Press Releases

Five treasure finds dating from the Bronze Age to post-medieval periods have today (Monday 10^th January) been declared treasure by Assistant Coroner for South Wales Central, Rachel Knight. The objects were all discovered by metal detectorists and include a Bronze Age grave group, a Bronze Age hoard and medieval and post-medieval personal objects and dress fittings.

A hoard of bronze objects (Treasure Case 19.07) of Late Bronze Age date was found by Andrew Cooney while metal-detecting on rough pastureland in Pontypridd Community, Rhondda Cynon Taf, on 9^th January 2019. Included within the hoard were a bronze socketed knife, three bronze socketed axes with ribbed decoration, a blade fragment from a slender bronze socketed axe, a palstave blade fragment and a copper ingot. The objects were buried in a bog almost 3,000 years ago, a practice which has been observed across north-western Europe during the Bronze Age. This buried group of objects may have been intended as a gift to the gods who resided in these wetland places.

Pontypridd Museum hopes to acquire this hoard following its independent valuation by the Treasure Valuation Committee.

Councillor Lynda Davies, Chair of Pontypridd Town Council's Museum and Regeneration Committee comments:

“The potential acquisition of this late Bronze Age material is a very exciting opportunity for Pontypridd Museum. It would be the first time the Museum has been able to acquire treasure and would also be the first addition of pre-1756 archaeological material from the area to our collection. The items will help shine a light on a time in the area’s past that has until now been underrepresented in the collection or in research. It’s an opportunity for us to extend the narrative into the town’s pre-industrial past, and examine the lives of people living here thousands of years ago.”

A group of artefacts accompanying a Bronze Age grave (Treasure Case 16.35) was found by Tom Haines while metal-detecting in a field in Talybont-on-Usk Community, Powys on 26^th October 2016. The four artefacts include a bronze knife, a bronze awl, a flint knife and a ceramic urn used to contain a cremation burial. On finding the knife and cremated human bone fragments, the finder responsibly reported the discovery to the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Wales (PAS Cymru). Staff from Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust were able to rapidly undertake a follow-up archaeological investigation at the findspot in November 2016, with the help of the finder. The archaeological investigation revealed a cremation burial placed in the urn, still buried in the ground, and the bronze awl and flint knife were also discovered at this time. The artefacts have been identified as of Early Bronze Age date and the burial, an adult male, has been radiocarbon dated to around 1700 BCE, or 3,700 years ago.

Following its independent valuation by the Treasure Valuation Committee, y Gaer Museum, Brecon hopes to acquire this treasure find for its public collection.

Nigel Blackamore, Senior Curator at y Gaer Museum, Brecon comments:

“This is a well-preserved elderly male burial with varied grave goods, which will add significantly to our picture of Early Bronze Age life and death in Powys. We are very pleased to be able to acquire this assemblage, which will in turn enable our visitors and the local community free access to its display and interpretation at y Gaer.”

Adam Gwilt, Principal Curator for Prehistory at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales comments:

“The discovery of a prehistoric bronze knife and awl once buried together has ensured this grave group is a treasure find, however we have also been able to discover so much more, by also being able to retrieve the near complete cremation within a pottery funerary vessel called a Collared Urn. The awl, a small and fragile object, was specially selected to accompany the burial and possibly a tool used for tattooing, a potentially common form of body adornment at this time. Only through the responsible actions of the finder, in reporting the find and by leaving undisturbed objects in the ground for archaeologists to carefully uncover, has it been possible to reveal the full story linked with this burial.”

A matching pair of Tudor silver-gilt dress-hooks were discovered in neighbouring fields by Jeff Nicholas (Treasure Case 19.37) and Brian Reynolds (Treasure Case 19.31) during a metal-detecting rally held in Llanharan Community, Rhondda Cynon Taf on 5^th May 2019. These small dress items have an ornate three petal design, with three decorated pellets, each with a hook soldered onto their back. Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales hopes to acquire this pair of treasure finds, following their independent valuation by the Treasure Valuation Committee.

Dr Mark Redknap, Deputy Head of Archaeology Collections and Research at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales comments:

‘It was only with the introduction of the Treasure Act 1996 that Tudor dress fittings such as the silver gilt dress-hooks from Llanharan (cases 19.31, 19.37) started to be increasingly recognised from Wales. This matching pair of dress hooks belong to a form of accessory used to hitch up the fronts of long dresses popular in the sixteenth century. They are significant as such items tend to be found as isolated finds, such as those found at Llandow, Vale of Glamorgan and Llanhennock, Monmouthshire. The prompt reporting of the Llanharan dress hooks by their finders has added fresh evidence for personal identity expressed through fashionable dress in Tudor Wales.’

A medieval silver annular brooch (Treasure Case 19.40) was discovered by Keith Thomas while metal-detecting in a field in Penllyn Community, Vale of Glamorgan on 22^nd June 2019. The small circular brooch, with a decorated pin, dates to the thirteenth or early fourteenth century. These small personal dress items were used to secure items of clothing. Similar examples have been reported as treasure from across Wales in recent years.

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales hopes to acquire this brooch, following its independent valuation by the Treasure Valuation Committee.

ENDS