‘Magical’ objects from iron age hoard found in UK go on display

Iron age objects that tell a dramatic story of female power and which dispel the myth that northern Britain was a left-behind backwater have gone on display for the first time. The objects exhibited in York are from the Melsonby hoard, the largest trove of iron age metalwork ever found in the UK , which experts say could alter our understanding of life in Britain 2,000 years ago. The hoard, which comprises more than 800 items, is almost certainly associated with a tribe called the Brigantes, who controlled most of what is now northern England and whose most famous leader was Queen Cartimandua. There are fragments of chariots, bridle bits, weapons, a cauldron, a mysterious mirror and much more – all of them deliberately dismantled and burned before they were buried. It was a “crazy amount of effort and work”, said Yorkshire Museum’s senior curator, Glynn Davis. The cauldron found in the hoard, which comprises more than 800 objects. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian The hoard was acquired by the museum after it raised more than £265,000, including £192,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. It is, everyone associated with the hoard believes, an unprecedented, once-in-a-generation find. Five years after its initial discovery by a metal detectorist, the public will now be able to see what all the fuss is about. …