Knowledge Amateur archaeologist finds Iron Age treasure in Great Britain
With the help of a metal detector, a man in northern England has made a spectacular discovery from the time around the birth of Jesus. The treasure, which is around 2,000 years old, contains more than 800 objects, according to a statement from Durham University.
25.03.2025, 14:47
SDA
The find from the Iron Age, known as the "Melsonby Hoard", includes parts of chariots, ceremonial spears and cauldrons.
The amateur researcher made the first discoveries in 2021 using a metal detector in the county of North Yorkshire. It later emerged that they were part of a large quantity of objects deposited in two trenches.
They were painstakingly recovered under the direction of archaeologists from Durham University. The scientists hope to gain insights into the lives of wealthy inhabitants of northern England at the time of the Roman conquest in the south of the country.
"Incredibly wealthy" people
Why the valuable pieces ended up in the ditch has not yet been conclusively clarified. However, it could be that they were part of a ritual cremation. This could also explain why no human remains were found.
The former owners of the treasure were "incredibly wealthy people with extraordinary connections - probably in northern Britain, perhaps even across Europe - so that they could amass such wealth and then destroy it and dump it in a ditch," enthused Professor Tom Moore, who heads the Department of Archaeology at Durham University.
In the UK, searching for archaeological treasures using metal detectors is relatively straightforward and leads to spectacular finds time and time again.
