A metal detector hobbyist’s find has yielded one of the UK’s largest and most expansive troves of Iron Age artifacts. After years of excavation work following its 2021 discovery, the Melsonby Hoard (named after a nearby village) is believed to contain over 800 objects dating back at least 2,000 years. Interestingly, many of the relics aren’t everyday items. According to researchers at Durham University, the collection suggests the presence of a wealthy class of Iron Age elites who were influenced by trade and cultural exchange with ancient Europe.
Following extensive cataloging and analysis, the Melsonby Hoard was found to include numerous vehicle parts including 28 iron tires that were likely used on four-wheeled wagons and two-wheeled chariots. But those modes of transportation weren’t commonplace during Iron Age Britain, especially given some of their ornate features. Experts point to harnesses adorned with colored glass and Mediterranean coral as indications that some accessories were not just functional, but ornamental. Other artifacts include ceremonial spears and decorative vessels. Historically, this suggests the presence of a privileged upper socioeconomic echelon.
The state of these items adds even more weight to their theory. These artifacts weren’t simply discarded—they appear to have been ritualistically burned and buried in a large ditch.
“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,” Tom Moore, an Iron Age archeologist at Durham University, said in a statement.
The pile of buried artifacts also included a wine mixing vessel as well as a lidded cauldron decorated with mask-like human faces. Experts believe their deliberate inclusion further suggests a ritualistic nature to the Melsonby Hoard.
“Our working theory is that [the objects] had been gathered together and maybe heated in a big sort of bonfire, or perhaps a bonfire,” said British Museum curator Sophie Adams on Tuesday in a video from Durham University.
While the Roman Empire didn’t complete its conquest of the southern portion of Britain until about 87 CE, the archeological collection’s decorative details support the theory that cultural and material trade between the two cultures existed prior to the military campaign.
“People think [the area] might have been somewhat of a rural backwater,” added Keith Emerick, an inspector of ancient monuments for Historic England. “But it was every bit as important as the south of England.”
