A "first of its kind" silver penis pendant from the Roman era has been declared as a piece of treasure.

Metal detectorist Wendy Thompson discovered the phallic amulet while searching a farm in Higham, near Gravesend and Strood.

Mrs Thompson, who lives on the High Street in Lydd, found the cast silver item on December 31, 2020.

The 73-year-old retired estate agent said: "The rarity of it is that it's a silver example of a penis pendant.

"I've got other bronze ones that I have found in the past but they're nowhere near as significant, they hadn't ever found a silver one before in England.

"But it isn't really the worth of the thing to my mind, it's the interest. Some coins, for example, are just wonderful to look at.

"The last person to hold that was back in that era. It's a long, long time that it's been lying in the ground waiting for me to come along and find it."

It is thought the piece of ancient jewellery dates back from anywhere between 43AD and 410 AD.

An inquest hearing was held at County Hall in Maidstone on May 26 to determine whether or not the silver penis should be classed as treasure.

Coroner Roger Hatch described the item, detailing its "foreskin, shaft and pubes", before reading a short report from the British Museum.

The report said it was hard to narrow down an exact date for the pendant but believes the phallic nature of it "points to the Roman era".

It added: "This is the first silver item of its class and is a significant national find".

Mrs Thompson is now awaiting to see what the valuation of the item is.

Coroner Mr Hatch agreed with the British Museum and declared the silver penis pendant a piece of treasure.