Treasure to join cape exhibition

The Hoard found by lads of the South Lancs and Cheshire Metal Detecting Club is to go on exhibition.

Treasure to join cape exhibition Oct 6 2005
by Alec Doyle, Chester Chronicle Newspapers


TREASURE discovered in Rossett is returning to Wrexham to go on display with the Mold Cape later this month.

A haul of tools and gold jewellery, believed to date to about the same time as the cape, was found by three amateur metal-detector users from Liverpool - Peter Skelly, William May and Joseph Perry - in a farmer's field in January 2004.

Fourteen pieces were recovered, made of gold, bronze or pottery.

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A treasure trove inquest in Flint judged the items were of international importance, and they are to be bought from the finders by the National Museums and Galleries Wales for the valuation price of £85,000.

The gold artefacts are similar in style to the cape and thought to date to the middle Bronze Age.

The National Art Collections Fund has given £21,000 to the NMGW toward the acquisition of the Burton Hoard.

It has also received a grant of £35,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and an undisclosed grant from The Goldsmiths Company to buy the collection.

The collection will go on show for first time at the Wrexham County Borough Museum as part of the Re-Creations - Visualising our Past exhibition, joining the cape until December.

It includes a gold torc, gold wire-twisted bracelet, pendant, four beads and three rings, all of which are extraordinarily well-preserved. The cast bronze tools include two palstaves (axes), a chisel and prehistoric pot base.

The hoard was probably buried as a gift to the gods by a well-connected and wealthy farming community.

David Barrie, director of the National Art Collections Fund, said: 'Hidden for 3,000 years, this exceptional find reveals the sophistication and beauty of Bronze Age workmanship.

'Nothing like it is known in Britain and we just had to support this important acquisition.'

Jennifer Stewart, HLF Manager for Wales, said: 'This hoard is a fantastic find which is of international importance and unprecedented in Wales. Therefore, it is essential we preserve the collection for future generations but also present it so that people can see it and get in touch with the history of their area and their country.'

Courtesy of http://icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk

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