ESSEX Bronze Age hoard

The Burnham Hoard The Burnham Hoard

Yet another hoard has been discovered by metal detectorists in farmer’s field. Laura McLean and Stefanie White discuss the pottery vessel and metalworking hoard that was buried almost 3,000 years ago.

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This past summer, John Humphreys was enjoying a relaxing August bank holiday searching for artefacts with his metal detector near Burnham-on-Crouch. Walking across a field, he heard a strong signal from the detector; digging into the plough soil, he was shocked to discover ancient metalwork, which had not seen the light of day since the Late Bronze Age. ALL PHOTOS

ABOVE A selection of the Bronze Age socketed axes from the Burnham Hoard.

With the permission of the landowner, John recovered a range of objects from the plough soil, including several fragments of swords, numerous socketed axeheads, casting waste (left over from the manufacturing process), and sherds of pottery. The landowner immediately reported the finds to Laura McLean, Essex Finds Liaison Officer (FLO), of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS).

The finds were from a hoard dating from the Late Bronze Age. They had been disturbed by

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March 2011 |