Archaeology student from Florida finds rare 9th-century gold during her first excavation in U.K.

An American archaeology student on her first-ever dig found a rare piece of 9th-century gold.

Yara Souza, who is from Orlando, Florida, is an international student at Newcastle University in the U.K. She was part of a July excavation in Redesdale, Northumberland, in northeastern England when she made the discovery about 90 minutes into her excavation, the university announced .

"I couldn't believe I'd found something so quickly into my first ever excavation," Souza said in a press release. "After I'd had to miss Birdoswald last year, it was amazing to discover something that hasn't been seen for more than a thousand years, I was really geeking out over it."

Birdoswald Roman Fort is another excavation that Newcastle University students participated in last year.

Archaeology student Ya