The Milton Keynes Hoard is a
hoard of
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 prin ...
gold found in September 2000 in a field at
Monkston Park in
Milton Keynes, England.
The hoard consisted of two
torc
A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had ...
s, three
bracelet
A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...
s, and a fragment of bronze rod contained in a pottery vessel. The inclusion of pottery in the find enabled it to be dated to around 1150–800 BC.
Weighing in at , the hoard was described by the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
as "one of the biggest concentrations of Bronze Age gold known from Great Britain" and "important for providing a social and economic picture for the period".
The hoard was valued at £290,000 and is now in the British Museum.
Several other
antiquities
Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...
, including
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
hoards, have been found within a radius of the centre of Milton Keynes.
Discovery
On 7 July 2000, Michael Rutland and Gordon Heritage were
metal detecting
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, ...
in a field in what is now Monkston Park in Milton Keynes, at the invitation of local
archaeologists who were closing a nearby dig, when they discovered the hoard. They immediately informed the archaeologists (Brian Giggins and Paul and
Charmian Woodfield
Charmian Catherine Woodfield (née Phillips; 1929–2014) was a British archaeologist.
Career
Charmian started worked for the Ministry of Works as a field archaeologist. She excavated many sites, including Verulamium (St Albans) with Sheppard ...
) an action which was later cited as imperative in preserving the historical context of the find. Hayley Bullock of the British Museum was also praised for acting quickly to preserve the site and expedite excavation.
The
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, ...
ists who found the hoard were rewarded with 60% of the value after the authorities decided that the landowners' claim that the finders had searched without permission was unfounded.
Significance
The hoard in its entirety comprises two large gold torcs, three smaller gold bracelets, a fragment of
bronze rod or wire, and an undecorated fineware post-
Deverel-Rimbury type bowl with a brown ceramic fabric, standing high.
The heaviest item (see
specifications
A specification often refers to a set of documented requirements to be satisfied by a material, design, product, or service. A specification is often a type of technical standard.
There are different types of technical or engineering specificati ...
below, item 1) weighed ; the second torc and bracelet (items 2 and 4 respectively), following
X-ray fluorescence
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the emission of characteristic "secondary" (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material that has been excited by being bombarded with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. The phenomenon is widely used for elemental analysis ...
analysis at the British Museum, contained the largest amount of gold at 85% each.
The total weight is ,
and the British Museum described it as "one of the biggest concentrations of Bronze Age gold known from Britain and seems to flaunt wealth."
The finders' reporting the hoard in good time ensured "certain association between a gold hoard and pottery for the British Middle to Late Bronze Age (about 1500–800 BC)"
could be established. However, the inclusion of pottery in the find confirms and maybe refines the hoard dating. Furthermore, the British Museum stated, "The find provides an invaluable link between gold types and the broader social and economic picture for
Bronze Age Britain."
Valuation and disposition
A
coroner's inquest
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jur ...
declared the finds
treasure
Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...
and valued them at £290,000.
Heritage and Rutland were entitled to a share of this with the landowners,
English Partnerships
English Partnerships (EP) was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by regional development agencies on a regional level. On 1 December 2008 its powers passed to a successor ...
. However, because the owners of the land disputed the finders' right to search the land the Treasure Valuation Committee increased the finders' share to 60%, after finding this claim to be unwarranted.
The British Museum acquired the hoard, although
replicas'' were made and displayed at the independently run
Milton Keynes Museum
Milton Keynes Museum is an independent local museum in the parish of Wolverton and Greenleys in Milton Keynes, England. It is mostly run by volunteers with a small number of paid staff.
The museum is housed in a former Victorian farmstead.
I ...
to commemorate the origin of the find spot.
Item specifications
Other hoards from Milton Keynes and surrounding area
Before the
Roman conquest of Britain of 43 the
Catuvellauni
The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century.
The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their ...
tribe controlled this area from their
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
at Danesborough, near
Woburn Sands
Woburn Sands () is a town that straddles the border between Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire in England, and also is part of the Milton Keynes urban area. See map. The larger part of the town is in Woburn Sands civil parish, which is in the Cit ...
. Under Roman occupation, the area thrived due mainly to the major
Roman road, Iter IIIlater known as
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...
which runs through the area, giving rise to an associated
Roman town at the Romano-British settlement
MAGIOVINIUMnow
Fenny Stratford
Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the Civil Parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Originally an independent town, it was included in the Milton Keynes " designated area" in 1967. From 189 ...
. The
history of Milton Keynes
This history of Milton Keynes details its development from the earliest human settlements, through the plans for a 'new city' for 250,000 people in northern Southeast England, its subsequent urban design and development, to the present day. Milt ...
shows that settlement can be traced back to 2000 BCE; therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that many other hoards have been found within a radius of its modern centre.
Castlethorpe
In about 1827, a Romano-British hoard of coins, a pair of silver snakeshead bracelets (both inscribed underneath), silver finger ring with carnelian intaglio. Found within a ceramic jar.
Magiovinium
;Fenny Stratford coin
Possibly the oldest known gold coin in Britain was found in 1849, here near the site of M
AGIOVINIUM, a gold
stater
The stater (; grc, , , statḗr, weight) was an ancient coin used in various regions of Greece. The term is also used for similar coins, imitating Greek staters, minted elsewhere in ancient Europe.
History
The stater, as a Greek silver curre ...
of the mid-2nd century BC.
The British Museum described it as "a superb example of the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
die-engraver's art".
;Bletchley hoards
Although known as the "Bletchley" hoards, two coin hoards were also found at or near the site of M
AGIOVINIUM, consisting of silver ''
denarii
The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...
'', in 1967 and 1987.
Stony Stratford Hoard
![Stratford hoard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Stratford_hoard.BM.OA.252.JPG)
In 1789, at Windmill Field in the parish of
Old Stratford
Old Stratford is a village and wider civil parish in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire. The population of the civil parish (including Passenham) at the 2011 Census was 1,935. The 'Stratford' part of the village name is Anglo-Sax ...
, Northamptonshire (just across the
river Great Ouse from
Stony Stratford in
Milton Keynes), an urn was uncovered that contained between 50 and 60 fragments of silver and gilt bronze plaques.
"In addition there are two objects sometimes described as ensigns or head-dresses".
The fragments include images of the
Roman deities
The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin lite ...
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
,
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
, and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and inscriptions ascribed to
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
and
Vulcan
Vulcan may refer to:
Mythology
* Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
, leading to theories that this was a votive hoard at a Roman temple.
The hoard is now kept at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
1849 find on Whaddon Chase and the Little Horwood Hoard
Whaddon:
Little Horwood:
In 1849, while ploughing land near
Whaddon, farm workers discovered a hoard of Iron Age gold staters. The amount found, depending on reports, varies between 450
to 800
and 2,000,
but the lack of precision in quantifying the hoard was because "
e discovery attracted many persons to the spot, some of whom contrived to get possession of nearly 100 specimens... About 320 reached the hands of
andownerMr Lowndes". It was also poorly recorded in the first instance.
In December 2006, in
Little Horwood
Little Horwood is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, within the Buckinghamshire Council unitary authority area. The village is about four miles east-south-east of Buckingham and two miles north-east of Winslow.
Heritage
...
, three metal detectorists found 73 staters, dated from 60–50 BC,
of the type that had come to be known as the Whaddon Chase type.
Ian Leins, from the British Museum Department of Coins and Medals, stated in the 2005–06 Treasure Annual Report that the proximity to the Whaddon Chase find spot and the type found made it "likely" that this find "represent
part of the original hoard that remained undiscovered in 1849." The 2006 staters were valued at a total of £25,000
and are now in Buckinghamshire County Museum.
The 2006 staters were discovered by Andrew and Edward Clarkson, and Gordon Heritage – coincidentally one of the discoverers of the Monkston Bronze Age gold hoard. In October 2007, the three men found a further two staters in the same area, also deemed to be part of the original 1849 hoard.
The Whaddon Chase hoard remains the largest of its kind, with only the discovery of the
Wickham Market Hoard
The Wickham Market Hoard is a hoard of 840 Iron Age gold staters found in a field at Dallinghoo near Wickham Market, Suffolk, England in March 2008 by auto mechanic, car mechanic, Michael Dark using a metal detector. After excavation (archaeolog ...
in 2008where 840 gold staters were uncovered in
Suffolkcoming close thereafter.
1858 coin hoard at Weston Underwood
On New Year's Eve, 1858 near
Weston Underwood, an
earthenware vessel was found in Whites Close. It contained 166
denarii
The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...
from the 1st and 2nd century AD, 4
legionary coins, 1 brass coin, an
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
from 42 BC and 4 of
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...
from 30 BC. Also found was a complete 2nd century
Samian bowl and other pieces of pottery, including many broken
sherds, and even human and horse bones. The Samian bowl now resides at
Buckinghamshire County Museum.
1879 Bronze Age hoard at New Bradwell
In 1879, at
New Bradwell
New Bradwell is (mainly) an Edwardian era village, modern district and civil parish in north-west Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Together with Wolverton (on the other side of the West Coast Main Line), it was built primarily to hous ...
, a Bronze Age hoard of weapons was found in a "deep cist filled with black earth" where nowadays stands the County Arms Hotel. The hoard comprised nine socketed
axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...
s, three broken axes, one
palstave {{Short description, European Bronze Age axe
A palstave is a type of early bronze axe. It was common in the middle Bronze Age in northern, western and south-western Europe. In the technical sense, although precise definitions differ, an axe is gener ...
, two
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
heads and a leaf-shaped sword which had broken into four pieces. The collection now resides at
Aylesbury Museum.
Little Brickhill excavations 1962–1964
In July 1962, a
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
hoard of coins was found in
Little Brickhill
Little Brickhill is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Located immediately to the west of the A5, it is just outside and overlooking the Milton Keynes urban area, ab ...
(just south of Milton Keynes), in very close proximity to Watling Street. It consisted of 251 loose coins and an estimated 400 more which were corroded and had become somewhat amalgamated. The coins, dated 360–365, are now in the possession of the Bletchley Archaeological Society.
Two years later, excavation work nearby uncovered a stone and timber building. The building had been destroyed by fire and 4th century pottery was found on a cobbled floor, along with various sherds from the 4th and 11th to 12th centuries, remnants of a 13th-century jug, glass and
jet beads, and around 43 coins from
Tetricus I
Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was the emperor of the Gallic Empire from 271 to 274 AD. He was originally the (governor) of Gallia Aquitania and became emperor after the murder of Emperor Victorinus in 271, with the support of Victorinus's mother, ...
(270–273) to
Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...
(375–383). The excavation also revealed the burial place of at least 44 people.
More coins at Little Brickhill in 1967 and 1987
On 20 May 1967, at a site not far from the 1962–1964 Little Brickhill finds, a mechanical digger uncovered a hoard of 296 denarii from the 1st to 2nd century.
Hearth tools, pottery, and a fragment of
whetstone were also found. Five of the coins are now at the British Museum and the remainder are at the Buckinghamshire County Museum.
After excavation, more finds included a bronze
brooch
A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with g ...
and
terret
A terret is a metal loop on a horse harness, guiding the lines and preventing them from becoming tangled or snagged on the harness.
The lines run from the hands of the driver, through the terrets, and then attach to the horse's bit to guide the ...
ring. The wider implications of the excavation were that it was discovered that occupation of the area had passed through five phases from the 1st to 4th century of the Romano-British empire.
627 coins were found in 1987 which were ascertained to be from the same hoard.
1987 Walton hoard
In 1987, metal detectorists found 97 bronze coins spanning 307–317 at a
Walton Walton may refer to:
People
* Walton (given name)
* Walton (surname)
* Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer
Places
Canada
* Walton, Nova Scotia, a community
** Walton River (Nova Scotia)
*Walton, Ontario, a hamlet
United Kingdo ...
building site. It was speculated that this was not the entire sum of the hoard.
2014 Lenborough hoard
The
Lenborough Hoard of 5,251 eleventh century coins was found at
Lenborough
Lenborough is a hamlet in the parish of Buckingham next to Gawcott, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Gawcott with Lenborough.
Description
Lenborough consists mainly of barn conversions and farm houses and connects by f ...
, near
Padbury
Padbury is a village within the Buckinghamshire unitary authority area, England. It is located on the A413 main road that links Buckingham with Winslow.
History
The village name is Old English in origin, and means 'Padda's fortress'. In th ...
( west of Milton Keynes) on 21 December 2014. Stored in a lead bucket, the hoard included coins of
Æthelred the Unready
Æthelred II ( ang, Æþelræd, ;Different spellings of this king’s name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern diale ...
and
Canute
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...
Maps
See also
*
History of Milton Keynes
This history of Milton Keynes details its development from the earliest human settlements, through the plans for a 'new city' for 250,000 people in northern Southeast England, its subsequent urban design and development, to the present day. Milt ...
*
List of Bronze Age hoards in Great Britain
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milton Keynes Hoard
Archaeological sites in Buckinghamshire
History of Buckinghamshire
Prehistoric objects in the British Museum
Treasure troves in England
Treasure troves of Bronze Age Britain
Milton Keynes
Metal detecting finds in England
2000 archaeological discoveries
Torcs
Bronze Age sites in Buckinghamshire