Press Releases

Friends from Wrexham strike gold — again!

Additions to Bronze Age hoard from Burton

A gold biconical bead and a small gold wire with shaped terminals, discovered by Mr Joseph Perry, Mr William May and Mr Peter Skelly while metal detecting near Burton, Wrexham in August 2007 were today (10 December 2008) declared treasure at a Coroner's Court, Flintshire Magistrates Court.

The discovery was made in exactly the same location as a collection of 14 pieces of gold and bronze jewellery and ceramic tools dating back to the Middle Bronze age (between 1350 and 1100 BC), found and reported by the same finders in 2004.

The bead is of identical form as three other examples in the hoard and was probably strung on a necklace. The gold wire, with one round-headed end, and the other with a hook, may once have been used as a coiled finger-ring.

Adam Gwilt, Curator of the Bronze Age Collections, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales said:

"Through these recent discoveries, we are able to add to our understanding of the Burton hoard. They, and the earlier finds, were buried together around 3,300 years ago. Next year, we hope to re-unite them, by displaying and researching the whole hoard together."

The first Burton hoard discoveries including a torc, bracelet, neck pendant, four beads, three penannular rings (all of gold), with two palstaves or axes and a chisel of bronze, and a prehistoric pottery vessel base were acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales. They are currently displayed in the Origins: In Search of Early Wales gallery at National Museum Cardiff, which has welcomed over 120,000 people since it opened 12 months ago.

Admission to Amgueddfa Cymru is free thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government. Amgueddfa Cymru operates seven national museums across Wales. These are National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans: National History Museum, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon, National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre, National Slate Museum, Llanberis and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.

Ends

For further information, photograph or interview opportunities, please contact Catrin Mears, Communications Officer, on 029 2057 3185/07920 027067 or email catrin.mears@museumwales.ac.uk.

Notes to Editors

• Origins: in search of Early Wales The objects chosen for Origins: in search of Early Wales exhibition at National Museum Cardiff are a selection of many magnificent objects discovered in Wales which help us understand ourselves, and Wales, today. Highlights include:

- The earliest formal human burial in western Europe, the remains of ‘The Red Lady of Paviland';

- Two-dimensional art style in Wales - the Bryn Celli Ddu stone, from Anglesey;

- Timeless designs in gold from Bronze Age Wales such as the Capel Isaf bracelets and the Burton hoard neck pendant;

- A rare survival from the Reformation - a 13th-century painted figure of Christ from a rood (Crucifixion), discovered in the 19th century hidden behind the walled up access to the rood loft at Kemeys Inferior Church, Monmouthshire.

Focusing on people and change, contemporary relevance is visually explicit. Art, photography, sculpture, music, animation also have a dynamic presence in the gallery which includes new works commissioned for the exhibition.