But now former Clitheroe Royal Grammar School pupil Emma Sautejeau is free to tell family and friends about the exciting secret dig she and colleagues from Birmingham Archaeology were asked to carry out.

The stunning golden treasurer, thought to be worth millions of pounds, was discovered in August by amateur metal detector Terry Herbert, in a field in Staffordshire. Its exact location is still confidential.

Emma (26) and the team abandoned their usual high-visibility jackets and hard hats so they could excavate without arousing interest as they uncovered 1,500 items not seen for 1,400 years.

"All we had to do was to dig down 30 or 40cm of top soil," said Emma. "We were picking up 30 or 40 artefacts a day. It was fantastic. Usually, if you do find anything, it is only shards of pottery. I found a small pommel from a dagger like a fish head and quite a lot of crushed fragments from decorative pieces. The artefacts we found were mainly gold and some had garnets in them."

The archaeology team, based at Birmingham University, believes the treasure could be war booty.

Emma added: "The area is the kingdom of Mercia and we think it was collected as war booty. Whoever put it there was not able to get back to it. The artefacts come from books and there are also two cruxifices as well as swords and helmets.

"Staffordshire County Council and Birmingham Museum want the treasure to stay in this area rather than being moved to London because it belongs here, and it is much easier for people to get to Birmingham."

Emma, who is from Burnley, has worked for Birmingham Archaeology for three years. She studied for her degree at the university and did her Master's there. Emma's ambition to work in archaeology was fired while she was a pupil in the sixth form at Clitheroe Grammar where she was taught classics by teachers including Keith Harwood.

"Mr Harwood was a real inspiration in classics," she said.