The Peebles hoard is a
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...
which was found near
Peebles
Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...
,
Peeblesshire
Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lan ...
, Scotland in June 2020. It was discovered by Mariusz Stepien, a 44-year-old hobby
metal detector
A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...
ist, and the find was announced on 10 August 2020.
Discovery
The hoard was discovered on 21 June 2020 by Mariusz Stepien, a 44-year-old
metal detector
A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...
ist, originally from Poland but resident in Edinburgh, who had been metal-detecting for nine years. He was detecting with friends in a field near
Peebles
Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...
, Peeblesshire, when he found the first item at around 10am, below ground level. He immediately reported it to the
Treasure Trove Unit and
National Museums Scotland
National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland.
NMS is one of the country's National Collections, ...
. The site was covered with a tent until the professionals arrived. There followed 22 days' work on site, during which Stepien and his friends camped in the field to protect the site and to observe the archaeologists' work, and the finds and surrounding soil were taken to the National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh. The find was announced on 10 August 2020.
Description
An in-situ Bronze Age hoard:
*Complete
harness
A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types:
* Bondage harness
* Child harness
* Climbing harness
* Dog harness
* Pet harness
* Five-point harness
* Horse harness
* Parrot harness
* ...
– with
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
fastenings, and organic traces of leather sufficiently detailed to reveal the tooling
*Rattle pendant
*Sword in
scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and Lever action, lever-action ...
– dated 1000 BC to 900 BC
Significance
Professional archaeologists were contacted before the site had been disturbed, allowing the items to be investigated in context and details of the leatherwork to be recorded.
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
findings are rare in Scotland, and the artefacts establish a linkage between the people living there 3,000 years ago and tribes in
Northern Germany
Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...
.
See also
*
Horsehope Craig Hoard, found at
Manor Water
Manor Water is a river in the parish of Manor, Scottish Borders, Manor, Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders. It rises in the Ettrick Forest and flows down through the Maynor valley, passing the various farms and hamlets of Maynor as well as Kirk ...
, south of Peebles in 1864
*
Dowris Hoard
The Dowris Hoard is the name of an important Bronze Age hoard of over 200 objects found in Dowris, County Offaly, Ireland. Items from the deposit are currently split between two institutions: the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin and the Brit ...
, found at Dowris,
County Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...
, Ireland in 1820s
*
Mooghaun North Hoard
The Mooghaun North Hoard or ''Great Clare Find'' is the name of an important Bronze Age hoard found at Mooghaun North, near Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare, Ireland. Considered one of the greatest Bronze Age hoards of gold ever found north of ...
, found at
Mooghaun North,
County Clare
County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...
, Ireland in 1854
References
{{reflist
Bronze Age Scotland
Metal detecting finds in Scotland
Peebles
2020 in Scotland
2020 archaeological discoveries
Treasure troves of Bronze Age Britain
Treasure troves in Scotland