The discovery of the first ever Bronze Age razor to be found in
Northumberland suggests that at least some of the local men living in
the area between about 1000 and 800 BC were clean-shaven, according
to experts at Newcastle University's Museum of Antiquities.
The razor is part of a collection known as the Collette Hoard, found
by John Minns, of Arbroath, in April 2005, which has gone on public
display for the first time in the Museum of Antiquities.
Mr Minns initially reported the find to Philippa Walton, a Finds
Officer with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, based in the Museum of
Antiquities. Subsequently it was sent to Bronze Age expert, Stuart
Needham, at the British Museum, for analysis.
The condition of the objects in the hoard has astounded experts, who
believe the find has the potential to provide new and valuable
information about the late Bronze Age.
'Hoards from the late Bronze Age containing such a variety of objects
in such good condition are very rare in the North of England, so this
is an extremely important find', says Lindsay Allason-Jones, Director
of Archaeological Museums at Newcastle University.
The Hoard includes objects that would have been used for personal
adornment, among them six gold lock rings, believed to have been hair
decorations, as well as bracelets, rings and pins.
An analysis of the lock rings, which are made of very fine gold leaf
wrapped around a solid core, carried out at the British Museum,
revealed the substance at the core of the rings to be beeswax.
'It is possible that further analysis of the beeswax might help us to
understand more about the environment of the late Bronze Age', says
Lindsay.'
Also included in the find were several more practical objects,
including six socketed axes which could have been used either for
woodworking or as weapons, and the first socketed gouge - a tool
which would have been used by craftsmen - to be found in
Northumberland.
One of the axes was found to have part of its handle still remaining.
Analysis has shown that the handle was made of hazel wood, and
further carbon dating confirmed a date of 1000 to 840 BC.
An ingot among the objects in the hoard has been found to be made of
a bronze alloy, unlike other ingots from this period, which were
usually made of copper, suggesting that metal recycling was an
important part of the lives of late Bronze Age Northumbrians.
How the objects came to be buried together is also proving to be
something of a puzzle to Lindsay and her colleagues. 'This hoard
doesn't conform to what we already know from other similar finds',
says Lindsay. 'It was found in a shallow pit, and fragments of
pottery found around the objects suggest it might have been covered
by a pottery vessel of some sort. However, it is hard to know whether
it was meant as an offering to a deity, or whether it might have been
a Bronze Age founder's hoard, which the owner hid, intending to come
back for it later'.
The Collette Hoard will be on display in the Museum of Antiquities
until 30 June 2007. It is intended that it will go on permanent
display from 2009 as part of the Great North Museum project.
Beginner's luck as yoghurt pot leads to major find
Metal detectorist, John Minns says finding the hoard was 'sheer
luck', and describes the moment he uncovered the hoard as a feeling
that he was touching history.
While on holiday near Berwick upon Tweed in 2005, Mr Minns, who had
only recently taken up metal detecting, was given permission by a
local farmer to take the detector on to his land.
'At first I made a couple of small finds, a copper coin and a spindle
whorl, just odds and ends', said Mr Minns. 'The only reason I found
the hoard was that I got a nice signal from the detector, but when I
dug away the soil, all I found was a yoghurt pot with a foil lid!'
But, keen to follow good metal detecting practice, Mr Minns
re-checked the hole, and to his surprise found half an axe head,
followed by another axe.
When he spotted the gold rings, however, Mr Minns sensed immediately
that he had stumbled across a major find, and quickly contacted
Philippa Walton of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, who arranged to
visit him to assess the hoard. 'I think she was expecting tractor
parts!' says Mr Minns.
Philippa decided that the hoard was important enough to be given a
collective name. Traditionally, hoards are named after the area in
which they were found, but initially, to avoid giving away the
location of the find until the further excavations had been carried
out, Mr Minns suggested naming it after his eight-year-old daughter,
and so it became known as the Collette Hoard.
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