BBC Antiques Roadshow object 'dug up in garden' turns out to be 2,500 years old and worth incredible sum

Expert Christian Beadman offered his theory to how it ended up in a garden in St Albans

An Antiques Roadshow expert got a surprise when an item dug up in a garden in St Albans turned out to be 2,500 years old.

The small bronze statue had been unearthed by the guest's father when he was diggin the garden in the 1960s.

Having no idea what it was, he turned to museums for help, contacting both the British Museum and St Albans Museum for help.

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The owner was stunned as the bronze statue - dating back to 300-600BC - was revealed to be worth an incredible amount.

Expert Christian Beadman, who specialises in British Continental furniture and works of art, was surprised to hear the origin of how the statue was found.

He revealed it depicted the Egyptian god Osiris, god of the underworld and agriculture, and explained his theory behind how it ended up in the garden.

Christian said: "St Albans was a roman town of course. As an Egyptian god one wonders what it's doing in the ground in St Albans.

"The Romans had this policy whereby they would use soldiers from one part of the empire to police and garrison parts of the empire that were about as far away from their homelands as you could get, so they couldn't get involved in uprisings and rebellions.

"It's kind of an acceptable proposition to suggest this was brought here by a character who was devotee of Osiris."

He added that the item would have been worthless without the letters to the museums, adding: "It's so important that it has these letters.

"Which give it providence those take it back straight away to 1964 and its first reintroduction into the world.

"Without those letters it's value would not only be halved, it would be a difficult thing even to sell. These letters are as important as the object."

Christian went on to reveal the incredible value, telling the guest: "I think that placed into a correct sale, an antiquities auction, I think this would probably be in the region of £2-3000. So dad had a good day digging."

The guest replied: "I'm surprised - he certainly did."