Bronze Age finds hint at ancient ritual site
Ritual theory as Bronze Age objects found in Northumberland fields. Tony Henderson reports
An array of objects more than 3,000 years old have been found by metal detectorists spread across two fields in Northumberland.
The discoveries at the location between Haydon Bridge and Chollerford suggest it may have held special significance for the Middle Bronze Age people who made the implements. They include a spearhead, a hammer and axeheads.
They are in particularly fine condition, indicating that they were deposited shortly after manufacture and were unlikely to have been used.
The connection between water and ritual deposition of objects was a feature of prehistoric times and continues in the modern practice of dropping a coin in a fountain or well.
The finds are near the South Tyne, which was probably a boggy landscape and a suitable site for ritual offerings such as the discovered objects.
Andy Agate, Great North Museum finds liaison officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in Northumberland, said: “Bronze Age objects in fine condition are exceptional finds for Northumberland.
“These objects represent a very exciting find for Northumberland as the objects are in such good condition. They show little or no sign of wear, which suggests that they were deposited in the ground soon after manufacture.
“We know from many sites around the country that Bronze Age people had a deep connection with 'watery places' such as bogs, streams, and rivers...
“There seems to be some sort of ritual activity going on of the depositing of what is a very scarce resource. This deposit demonstrates that people were prepared to sacrifice a great deal of wealth for some reason.
“This is probably related to changing climate conditions around the time of the Bronze Age. The dispersed nature of the different objects suggests that the site was revisited over a long period, with different objects being deposited at different times.”
The PAS is the body to which archaeological discoveries made by the public are reported so that they can be recorded to add to insights into the past.
The copper alloy spearhead, 18.5cm in length, has been put up for sale and will feature in the June 25 militaria event by Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn in North Yorkshire, with an estimate of £300–£500.
A major Bronze Age mass of more than 200 objects was found in the Heathery Burn cave near Stanhope in County Durham in the 19th century.
The cave was in a ravine formed by the Stanhope Burn, a small tributary of the River Wear.
A significant quantity of copper alloy weapons and tools forms the largest part of the assemblage, including axeheads, spearheads, casting moulds, fittings, rings, swords, and a bucket.