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| Hoards of the Bronze and Iron Age |
| by Robert Skeen |
My current area of interest and research lies in the buried hoards of weapons, tools, metalwork and coins which are such a feature of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Many have been found in East Anglia. For example, a major Bronze Age hoard consisting of over 300 pieces was found at Isleworth and is on display at West Stow museum. Some of the even more spectacular hoards of gold torcs found at Snettisham can be seen in the British Museum. More locally, a Bronze Age hoard of some 40 items was found at Meldreth – more information can be found at http://www.meldrethhistory.org.uk/page/hoard?path=0p4p. Hoarding continued into the Iron Age and beyond - there are some thirteen Iron Age coin hoards in Cambridgeshire alone.
A major challenge with such hoards lies in understanding why they were hidden. Some are thought to have been hidden in times of trouble with a view to future recovery. Others may have been collections of scrap intended for recycling. More recent interpretations have examined other possible motives. Many, for example, are buried on carefully chosen hillside sites, often facing eastward. Some are linked to later Roman temple sites and may have repeated deposits of material made over a period of time. Others appear to contain only scrap metal but research suggests that their contents have been very carefully chosen and systematically broken. All this suggests that motives may not always have been practical and may have been linked to the belief systems of the people of the time.
The Le Catillon II hoard discovered in Jersey in 2012 by metal detectorists is an interesting example. This is the largest Iron Age coin hoard ever discovered and contains over 70,000 coins along with other items such as jewellery and metal objects. The coins are mainly the products of the Coriosolite people of Armorica. It may be linked to the turmoil and aftermath of the Gallic Wars when Gaulish tribes sought to fund their fight against Caesar. But other explanations are possible and the combination of coins and torcs is comparable to other hoards which are now interpreted as being votive rather than utilitarian. Trying to understand the reasons for its burial will occupy many years.
Most hoard discoveries in recent years are due to the work of metal detectorists. It is therefore unlikely that we will stumble across evidence of a new hoard while fieldwalking - but I live in hope!
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