Concern is growing over the future of the a Tayside treasure hoard after it emerged no official application has been made to keep the treasures in the region.
Bronze-age weapons including a gold-decorated spearhead, bronze sword, leather and wooden sword sheath and a sunflower-shaped pin were among the discoveries at a dig next to Carnoustie High School.
More than two and half years after archaeologists first unearthed the Bronze and Iron Age artefacts, they has not been referred to the Treasure Trove Unit, which decides where items will ultimately be placed.
The council has spent more than £286,000 retrieving and studying the hoard to date.
Councillor Brian Boyd first called for a Carnoustie museum to house the treasures, shortly after the discovery.
The Independent councillor said he was “frustrated and concerned” the process was taking so long.
He said: “I first called for the hoard to be hosted in Carnoustie, or at least Angus, back in February 2017 – more than two and half years ago.
“The town was very excited at that time and latterly, the turn out at a public meeting in January at the High School was very well attended.
“So the appetite is still there and only last week a new Carnoustie heritage group was formed.
“Carnoustie is the only town in Angus that does not have a museum and this is an ideal time to start one. Now we are the oldest settlement in Angus, surely the town deserves this?”
Council bosses have staged public engagement events featuring replica versions of the items found in the dig.
In June, a spokesperson said it had “expressed an interest in retaining the hoard locally, but any final decision on their future location is a matter for the Treasure Trove Panel in Scotland.
“Officers remain in contact with the relevant organisations in this regard.”
It has now emerged the hoard has not been referred to the Treasure Trove Unit, the part of the Office of Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (QLTR) responsible for all decisions over allocation of antiquities found in Scotland.
A council spokesman said the decision will be first put to council committee.
He said: “The position at this stage is that the council has not yet made any decision on the hoard. A report will be made to committee, but as yet we have no confirmed date.”
Tests done on samples taken from the Neolithic settlement have confirmed it is the most extensive site of its kind in Britain.
A spokeswoman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, which includes the QLTR, said: “The QLTR can confirm that this find has not yet been referred to the Treasure Trove Unit.”
