Celtic ruler's 2,000-year-old ring kept in cupboard for 28 years

The ring was unearthed in a field in Knaresborough

A "jaw-dropping" gold ring thought to have been worn by a Celtic leader 2,000 years ago is to be auctioned off - after spending nearly three decades in a collector's cupboard.

The Iron Age jewellery, unearthed in a North Yorkshire field in 1994, is expected to fetch up to £30,000.

The ring dates back to 100BC, decades before the Roman invasion of Britain.

A chieftain of the Corieltauvi tribe, which ruled parts of the Midlands and Yorkshire, is thought to have worn it.

A metal detectorist found the ring in Knaresborough in the 1990s and sold it to its current owner for a few hundred pounds.

The collector, a 66-year-old man who wants to stay anonymous, put it in a cupboard for 28 years before deciding to get it valued.

"I'm in my 60s, I don't know how long I'll be around," he said. "I thought it really wanted a good home so my children don't have to figure out what to do with it."

The ring is believed to have been worn by a Celtic tribal chieftain

The ring's owner initially believed it to be Roman or Anglo Saxon, but when he took it to be assessed at the British Museum, experts told him its true age.

"It's jaw-dropping," he said.

"It's really quite a mysterious thing. We will never know for sure who owned it but it was probably a powerful Celtic chieftain.

"It's not quite King Arthur's ring but it's the next thing down. We're talking about the beginning of British written history."

The ring's distinctive abstract design is linked to the Iceni tribe, which ruled a large part of East Anglia before the Roman invasion.

Nigel Mills, of auctioneers Noonans, said "There is no other ring of this style which exists. It's an incredibly important piece."

The ring is due to be sold from 15 November.