• The discovery near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire, is one of the biggest and most important Iron Age hoards ever found in the UK
• Over 800 items dating back 2,000 years have been unearthed and taken to Durham University for stabilisation and recording
• Objects include vehicle components from wagons and/or chariots including 28 iron tyres, two vessels, elaborate horse harnesses, bridle bits and ceremonial spears
• The artefacts are highly significant in telling us about society, technology, wealth, power and travel in Iron Age Britain
• Excavation of the site was funded by Historic England and led by archaeologists at Durham University, with specialist support from the British Museum
• The Yorkshire Museum has launched a fundraising campaign today for £500,000 to save the hoard from private sale, to conserve it and to retain it in Yorkshire. 
• The crowdfunder campaign can be found at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-the-melsonby-hoard
• A small selection of objects has gone on display at the Yorkshire Museum for public view for the first time ever

Today (Tuesday 25 March,2025), the Yorkshire Museum, Historic England, Durham University and the British Museum announce the discovery of the Melsonby Hoard: one of the largest and most important Iron Age finds in the UK.

The vast deposit of more than 800 items provides an archaeological time capsule from the Iron Age, around 2,000 years ago. Initial assessment suggests the objects were buried in the first century AD, around the time of the Roman conquest of southern Britain.

Discovered and reported in December 2021 by metal detectorist Peter Heads, it was excavated in 2022 by a team of archaeologists from Durham University, with advice from the British Museum and over £120,000 grant funding from Historic England. The Yorkshire Museum is launching a fundraising campaign to secure the hoard for the nation.

The quantity and variety of objects are unusual for Iron Age Britain and have important implications for reassessing our understanding of the nature and use of vehicles at the time. The find could lead to a major re-evaluation of how wealth and status were expressed.

Vehicle components, for which it is hard to find parallels in Britain, include the partial remains of more than seven four-wheeled wagons and two-wheeled chariots.

The find also includes elaborate harnesses for at least 14 ponies, three ceremonial spears and two ornate cauldrons or vessels – one lidded and likely used as a wine mixing bowl, which had been buried at the bottom of a large ditch. Some harness pieces are adorned with red, Mediterranean coral and coloured glass, and are larger than is typical for the period.

While some of the objects match others found in Britain, for others the best parallels are found in continental Europe, suggesting long distance connections and shared technology at the time.

More finds, cutting edge scanning technology and why items were burnt

Cast copper alloy bridle bits, linchpins, rein rings and harness fittings were found within a cluster of 28 iron tyres from horse drawn vehicles. Some of the tyres had been intentionally bent out of shape and the vessels were carefully placed upside down.

Nearby, a deposit of spears and pieces of decorated harness for ponies were wrapped together in a bundle and placed into a second ditch. They were removed from the ground as a large block to be excavated later in the laboratory.

Cutting-edge X-ray CT scanning technology, based at the University of Southampton’s μ-VIS X-Ray Imaging Centre, was used to identify the objects and how they were positioned so they could be excavated without causing damage.

Research on the material, currently in its early stages, is expected to help us understand more about how Iron Age people expressed wealth and status, as well as how and where they travelled and traded.

A large amount of the material within the hoard was either burnt or broken, suggesting a symbolic process of people showing how wealthy and powerful they were by being able to destroy the objects. They might have been burnt on a funerary pyre before being buried, but no human remains were found.

Dr Andrew Woods, Head of Collections & Research at the Yorkshire Museum said: “This Iron Age hoard is an unprecedented find in the north which will help us to understand more about this remarkable period in our history. We have the exciting opportunity to save the hoard for the nation and the people of Yorkshire. By acquiring the hoard we will be able to make it accessible to everyone and, working in partnership with others, we can learn more about this fascinating period, why the hoard was buried, how the objects may have been used and to cast light on to whom it may have belonged.”

Professor Tom Moore, Head of the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, said: “The Melsonby Hoard is of a scale and size that is exceptional for Britain and probably even Europe.

“Unusually it includes lots of pieces of vehicles and items such as the wine mixing bowl which is decorated in both Mediterranean and Iron Age styles.

“Whoever originally owned the material in this hoard was probably a part of a network of elites across Britain, into Europe and even the Roman world.

“The destruction of so many high-status objects, evident in this hoard, is also of a scale rarely seen in Iron Age Britain and demonstrates that the elites of northern Britain were just as powerful as their southern counterparts.”

Professor Moore added: “This discovery demonstrates how responsible metal-detectorists like Peter Heads, by alerting the authorities, have ensured this material could be safeguarded for the future.”

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: “Quite simply, this is one of the most important and exciting Iron Age period discoveries made in the UK. It sheds new light on Iron Age life in the north and Britain, but it also demonstrates connections with Europe. Its proximity to the great Iron Age enclosure at Stanwick is an important factor in understanding its significance. Historic England understood the importance of this find from the moment it was reported to us, and we’re thrilled we were able to provide grant support to allow its excavation and initial conservation.”

Duncan Wilson added: “Any member of the public viewing these new discoveries will feel a real sense of excitement and wonder.”

Dr Sophia Adams, Curator, First Millennium European and Roman Conquest period Collections, the British Museum, said: “This is the largest single deposit of horse harness and vehicle parts excavated in Britain. It is significant not just for the quantity of objects buried together 2,000 years ago but also the quality and range of items. These finds shed new light on collections at the British Museum that were discovered in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

Professor Tom Moore, Head of the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, said: “The Melsonby Hoard is of a scale and size that is exceptional for Britain and probably even Europe.

“Unusually it includes lots of pieces of vehicles and items such as the wine mixing bowl which is decorated in both Mediterranean and Iron Age styles.

“Whoever originally owned the material in this hoard was probably a part of a network of elites across Britain, into Europe and even the Roman world.

“The destruction of so many high-status objects, evident in this hoard, is also of a scale rarely seen in Iron Age Britain and demonstrates that the elites of northern Britain were just as powerful as their southern counterparts.”

Professor Moore added: “This discovery demonstrates how responsible metal-detectorists like Peter Heads, by alerting the authorities, have ensured this material could be safeguarded for the future.”

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: “Quite simply, this is one of the most important and exciting Iron Age period discoveries made in the UK. It sheds new light on Iron Age life in the north and Britain, but it also demonstrates connections with Europe. Its proximity to the great Iron Age enclosure at Stanwick is an important factor in understanding its significance. Historic England understood the importance of this find from the moment it was reported to us, and we’re thrilled we were able to provide grant support to allow its excavation and initial conservation.”

Duncan Wilson added: “Any member of the public viewing these new discoveries will feel a real sense of excitement and wonder.”

Dr Sophia Adams, Curator, First Millennium European and Roman Conquest period Collections, the British Museum, said: “This is the largest single deposit of horse harness and vehicle parts excavated in Britain. It is significant not just for the quantity of objects buried together 2,000 years ago but also the quality and range of items. These finds shed new light on collections at the British Museum that were discovered in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

-ENDS-

For more information please contact

Siona Mackelworth, Head of Audience & Programme, York Museums Trust, siona.mackelworth@ymt.org.uk +44 (0)7483 825647