AN unemployed metal detectorist who uncovered a Roman cavalry helmet in a field yesterday made a six-figure fortune in three minutes.

The anonymous man, believed to be in his 20s, a graduate and from Peterlee, in east Durham, will get hundreds of thousands of pounds from the sale at Christie’s of the 2,000-year-old artefact, although the exact amount he will receive is not known.

Six bidders competed for the Crosby Garrett Helmet, which went for £2,281,250 – ten times its estimated price – to an anonymous telephone bidder.

Matthew Paton, of Christie’s, said: “There was a round of applause after it was sold.

“The proceeds will be divided between the finder and the landowner. They will be considerably better off than they were before the auction. It is even more of a find of a lifetime now.”

The sporting helmet, which also has a face mask, was found at Crosby Garrett, near Kirkby Stephen, in Cumbria, in May.

It would have been used for show in a sporting event rather than protection in combat.

The helmet was billed by experts as “an extraordinary example of Roman metalwork at its zenith”.

It is one of only three found in this country and is one of the most significant metal detector finds since the 500-year-old Middleham Jewel was unearthed at Middleham Castle, North Yorkshire, in 1985.

One of the disappointed bidders was the Tullie House Museum, in Carlisle, which launched a Soldier of fortune public appeal to raise money to buy the helmet.

Museum spokesman Ellis Butcher said: “With the speed of the bidding, this artefact quickly went out of our price range.

“We are disappointed, but it is not the end of the story. We are going to try and find out who the successful bidder is and explore whether the helmet could be brought to Carlisle so that people who supported the appeal can see it.”

Georgiana Aitken, head of antiquities at Christie’s, said thousands of people had viewed it while it was on display.

She said: “When the helmet was first brought to Christie’s and I saw it first hand, I could scarcely believe my eyes. This is an exceptional object – an extraordinary and haunting face from the past.”

Dr Robert Witcher, a senior lecturer in the archaeology department at Durham University, said the helmet was of immense historical value.

He said: “We have to wait to see what the buyer does next, but it will be very disappointing if the helmet leaves the North.”