Exotic hoard artefacts found in field hint at long-distance Bronze Age sea travel, say archaeologists in Wales
This article originally appeared on Culture24.
Exotic weapons buried in field could have arrived in Wales by long-distance sea travel from England or France
Metal detectorists, farmers and archaeologists have helped discover a Bronze Age hoard in west Wales© National Museum WalesTwo blade fragments, a scabbard fitting, a multi-edged knife and six copper ingot fragments were discovered by Adrian Young a few metres apart from each other in the corner of a field in Marloes and St Brides .
The Coroner for Pembrokeshire has now officially declared the hoard treasure, with archaeologists at National Museum Wales dating it to between 2,800 and 3,000 years ago.
“The combination of objects found in this hoard hints at the long-distance sea travel of finished objects during the Late Bronze Age, from southern England and northern France to west Wales,” says Adam Gwilt, the Principal Curator for Prehistory at National Museum Wales.
“The swords, scabbard and knife are exotic types, not typical for the region.
“We can now see that copper ingot fragments are common components within hoards from Pembrokeshire, similar to a pattern also seen in Cornwall.”
An as-yet-undecided public museum collection will acquire the hoard once it has been independently valued.
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