Archaeologists have found a valuable ancient gold necklace being worn by a cashier in a Bulgarian grocery after it was dug up by her husband.

Boris Todorov, 43, from Karlovo in Bulgaria dug up hundreds of fine gold rings from a field on his farm and put them together to make a gift for his wife.

But it was spotted by a group of archaeologists from the Bulgarian National Museum of History who were passing through - and went into her shop to buy provisions.

They immediately identified the necklace as extremely valuable and now say it dates back to 3,000 years BC.

Prof Bozhidar Dimitrov, Director of the Bulgarian National Museum of History, said: "They almost passed out when they saw what the woman was wearing. It is a stunning discovery."

Experts believe a local civilisation buried jewels in fields as part of an elaborate prayer ritual.