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Isle of Wight: Bronze age finds in Shalfleet

Village yields bronze age `treasure`

By Emily Pearce - Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Village yields bronze age `treasure`
Bronze age axe heads found by a metal-detecting enthusiast at Shalfleet.
A HOARD of bronze age items, including axe heads and jewellery fragments, has been discovered in Shalfleet.
The artefacts, which date from 1400 to 1150BC, were declared treasure by Island coroner John Matthews at an inquest.
Isle of Wight Metal Detecting Club member Dudley Holmes found the two primitive axe heads, known as palstaves, and copper alloy bracelet fragments in March.
Frank Basford, the coroner’s officer for treasure, said the items dated from the Taunton phase of the middle bronze age and were more sophisticated than the earliest metal tools.
He said they could have been deposited by someone intending to recover them at a later date, or simply thrown away.
Although the palstaves and bracelet fragments are not made from a precious metal, they are considered treasure because they date from prehistoric times and because more than one item was found in the same place.
The Isle of Wight Museum in Newport said it would like to add the artefacts to its collection.
Mr Matthews thanked Mr Holmes for his honesty in reporting his find and said the Island was deeply indebted to metal-detecting enthusiasts for their valuable work.