5.2.2014 Jewellery declared a treasure

Two prospectors with metal detectors made an extraordinary find in 2012. They discovered 41 Bronze Age objects, including jewellery, in south-west England. Two years later, the artefacts were declared treasure by experts.

The discovery of the extraordinary jewellery found in Wiltshire was declared treasure seven years ago. The items discovered date back to the Bronze Age. It was found by metal detectorists Stuart Gullick and Michael Barker near the village of Wylye in 2012. The hoard consists of 41 copper alloy pieces. It contains bracelets, neck rings and various tools.

The Salisbury coroner declared the find a treasure in early 2014 and it was subsequently to be valued. Salisbury Museum immediately expressed an interest in buying the hoard and including it in its new gallery. "The treasure is exceptional, and in wonderful condition," said local antiquities expert Richard Henry.

The treasure was recorded and catalogued by the Portable Antiquities Scheme and its market value was to be determined by the Treasure Valuation Committee. The money from the sale will always be split equally between the finder and the owner of the land where the treasure was found.

We also wrote about the Wiltshire treasure here: Bronze Age Treasure

Salisbury Museum has even launched a collection to acquire the treasure. If it was unsuccessful, the British Museum was prepared to buy the treasure. "It is appropriate that the Wylye Hoard should be placed in the Salisbury Museum as it was found in our area. The British Museum has expressed an interest because it is a pile of really rare and beautiful pieces," said Adrian Green, director at Salisbury.

All the objects found have the same chronology. The hoard includes 31 pieces of jewellery, eight tools and the rest are unidentified objects. All the items were found very close together, within inches of each other in two pits. They were then searched by archaeologists. For example, the neckcloths were stacked on top of each other in one pit, while the other pit had clearly been disturbed by agricultural work.

The museum planned to include the treasure among the new gallery, which they named Wessex. "It's the most beautiful treasure I've ever seen," said Bronze Age expert Andrew Lawson. It is one of the largest Bronze Age treasures reported since 1980. Although a depot containing about 500 objects was found at the same site in 1986. But it was sold off immediately after it was found.

Sources: www.bbc.com, www.insidewiltshire.co.uk