Rare Iron Age hoard discovered in the Chilterns

Date: 28th July 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery in the Chilterns National Landscape has revealed a rare Iron Age hoard, including a beautifully preserved horse brooch.

The find, the most significant of its kind since the Polden Hill Hoard of 1800, was unearthed in Oxfordshire by a responsible metal detectorist and subsequently excavated and recorded in partnership with the Chilterns National Landscape’s Heritage and Archaeology Manager, Dr Wendy Morrison.

The hoard is now destined for display at the Oxfordshire Museum, but the museum needs public support to raise the £10,500 which will ensure its safe future.

A similar artefact was recovered around the same time in Buckinghamshire but was sold into a private collection at auction. The acquisition of this hoard by the Oxfordshire Museum will ensure that everyone has an opportunity to see it and learn about the rich heritage of the area.

Harness brooch obverse no ruler. Credit Allen Beechey

Harness brooch (Allen Beechey)

A crowdfunding campaign has therefore been launched to keep this nationally important treasure accessible to all.

In August 2020, a metal detectorist investigating a field in Rotherfield Peppard, Oxfordshire, discovered a large piece of decorated bronze and rightly recognised that it was something unusual. The normal procedure would have been to contact the relevant Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) working with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, but due to pandemic, the county FLOs were not available.

Thankfully, a search of the internet led the detectorist to contact the archaeologist at the Chilterns National Landscape. Dr Morrison recognised from a photograph that this artefact was an extremely rare item called a horse brooch from the latest Iron Age (around 50 BCE to 43 CE). It is the most well preserved such object discovered since the Polden Hoard in Somerset, found in 1800.

“Seeing that picture come in on my phone I leapt off the sofa in excitement,” said Morrison. “I knew immediately that this was a significant find.”

Fragments of Hertfordshire Puddingstone quern (Allen Beechey)

The detectorist, following best practice, worked with Dr Morrison and Chilterns colleague Allen Beechey to excavate the find spot and record the archaeology. This revealed that the brooch was part of a collection of items of value that had been deposited into a large ceramic pot, which had been set into the ground, probably in the 1^st century CE.

The pot probably contained some organic material as well as the metal objects recovered and then was covered with the upper part of a rotary quern, which would have been used for grinding grain. Sometime in the modern period, a deep plough struck the quern, shattered the pot, and dragged some of the contents downslope.

Further careful detecting and excavation allowed the recreation of the series of events and revealed a silver Roman coin from before the Roman conquest, an enamelled handle of a bronze bowl, a lead weight, and a brooch which had been dragged from the hoard.

“Although the Treasure Act has now changed to include non-precious metals, in 2020, this brooch would not have been declared Treasure without the context of its part of the bigger hoard,” said Morrison. “Detectorists and archaeologists working together in partnership is key to a better understanding of the past.”

This case shows the value of having an archaeological expert on the Chilterns National Landscape team.

“A regionally significant discovery has been preserved,” said Dr Elaine King, CEO at the Chilterns National Landscape. “Providing vital information that improves our understanding of people living in the Chilterns nearly 2000 years ago.”

To support the acquisition of the hoard by the Oxfordshire Museum and ensure it remains accessible to future generations, visit the crowdfunding page at the link below.

Oxfordshire Iron Age Hoard Crowdfunder