The ‘Melsonby Hoard’ lay untouched in two ditches near the North Yorkshire village of that name for more than 2,000 years and shows evidence of a rich ‘Northern’ elite
A huge Iron Age collection of valuables found by a lone metal detectorist has revealed evidence of a rich ‘Northern’ elite living in Britain around 2,000 years ago.
The ‘Melsonby Hoard’ lay untouched in two ditches near the North Yorkshire village of that name from around the 1st century. It comprises more than 800 items, worth around £250,000, including remains of wagons, spears and pony harnesses. The discovery, made by detectorist Peter Heads, could be one of the most important ever in the UK. Previously it had been widely believed that power and wealth in pre-Roman times were limited to the south of England.
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The hoard, deliberately thrown into mud, shows that was not true. Professor Tom Moore, head of archaeology at Durham University, described it as a “once-in-a-lifetime discovery”.
He added: “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. The destruction of so many high-status objects is 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.”
He added: “It challenges the idea that northern Britain was a backwater, when it clearly was not.” Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, described it as ‘one of the most important and exciting Iron Age period discoveries made in the UK’.
He added: “It sheds new light on Iron Age life in Britain, but it also demonstrates connections with Europe.” Mr Heads contacted authorities as soon as he located the hoard. He did not want to talk about his find.
Dr Sophia Adams, an expert on the era at the British Museum, described it as significant “not just for the quantity of objects buried together 2,000 years ago but also the quality and range of items.”
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.”
The dig was backed by a £120,000 grant from Historic England, but the Yorkshire Museum is launching a fundraising campaign to secure the hoard for the nation. The value of the hoard has been estimated at £254,000. A selection of the items is going on show at the museum in York.
