This metalwork hoard, probably of bronze/copper alloy was recently uncovered on a site in North Somerset. It was block lifted by yours truly and, subsequently dispatched to the county FLO to be further examined and fully excavated at a later date, as yet a report has not been published. The hoard is likely to be classified as type ‘founders’ hoard’ as it appears to consist mostly of scrap metal and might have been an ‘economic deposit’ placed in the ground by artisans for safekeeping and never recovered.
The deposition of hoards is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the Middle and Late Bronze Age, thousands have been found across the British Isles. These hoards might be represented by a few objects, or there could be hundreds of pieces of metalwork in a range of forms that includes weapons, tools, ornamental items and scrap or broken metal.
