cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26305569

A remarkable Iron Age hoard, unearthed in a Yorkshire field, is prompting archaeologists to reassess the wealth and power dynamics of northern Britain two millennia ago.

The discovery, dubbed the Melsonby Hoard, contains more than 800 items, including remnants of wagons, ceremonial spears, and pony harnesses, offering a glimpse into the lives of the elite in the 1st century AD.

Unearthed in 2021 near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire, by metal detectorist Peter Heads, the hoard lay undisturbed in two ditches.

Its sheer scale and the nature of the artefacts suggest a deliberate disposal, a practice laden with symbolic meaning for the people of that era.

Experts believe the Melsonby Hoard could be one of the UK’s most significant archaeological finds, requiring years of meticulous study.

The discovery challenges previous assumptions about the distribution of wealth and power in pre-Roman Britain. While some believed such opulence was confined to the south, the Melsonby Hoard’s richness indicates a more complex reality.

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Melsonby is around a mile from Stanwick, the powerbase of the Brigantes tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled a large part of what is now Yorkshire.

“The Melsonby Hoard is of a scale and size that is exceptional for Britain and probably even Europe,” Professor Moore said.

“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, evident in this hoard, is also 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.”