Austrian man finds antique jewels in yard

VIENNA -- A man turning dirt in his backyard stumbled onto buried treasure -- hundreds of pieces of centuries-old jewelry and other precious objects that Austrian authorities described Friday as a fairy-tale find.

Austria's department in charge of national antiquities said the trove consists of more than 200 rings, brooches, ornate belt buckles, gold-plated silver plates and other pieces or fragments, many encrusted with pearls, fossilized coral and other ornaments. It says the objects are about 650 years old and are being evaluated for their provenance and worth.

While not assigning a monetary value to the buried bling, the enthusiastic language from the normally staid Federal Office for Memorials reflected the significance it attached to the discovery.

"Fairy tales still exist!" said its statement. "Private individual finds sensational treasure in garden." It described the ornaments as "one of the qualitatively most significant discoveries of medieval treasure in Austria."

The statement gave no details. The weekly Profil magazine identified the man only as Andreas K. from Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, and said he asked not to be named.

The magazine said the finder was not interested in cashing in on the trove and was considering loaning the collection to a museum.