from between 1500 and 1700, and it was discovered by Stephen Mills in May 2019.

He was metal detecting on pasture land in Wanstrow, which is owned by Raymond Pole, when he made the find.

The Museum of Somerset in Taunton has expressed an interest in acquiring the bodkin, which is why an inquest has been held to determine whether the find is officially treasure or not.

Senior coroner for Somerset Tony Williams conducted the inquest on Wednesday (September 29), which heard that a number of silver bodkins like this one have been discovered before, but they have generally been in Norfolk. They were used for ribbon lacing or were worn as decoration.

The British Museum had been informed of the find, and in a specialist report by the finds liaison assistant for Somerset and Devon Edward Caswell, the inquest was told that the needle is 126mm long, 4.7mm wide and 2.1mm thick, weighs 6.81g and has wave-like patterns on its surface.

To be classed as treasure, a find has to be more than 300 years old and have a rare metals content above 10 per cent, and this was confirmed to be the case.

The inquest was concluded with a ruling that the bodkin was treasure, and it will now be valued and, if sold, the money will be split between the finders and the land owners.