Bronze Age debris hoard 'like a recycling bin'

Helen Burchell
BBC News, Cambridgeshire
David Stuckey David Stuckey is crouched on one knee in a field. He is holding a metal detector and looking at a small monitor. He is wearing a camouflage jacket and has knee pads over his blue trousers, which are tucked into green boots. he has short greying hair and is wearing headphones on his headDavid Stuckey
Detectorist David Stuckey discovered the hoard on land he had been searching for seven years

A hoard of metal fragments found on farmland was the Bronze Age equivalent of a modern-day recycling bin, an expert said.

The stash of copper-alloy debris, dating back more than 2,000 years, was found by a metal detectorist David Stuckey from Stevenage in a field in Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire, in December 2019.

The county's finds liaison officer, Helen Fowler, said the hoard was most likely deposited in one go to be melted down later, once there was enough metal to make the process worthwhile.

"The hoard is like our blue recycling bins here [in parts of Cambridgeshire]," she said.

David Stuckey Metal fragments are spread out on a surface. They are fairly small and have jagged edges and are brown, with green tingesDavid Stuckey
A total of 66 fragments were found

The hoard is the subject of a treasure inquest and Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology hopes to acquire it, subject to valuation.

The 66 fragments date from the late Bronze Age - between 1050BC and 800BC - and include chapes, pieces of metal used to protect the sharp end of a bladed item such as a sword.

In a report to the Cambridgeshire coroner ahead of a decision on whether it should be declared treasure, Mrs Fowler and colleague Dr Edward Caswell, finds liaison officer for Oxfordshire, referred to the items as a "founder's hoard".

The term is used to describe a collection of bits and pieces gathered together by a metalworker - or a smith, or a founder - for re-melting at a later date.

The report stated: "The objects were found in close proximity and are associated, therefore representing a single find all of which appears to have been deposited in the late Bronze [Age].

"As such this represents a collection of more than two base metal objects of prehistoric date and consequently qualifies as Treasure under the stipulations of the Treasure Act 1996 (Designation Order 2002)."

David Stuckey David Stuckey is using his gloved hands to retrieve fragments from a hole in the ground. He is kneeling in a field and is wearing a woolly hat, spectacles, a camouflage jacket and protective knee pads. There is a piece of blue plastic near the hole on to which he is placing fragments from the hole.David Stuckey
Mr Stuckey discovered the hoard in 2019
David Stuckey Pieces of jagged metal covered in earth are laid on a piece of blue plastic sheetingDavid Stuckey
He laid the "treasure" on a sheet after digging it up

Mr Stuckey, 69, said he had been detecting on the land where he found the hoard for about seven years.

"About a foot down I suddenly saw fragments of green-coloured metal coming out of the hole. I picked up the pieces and could see that they were bronze fragments of 'something'," he said.

"As more pieces came out I noticed that some of them had identifiable characteristics of Bronze Age metalwork.

"Afterwards I showed the hoard to the landowner, who was very excited by what I'd found."

Mr Stuckey said there were Bronze Age barrows (burial mounds) on the land, so to find artefacts from that period was of great interest to its owner.

"Being pre-historic I was obliged by law to report the find," he explained.

However, there was a significant delay because of the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning he could not deliver the hoard to be properly assessed by an expert.

"It was quite some time before I was asked to bring the hoard in, followed by a two-year wait until I heard anything more," he said.

Oxfordshire Museums Service Metal fragments, mostly a shade of green are lined up on a white backgroundOxfordshire Museums Service
Fragments from chapes were among the items uncovered
Oxfordshire Museums Service Pieces of jagged mottled green and brown metal are placed on a white backgroundOxfordshire Museums Service
A number of mottled green plate fragments were found - and more research on these is needed, an expert said

The hoard contained a number of "plate fragments" that Mrs Fowler said were the most intriguing to her.

She said "plates", generally, were "a bit of a mystery" to archaeologists.

"We're not sure what they are yet, but mystery is one of the nice things about archaeology. There are more questions than answers - always," she said.

"There is lots of research to be done on these Bronze Age plates - we need to know more and that's what's most intriguing to me."

David Stuckey David Stuckey is standing in parkland which has lots of green grass and large trees. He is holding a metal detector and a small spade for digging. He is wearing a camouflage jacket and knee pads over his trousers which are tucked into green bootsDavid Stuckey
Mr Stuckey has been metal detecting for about 50 years

But, whatever these items were, they were almost certainly destined for the scrap heap.

"We certainly didn't invent recycling and in the Bronze Age you would save up everything until you had enough to melt down for something else as the melting process takes a lot of work," said Mrs Fowler.

If the hoard was acquired by a museum, it would provide "the potential for future research, and that's what is important", she added.

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