Artefacts may go on public show.

Byline: Rebecca Lees

HISTORY hunters could soon be making a date with the past thanks to two exciting finds.

Members of the public will be able to examine a medieval brooch and a hawk ring dating back to the 17th Century if a bid to keep them in Wales succeeds.

The items were found in two separate incidents in the Vale of Glamorgan last year.

Cardiff and Vale coroner Dr Lawrence Addicott decided they should be placed in the custody of the National Museum and Galleries of Wales (NMGW).

Now museum staff hope the artefacts will be handed over for good when an independent review is held in London.

NMGW medievalist Mark Redknapp said: ``They are both very important.

``They are subject to an independent valuation in London, which should take about three months.

``Then a review committee will decide whether they can be kept here.''

The hawk ring was found by a Cardiff Scan Club member on a site near Llantrithyd last October. ``The hawk ring is the first such find from the 17th Century in Wales,'' said Dr Redknap.

The silver brooch was found in Bonvilston and is believed to belong to the 13th or 14th Centuries. Dr Redknapp told the Echo it is not rare but is a useful source of information.

CAPTION(S):

HISTORIC The hawk ring, left, and the brooch.