BRITAIN'S Secret Treasures, the ITV series which features what a panel of archaeological experts consider the 50 greatest treasures discovered in the past 15 years, will tonight showcase Abergavenny's famous Leopard Cup

From rare Iron Age jewels to an antique prosthetic nose - the Tudor alternative to cosmetic surgery - the show includes extraordinary artifacts that lay untouched for centuries and were discovered by members of the public.

Tonight (Thursday) at 7.30pm, presenter Gethin Jones will be revealing the story of the Leopard Cup.

Discovered by Gary Mapps, while metal detecting near abergavenny in 2003, the Bronze cup was discovered upside down in a small burial pit.

Thought to have been made in Italy during the first century AD, the cup is similar to other vessels which were found at the city of Pompeii.

Its decorative handle, carved into the shape of a leopard with silver spots gives the cup its name.

In Roman mythology, the companion of Bacchus (the god of wine) is a leopard and such a finely made cup probably belonged to a person of high status who desired it to be buried with him.

Described as one of the finest vessels ever found in Wales it currently resides in Cardiff's National Museum.