Golden Saxon bookmark found

A rare Saxon relic found by a metal detector enthusiast, who at first thought it was a milk bottle top, is expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 at auction next month. The 9th-century gold pointer, known as the Yorkshire Aestel, was found by Tim Pearson, an amateur treasure hunter, at Aughton, South Yorkshire, in 2005. The hollow cast pointer would have been used by monks as an aid to reading manuscripts. According to the auctioneers Bonhams, King Alfred (871-99) commissioned several aestels and sent them to all the bishops of his kingdom to accompany a copy of a translation of Pope Gregory I’s Regula Pastoralis.