List of Bronze Age hoards in Great Britain
The list of Bronze Age hoards in Britain comprises significant archaeological hoards of jewellery, precious and scrap metal objects and other valuable items discovered in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) that are associated with the British Bronze Age, approximately 2700 BC to 8th century BC. It includes both hoards that were buried with the intention of retrieval at a later date (personal hoards, founder's hoards, merchant's hoards, and hoards of loot), and also hoards of votive offerings which were not intended to be recovered at a later date, but excludes grave goods and single items found in isolation.
List of hoards
Hoard | Image | Date | Place of discovery | Year of discovery | Current Location | Contents |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arreton Down Hoard | 1700-1500 BC | Arreton Down, Isle of Wight Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1735 | British Museum, London | 7 bronze spear-heads, 4 axes, 1 dagger, 1 halberd [1] |
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Auchnacree Hoard | 23rd to 21st century BC | Auchnacree Angus Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1921 | Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh | 2 bronze knives 3 bronze axeheads 1 bronze armlet[2] |
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Beachy Head Hoard | 1400-750 BC | Beachy Head, East Sussex Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1824 | British Museum, London | 4 gold penannular bracelets [3] |
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Beaumaris Hoard | 1400-1100 BC | Beaumaris, Anglesey Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1849 | British Museum, London | 2 gold penannular bracelets [4] |
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Bexley Hoard | 1000-750 BC | Bexley, London Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1906 | British Museum, London | 17 gold penannular bracelets (one broken in half) [5] |
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Boughton Malherbe Hoard | 9th century BC | Boughton Malherbe Kent Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2011 | Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery | 352 bronze objects of types commonly found in northern France, comprising 75 bronze weapon fragments, 136 bronze tools and tool fragments, 42 bronze ornaments, and about 71 bronze ingots, moulds and miscellaneous objects.[6][7] | |
Burnham-on-Crouch Hoard | ![]() |
Bronze Age | Burnham-on-Crouch Essex Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2010 | Colchester and Ipswich Museums | pottery vessel filled with bronze axes and other metalwork[8] |
Burton Hoard | ![]() |
13th to mid 12th century BC | Burton, Wrexham Clwyd Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2004 | National Museum Cardiff | 2 bronze palstaves 1 bronze chisel 1 gold torc 1 gold twisted-wire bracelet 1 gold necklace pendant 4 gold beads 3 gold rings 1 pottery vessel[9] |
Chrishall Hoard | 1300-800 BC | Chrishall, Essex Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
c. 1853 | British Museum, London | 5 bronze axes, 3 swords, 1 ingot, 1 spear-head [10] |
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Collette Hoard[note 1] | 10th to 9th century BC | Berwick upon Tweed Northumberland Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2005 | Great North Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne | 6 socketed axes, 6 gold lock rings, and various bracelets, rings and pins[12] | |
Corbridge Hoard | Middle Bronze Age | Corbridge Northumberland Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1835 | Blackgate Museum Bailiffgate Museum |
fragments of two spearheads pieces of dagger blades a flanged axe[13] |
|
Crundale Hoard | 8th to 9th century BC | Crundale Kent Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2003 | Museum of Canterbury | 188 fragments (including axe, chisel, palstave, hammer, gouge, knife, sickle, sword, bracelet, ring, and ingots)[14] | |
Duddingston Loch Hoard | 950–750 BC | Duddingston Loch Edinburgh Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1778 | Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh | 44 bronze items consisting of the ring of a large cauldron and fragments of spearheads, swords and dagger blades; point of a bronze spearhead; contorted bronze sword, broken in two, with three rivet holes and a slot in the hilt plate; contorted point of a bronze sword; blade of a bronze sword broken off under the hilt and bent back at the point.[15][16] | |
Gaerwen Hoard | 1000-750 BC | Gaerwen, Anglesey Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1852 | British Museum, London | 2 gold lock rings, 2 gold penannular bracelets [17] |
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Fittleworth Hoard | 1400-1100 BC | Fittleworth, West Sussex Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1995 | British Museum, London | 2 gold penannular bracelets, 35 gold bars, 2 fragments of a torc, 2 rings [18] |
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Heathery Burn Cave Hoard | 1000-750 BC | Heathery Burn Cave, County Durham Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1866 | British Museum, London, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Yorkshire Museum, York | 1 gold penannular braclet, 1 gold lock-ring, 36 bronze awls, 20 pins, 14 axes, 11 rings, 11 cheek-pieces, 10 bracelets, 10 spear-heads, 8 pendants, 7 vessels, 6 wheels, 6 spatulas, 2 toggles, 2 knives, 2 swords, 4 scoops or chisels, 4 phaleras, casting moulds, fittings, a bowl and a bucket plus other miscellaneous items [19] |
|
Heights of Brae Hoard | 8th to 7th century BC | Heights of Brae Dingwall, Highland Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1967 and 1979 | Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh | 3 gold cup-ended ornaments, 5 gold penannular armlets, and 1 corrugated gold band (a cup-ended ornament, a pennanular armlet and two additional items that are now lost were found during ploughing in 1967; the remaining seven items were found during archaeological investigation in 1979).[20] | |
Hollingbourne Hoard | ![]() |
10th to 9th century BC | Hollingbourne Kent Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2003 | Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery | 12 bronze axes and axe fragments 2 bronze sword hilt fragments 6 bronze sword blade fragments 2 bronze spearhead fragments 14 bronze ingots[21] |
Hollingbury Hoard | 1400-1250 BC | Hollingbury, East Sussex Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1825 | British Museum, London | 4 bronze armlets, 3 rings, 1 palstave, 1 torc [22] |
|
Husband's Bosworth Hoard | Late Bronze Age | Husbands Bosworth Leicestershire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1801 | unknown | 4 looped and socketed celts 2 socketed celts 3 socketed gouges 2 spearheads 1 flat ferrule[23] |
|
Isleham Hoard | 8th century BC | Isleham Cambridgeshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1959 | West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge |
6,500 pieces of worked and unworked bronze[24] | |
Lambourn Hoard | ![]() |
14th to 12th century BC | Lambourn Berkshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2004 | West Berkshire Museum | 2 gold armlets 3 gold bracelets[25] |
Langdon Bay Hoard | 13th century BC | In the English Channel at Langdon Bay Kent Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1974 | British Museum, London[note 2] | 360 items of scrap metal, including bronze axes of a French type[27] | |
Langton Matravers Hoard | 7th century BC | Langton Matravers, near Swanage Dorset Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2008 | Dorset County Museum, Dorchester | 276 complete socketed bronze axes, 107 halves of socketed bronze axes and 117 fragments of socketed bronze axes in three adjacent pits and one pit further away[28] | |
Lewes Hoard | 16th to 12th century BC | near Lewes East Sussex Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2011 | 79 objects in a pottery vessel, including 3 bronze palstaves, 5 bronze bracelets, 8 bronze finger rings, 4 bronze tutuli (also known as Monkswood ornaments), 4 gold discs, 1 bronze pin, 19 amber beads and 4 bronze torcs[29] | ||
Lockington Hoard | 21st to 20th century BC | Lockington Leicestershire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1994 | British Museum, London | fragments of 2 Beaker style pots 1 copper alloy dagger 2 embossed gold-sheet armlets[30] |
|
Manorbier Hoard | 10th to 9th century BC | Manorbier Dyfed Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2010 | 19 bronze and copper artefacts, including socketed axes, a gouge, a piece of a sword blade, a circular dish-headed pin, ingots and bronze casting bi-products[31] | ||
Marston St. Lawrence Hoard | 1300-800 BC | Marston St. Lawrence, Northamptonshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
c.1897 | British Museum, London | 4 bronze spear-heads, 2 swords, 2 stone whetstones, 1 bracelet, 1 ferrule [32] |
|
Meldreth Hoard | 1300-800 BC | Meldreth, Cambridgeshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1880 | British Museum, London | 25 bronze axes, 15 ingots, 5 spear-heads, 4 swords, 2 bucket handles, 1 gouge, 1 razor, 1 finger ring, 1 chisel [33] |
|
Mickleham Hoard | 10th to 11th century BC | Mickleham Surrey Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2003 | 2 socketed axes 1 chape[34] |
||
Migdale Hoard | 23rd to 20th century BC | Bonar Bridge Sutherland Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1990 | Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh | 1 bronze axe head sets of bronze bangles and anklets a set of jet and cannel coal buttons bronze hair ornaments fragments of a bronze headdress[35] |
|
Milton Keynes Hoard | mid 12th to late 9th century BC | Monkston, Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2000 | British Museum, London | 2 gold torcs 3 gold bracelets 1 bronze fragment 1 pottery vessel[36] |
|
Moor Sand Hoard | 13th century BC | Off Prawle Point, near Salcombe Devon Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1977 | British Museum, London | six bronze swords or sword fragments and two bronze palstaves[27] | |
Morvah Hoard | 1000-750 BC | Morvah, Cornwall Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1884 | British Museum, London | 6 gold penannular bracelets [37] |
|
New Bradwell (or Wolverton) Hoard | mid 12th to late 9th century BC | New Bradwell, Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1879 | Buckinghamshire County Museum | 9 bronze socketed axes 3 broken axes 1 palstave 2 spearheads a leaf-shaped sword (broken into 4 pieces)[38] |
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Parc-y-Meirch Hoard | 9th century BC | Dinorben hillfort, near Abergele Conwy Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
pre-1868 | National Museum Cardiff | over 100 items of bronze horse harness fittings[39] | |
Plymstock Hoard | 2150-1600 BC | Plymstock, Devon Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1869 | British Museum, London | 12 bronze axes, 3 daggers, 1 spear-head, 1 chisel [40] |
|
Rossett Hoard | ![]() |
10th to 9th century BC | Rossett Wrexham Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2002 | National Museum Cardiff | 1 faceted axe 1 tanged knife 4 pieces of gold bracelet stored inside the axe[41] |
Selborne Hoard | 1400-1250 BC | Woolmer Forest near Selborne, Hampshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1840 | British Museum, London | 3 bronze armlets, 2 rings, 1 bracelet, 1 spear-head, 1 palstave [42] |
|
St Erth hoards | ![]() |
8th to 9th century BC | St Erth Cornwall Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2002–2003 | Royal Cornwall Museum | 2 gold ornament fragments Bronze/copper hoard 1: 5 sword pieces, 3 socketed axe pieces, 1 socketed gouge piece, 1 knife fragment, 1 plate-like fragment, 16 ingot fragments or amorphous lumps Bronze/copper hoard 2: 1 winged axe, 1 plate-like spill, 15 ingot fragments[43] |
St Mellons Hoard | Late Bronze Age | St Mellons, Cardiff Glamorgan Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1983 | National Museum Cardiff | 25 bronze socketed axes and one casting jet[44] | |
Stogursey Hoard (1870) | 8th century BC | Wick Farm, Stogursey Somerset Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1870 | Museum of Somerset | 20 sword fragments 29 socketed axes 37 socketed axe fragments 2 palstaves 2 gouges 2 knives or daggers 1 chape 20 spearheads 34 other bronze fragments[45] |
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Stretham Hoard | 1300-1000 BC | Stretham, Cambridgeshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1850 | British Museum, London, Hunt Museum, Limerick | 1 gold torc, 1 gold bracelet, 6 ribbed rings, 1 bronze rapier [46] |
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Tarves Hoard | 1000-850 BC | Tarves, Aberdeenshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1858 | British Museum, London | 3 bronze swords, 1 pommel, 1 chape and 2 pins [47] |
|
Tisbury Hoard | ![]() |
9th to 8th century BC | Tisbury Wiltshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
2011 | 114 bronze items, including weapons and tools (sword hilts, sword blades, spearheads, axeheads, gouges, chisels, sickles and knives), pieces of jewellery, razors and other miscellaneous items[48] | |
Tisbury Treasure | 1100-750 BC | Tisbury, Wiltshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Before 1897 | British Museum, London | 6 gold penannular bracelets [49] |
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Towednack Hoard | 10th century BC | Towednack Cornwall Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1931 | British Museum, London | 2 twisted gold neckrings 4 gold bracelets 3 lengths of gold rod[50] |
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Urquhart Hoard | 1400-1100 BC | Urquhart, Moray Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1857 | British Museum, London, Marischal Museum, Aberdeen, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh | 36 or 37 originally, 7 gold ribbon torcs in BM, 3 in NMS and 1 in MM [51][52][53] |
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Walderslade Hoard | 1000-750 BC | Walderslade, Kent Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1965 | British Museum, London | 2 gold penannular bracelets [54] |
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Wanlass Hoard | 1100-750 BC | Wanlass, North Yorkshire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1862 | British Museum, London | 4 gold penannular bracelets [55] |
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Whalley Hoard | 1000-750 BC | Whalley, Lancashire Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
1966 | British Museum, London | 1 gold penannular braclet, 1 gold lock-ring, 2 axes, 1 knife, 1 sword blade, 1 socketed gouge and 1 lead stud [56] |
See also
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bronze Age hoards. |
Notes
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Footnotes
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References
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ British Museum Collection [1]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [2]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [3]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [4]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [5]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Gannon, Voden-Decker & Bland 2004b, pp. 22–33, 198
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [6]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [7]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [8]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Gannon, Voden-Decker & Bland 2004b, pp. 35–38
- ↑ British Museum Collection [9]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Hitchcock 2006, pp. 21, 214, 228
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lewis 2009, pp. 55–57
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [10]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [11]
- ↑ Gannon, Voden-Decker & Bland 2004b, pp. 21–22, 182, 198
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [12]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [13]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [14]
- ↑ Gannon, Voden-Decker & Bland 2004a, pp. 20–22
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [15]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [16]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [17]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ British Museum Collection [18]
- ↑ National Museum of Scotland Collection [19]
- ↑ Marischal Museum Collection [20]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [21]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [22]
- ↑ British Museum Collection [23]
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