The Melsonby Hoard

Twenty-eight iron wheel tyres lay in a cluster in a field in North Yorkshire, some of them deliberately bent out of shape, with bronze bridle bits, linchpins and harness fittings in among them. Nearby, in a ditch, two ornate vessels had been set upside down. In a second ditch, a bundle of spears and decorated pony harness had been wrapped together before burial. Together they make the Melsonby Hoard, at more than 800 objects one of the largest finds of Iron Age metalwork in Britain.

A metal detectorist found the first pieces in December 2021 and reported them. Because so much was fragile and corroded, Durham University excavated the site in 2022, with more than £120,000 from Historic England and advice from the British Museum. Some material was lifted in soil blocks and scanned with X-ray CT at the University of Southampton, so archaeologists could see what was inside before digging it out in the laboratory.

The vehicle parts come from more than seven wagons and chariots, and the harness was made for at least fourteen ponies. Some harness pieces are larger than usual for the period and are set with red coral from the Mediterranean and coloured glass. One of the vessels, lidded and decorated in a mix of Iron Age and Mediterranean styles, was probably used for mixing wine. Some objects have close parallels elsewhere in Britain; for others the best matches are on the continent.

Much of the hoard was burnt or broken before it was buried. The excavators suggest this was a deliberate display of wealth and power: only the very rich could afford to destroy so much. The objects may have been burnt on a funeral pyre, but no human remains were found. Burial seems to have taken place in the 1st century AD, around the time Rome was conquering southern Britain.

The site lies close to the great Iron Age enclosure at Stanwick, usually linked with the rulers of the Brigantes, the people who controlled much of northern England when Rome arrived. The find challenges the old view that the wealthiest and most connected British elites of the period lived in the south. Whoever buried it belonged to a network that reached across Britain, into Europe and to the Roman world.

Under the Treasure Act the hoard was valued for acquisition. York Museums Trust launched an appeal in March 2025 to buy and conserve it, and by July had secured the purchase with £192,096 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, about £54,000 from a public crowdfunder and £20,000 in other donations. Conservation and research will continue for years.