Archaeologists unearth one of the UK’s largest Iron Age hoards

25 March 2025

The cauldron from the Melsonby Hoard at the foreground of the picture with other objects behind.

Our archaeologists have excavated one of the largest and most important Iron Age finds in the UK.

The Melsonby Hoard – unearthed near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire, UK - includes more than 800 objects dating back around 2,000 years.

Artefacts include vehicle parts from wagons or chariots, including 28 iron tyres.

A cauldron and a bowl possibly used for wine mixing, elaborate horse harness, bridle bits and ceremonial spears were also found.

Some harness pieces are adorned with red, Mediterranean coral and coloured glass, and are larger than is typical for that time.

Wealth and power

A large amount of the hoard was either burnt or broken, suggesting a symbolic process of people showing how wealthy and powerful they were by destroying the objects.

The objects might have been burnt on a funerary pyre before being buried, but no human remains were found.

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 Tom Moore

British and European Iron Age specialist/Department of Archaeology

Exceptional scale and size

The Melsonby Hoard is of a size that is exceptional for Britain and probably even Europe.

The find could lead to a major re-evaluation of how wealth and status were expressed during the Iron Age.

It could also be important for our understanding of the nature and use of vehicles at that time.

A trench in the ground showing tangled metalwork surrounded by soil.

Excavation and recording of the Melsonby Hoard deposit in trench one. Credit: Department of Archaeology/Durham University.

The crushed cauldron which was excavated as part of The Melsonby Hoard. Credit: Department of Archaeology/Durham University.

A CT scan image of the cauldron showing a fish motif in the metalwork.

CT scan image of the damaged base of the large Melsonby cauldron showing rare depictions of fish within swirling La Tène style decoration. Credit: µ-VIS X-ray Imaging Centre, University of Southampton.

Two people crouching down and looking at a block of tangled metal and soil in a laboratory.

L-R Dr Emily Williams and Professor Tom Moore, of the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, examine the block of tangled Iron Age artefacts corroded together found in The Melsonby Hoard. Credit Department of Archaeology/Durham University.

A group of people pointing at CT scan of metal objects on a large display screen.

L-R Professor Tom Moore, Head of the Department of Archaeology, Durham University; Dr Keith Emerick, Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Historic England; Dr Emily Williams, Department of Archaeology, Durham University; and Dr Sophia Adams, Curator, The British Museum, look at a CT scan, produced by MUVIS, University of Southampton, of the block of artefacts excavated from Melsonby. Credit: Department of Archaeology/Durham University.

Three corroded spearheads from the Melsonby Hoard

Iron spearheads found with the copper alloy objects in the Melsonby Hoard. Credit of Department of Archaeology/Durham University.

Close up of an ornate piece of metalwork.

A copper alloy strap union (harness fitting) with blue glass decoration from the Melsonby Hoard. Credit Department of Archaeology/Durham University.

Decorative copper alloy openwork from The Melsonby Hoard. Credit Department of Archaeology/Durham University.

Securing the hoard for the nation

The Melsonby Hoard was first discovered and reported in December 2021 by metal detectorist Peter Heads who was detecting in a field with the landowner’s permission.

It was excavated in 2022 by a team from Durham University’s Department of Archaeology and our professional Archaeological Services team.

Excavation also benefited from advice from The British Museum and over £120,000 in grant funding from Historic England.

The objects have been kept at Durham University for stabilisation and recording during the legal treasure case process which has now ended.

The Yorkshire Museum will be launching a fundraising campaign to secure the Melsonby Hoard for the nation.

Find out more

Discover more about The Melsonby Hoard.
Our Department of Archaeology is ranked sixth in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025. Visit our Archaeology webpages for more information on our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
More about Archaeological Services at Durham University.
Read about The British Museum, Historic England and The Yorkshire Museum.