AN exciting link has been made beween Kimmeridge in Dorset and the ancient monument of Stonehenge.

The news came when delighted archaeologists at Amesbury in Wiltshire discovered the richest early Bronze Age burial in Britain.

The skeleton was found just two miles from Stonehenge and dates back to 2,300 BC.

And the link with Dorset is provided by a Kimmeridge shale belt buckle which was buried with the body all those years ago.

Experts reckon that the man was likely to have witnessed the historic standing stones being manoeuvred into position - and he may even have been the chief who built the monument.

He was buried with some 100 objects, making it the richest Bronze Age burial in Britain by some distance.

Among the host of treasures were archery equipment, stone tool kits, three copper knives, a pair of gold earrings and a shale belt buckle.

This buckle is a simple circular shale ring, measuring about six cm across, and is exciting archaeologists and scientists.

Dr Andrew Fitzpatrick, project manager of the Wessex Archaeological Society, said: "They are not things that you see very often. I would say that it's amongst the earliest types of costume finery or fashion accessory around.

"It's very pretty and you can imagine it may have been exchanged and exchanged again until ultimately it ends up belonging to the wealthiest person who we've ever discovered dating back to that time."

Dr Fitzpatrick said the experts still had to carry out scientific tests to confirm that the buckle was definitely made from Kimmeridge shale. But he said they were almost certain their predictions were accurate.

Experts believe the shale would have been brought from outcrops at the Dorset beauty spot and would have been highly sought after.

The earrings that were also found with the skeleton are made of beaten gold, imported from Wales or Ireland, and would probably have been wrapped around the ear rather than hanging from the lobe.

Dr Fitzpatrick said: "These are some of the earliest kinds of metal object found in Britain. The fact that so many valuable objects have been found together is unique.

"This association is the most important thing about the find."