A TWEEDDALE treasure hunt has turned up a 17th century medallion but the biggest bounty of all still lies undiscovered.

Local councillor Neil Calvert and council admin officer Kathleen Mason had been on the search for missing pieces of the Peebles burgh regalia but instead stumbled across an ornate gold medallion, dating back to 1682.

The bauble was found locked in a safe at the council's former Rosetta Road HQ, where it remains awaiting inspection by antique experts.

Councillor Neil Calvert said: "We're still not too sure of the story behind this medallion. "It's a fine, lovely piece, very impressive. The museum service are at present looking into its history and provenance, hopefully it will prove to be a key part of Peebles history."

Meanwhile an entire treasure trove of historic items such as former provost chains, halberds, silverware, medals and flags are still missing.

Each of these items were until 1975 safely held by Peebles Town Council but since its dissolution their location has proved a mystery.

The haul should be declared as moveable assets within Peebles Common Good Fund but Scottish Borders Council's own inventory makes no mention.

Peebles Community Council chair David Pye said: "The community council have been trying to track the former provosts' regalia down for some years now. It was supposedly in good hands with Scottish Borders Council but now no-one seems to know where any of it is.

"I'm glad that this medallion has been found but questions still remain relating to vast chunks of the town's history."

On this point councillor Neil Clavert replied: "We thought the provosts regalia might have been within this safe at Rosetta Road but there are still some locations where we think the items may be. The museum service also has a number of stores and each will be checked in due course."

http://tinyurl.com/6etke9a