A “once-in-a-lifetime” hoard of Iron Age artefacts has been uncovered by archaeologists.
Dubbed the Melsonby hoard, more than 800 items were discovered by metal detectorist Peter Heads in 2021 in two ditches near the North Yorkshire village of the same name.
After Mr Heads reported the location to the proper authorities, the head of archaeology at Durham University professor Tom Moore was called to the site.
He said it was quickly clear that the find was a “once-in-a-lifetime discovery”.
‘Exceptional for Britain’
The expert said: “The Melsonby hoard is of a scale and size that is exceptional for Britain and probably even Europe.
“Unusually it includes lots of pieces of vehicles and items such as the wine mixing bowl which is decorated in both Mediterranean and Iron Age styles.
“Whoever originally owned the material in this hoard was probably a part of a network of elites across Britain, into Europe and even the Roman world.”
Among the 2,000-year-old artefacts are the partial remains of wagons, ceremonial spears and pony harnesses.
Iron tyres were also found to have been intentionally bent out of shape, and a large amount of the material had been ritualistically burnt or broken.
Prof Moore added: “The destruction of so many high-status objects, evident in this hoard, is also of a scale rarely seen in Iron Age Britain and demonstrates that the elites of northern Britain were just as powerful as their southern counterparts.”
‘Connections to continental Europe’
Elaborate harnesses for at least 14 ponies, three ceremonial spears and two ornate cauldrons or vessels – one lidded and likely used as a wine mixing bowl – were also found.
Some of the harness pieces were adorned with Mediterranean coral and coloured glass and were larger than ones typically found in Britain.
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While some of the excavated items look like those previously found in the UK, others appear to match those discovered in Europe.
It suggests that “whoever is doing this is incredibly wealthy,” according to Prof Moore, who added “it challenges the idea that northern Britain was a backwater, when it clearly was not”.
“It has connections to continental Europe and the Roman Empire,” he said. “It shows they are of the same status, if not more powerful than the elites in southern Britain.”
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England which backed the excavation with a £120,000 grant, said: “Quite simply, this is one of the most important and exciting Iron Age period discoveries made in the UK.
“It sheds new light on Iron Age life in the north and Britain, but it also demonstrates connections with Europe.”
Heritage minister Sir Chris Bryant added: “The Melsonby Hoard is an extraordinary find, made up of a variety of unique and fascinating objects dating back to Iron Age Britain, which will help us to better understand the fabric of our nation’s history.”
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The hoard’s value was calculated to be £254,000. One of the ditches was examined on-site, while another was extracted as a whole.
That ditch has been X-rayed using a large scanner at Southampton University, and will be kept intact as a block to preserve what is inside.
