Iron Age – The Beyonder

OXFORDSHIRE Museum has succeeded in a crowdfunding campaign to put some remarkable Iron Age artefacts on public display.

The extraordinary hoard was unearthed in the county by a metal detectorist in 2020 after having been buried almost 2,000 years ago following the Roman invasion of Britain.

It includes a beautifully preserved horse brooch described as the most significant discovery of its kind since the Polden Hill Hoard unearthed in Somerset in 1800.

**RARE FIND:** the ancient horse brooch *PICTURE: Allen Beeche*y

The items were excavated and recorded in partnership with the Chilterns National Landscape’s heritage and archaeology manager Dr Wendy Morrison, who was contacted by a detectorist investigating a field in Rotherfield Peppard.

The detectorist rightly recognised the unusual nature of the artefact but had been unable to contact the county finds liaison officer because of the pandemic.

Dr Morrison realised from a photograph that the item was an extremely rare horse brooch. She said: “Seeing that picture come in on my phone, I leapt off the sofa in excitement – I knew immediately that this was a significant find.”

The enamelled brooch was part of a collection of items of value, including a rare silver Roman coin, that had been deposited into a large ceramic pot and buried at some point around AD 50 to 150.

**BURIED TREASURE:** the base of the pot *PICTURE: Allen Beechey*

The pottery urn was sealed with a quern stone made of Hertfordshire puddingstone. Such stone tools were traditionally used in pairs for hand-grinding a variety of materials, especially grains.

The items will now go on public display after the Friends of the Oxfordshire Museum succeeded in raising more £11,000 through a crowdfunding campaign that attracted more than 200 donors, including academics and local residents.

Prior to the Roman conquest, horses and the chariots they pulled were an important part of Iron Age life and the harness and chariot fittings were a way of displaying someone’s wealth, status and skill in caring for these animals.

**STONE SEAL:** quern stone fragments *PICTURE: Allen Beechey*

Dr Elaine King, CEO at the Chilterns National Landscape, said: “This case demonstrates the huge value of having archaeological expertise in our staff team. A regionally significant discovery has been preserved, along with its context, providing vital information that improves our understanding of people living in the Chilterns nearly 2,000 years ago.”

LASER technology has helped researchers identify a previously unknown prehistoric hillfort in the Chilterns.

The discovery was revealed by the Beacons of the Past team based at the Chilterns Conservation Board following a recent laser scanning survey of the entire Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which citizen scientists have been poring over.

It adds a new monument to the score of existing Chilterns hillforts like Pulpit Hill, Cholesbury Camp, Church Hill, or Medmenham Camp – although the exact location has not been revealed.

**SIGNS OF THE PAST:** an enclosure at Pulpit Hill **PICTURE:** National Trust / Hugh Mothersole

Hillforts are a class of prehistoric monument constructed in Britain from between the Late Bronze Age and the Middle Iron Age, between four and 12 centuries before Christ, although they are often not on hills and may have been used for a variety of functions.

Confirmation of the new hillfort in the AONB coincides with the Online LiDAR Portal’s one-year anniversary. Launched in August 2019, the portal now has nearly 3,000 registered users, who have created records of more than 10,000 archaeological features.

LiDAR stands for “Light Distance and Ranging”, an airborne laser scanning survey technique used by archaeologists for nearly 20 years which can reveal underground features hidden beneath tree cover.

Beacons of the Past is a National Lottery funded project to discover more about the local hillforts, which seem to have a fairly regular distribution, with a few notable gaps.

“One of the aspirations of the project was to locate any hillforts that might have been hiding in plain sight or under tree cover,” said project manager and archaeologist Dr Wendy Morrison.

Archaeologist Dr Ed Peveler, landscape heritage officer for the project, and several citizen scientists independently identified an earthwork in the southern Chilterns as a potential hillfort.

Following careful assessment and an extensive walk-over survey by the team with the full co-operation of the landowner, the existence of a new hillfort was confirmed.

Dr Morrison said she thought it was likely from visual inspection of the rampart and ditch that it dated from around 800-500 BC – “Although one can never be certain of the age of a prehistoric earthwork without excavating for dating evidence.”

There is no public access to the site and the exact location is currently being withheld to protect sensitive archaeology and the landowner’s privacy.

Funded by a £695,600 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and a number of partners such as the National Trust, Chiltern Society and local authorities, the project provides a focus for community and public involvement through techniques such as remote sensing and survey, practical excavation and research, as well as a programme of events and educational activities.

With full training offered, the Online Citizen Science Portal can be found here.

Tag: Iron Age

Donors help put rare Iron Age hoard on display

Project unearths iron age hillfort