Boughton Malherbe Conservation: New work on old finds

By Sophia Adams

2020: a time when we have had to adapt to new ways of working and connecting with family, friends and colleagues. In March, Maidstone Museum, Dana Goodburn Brown and I were about to embark on a new project on some old finds: a detailed study of the Boughton Malherbe hoard. The study would end with a public exhibition of the hoard at Maidstone Museum. The project was made possible by a generous grant from The William and Edith Oldham Trust. A grant that enables us to clean, conserve and analyse the objects ready for display. A grant that supports sharing this work with a wide audience engaging both the academic hive mind and public imagination; connecting us with the people who made, used and buried these objects almost 3000 years ago. Seven months later, thanks to the perseverance of Pernille Richards at Maidstone Museum and a willingness by all of us to alter how we work together and adapt to collaborating online, we have been able to start the project.

The Boughton Malherbe hoard is the largest Late Bronze Age hoard found in Kent. It weighs approximately 64 kg and contains complete objects and fragments; from whole axes to pieces of swords. In 2017 information on the contents and context of this find were published in Archaeologia Cantiana (Volume 64, 2017; see also KAS newsletter Issue 104, Winter 2016). This find, buried at some point between 850 and 750 BC and discovered in 2011, is of international importance. It has already been referenced in many publications and conference presentations, particularly by researchers in the UK and France. It has even been proposed as the name for a type of hoard: Boughton-Vénat; referencing the inclusion of objects typical to hoards from southeastern England and Northern France (D. Brandherm and M. Moskal-del Hoyo 2014, The Antiquaries Journal, Volume 94, 1-47). Yet, these discussions are based on a limited record of the hoard rather than an in-depth analysis of each item.

So far the objects from the Boughton Malherbe hoard have been studied in their ‘as found’ condition: some are coated in soil, others filled with soil. When two or more prehistoric metal artefacts are discovered together during a metal detecting survey they

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Fig 1: A selection of objects from the Boughton Malherbe Late Bronze Age hoard, Festival of Archaeology presentation at Maidstone Museum 2019. Image by Sophia Adams must be reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme and kept in the condition in which they were found.

A record of the finds is made and presented to the coroner. If the coroner designates these items as Treasure, they will be submitted to the Treasure Valuation Committee, still in the same condition. Once a museum acquires the hoard, that museum takes on responsibility for the condition and maintenance of the finds. The soil coating the finds can protect them to an extent, but it hinders full examination of the objects. Without cleaning, we are missing so much of the detail of these objects: decorative features, manufacturing evidence, use wear and signs of manipulation. Unfortunately, nowadays, museums rarely have the facilities and resources for cleaning and conserving the items; at best they can store them in a non-humid environment to keep them stable. We are very grateful that this grant has made it possible for the museum to collaborate with local, highly esteemed, conservator Dana Goodburn Brown (KAS Newsletter Issue 108, Spring 2018) to examine, clean, conserve and stabilise the objects in the hoard. The project is led by Sophia Adams, acting both as the project manager and researcher.

Batches of objects from the Boughton Malherbe hoard are now being worked on by Dana and her assistant Marie Le Saux. We are organising socially distanced finds handovers, holding meetings online and sharing images and ideas through several different digital formats. Digital recording is paramount; it provides us with a great set of images, notes and videos that can be worked into the exhibition at the museum in 2022. We will keep followers updated with our progress with web posts, social media, via this newsletter and through public talks and presentations.

On 28th January 2021 Sophia will be giving a talk online, hosted by Maidstone Museum, to tell you about the work so far; how the finds are conserved and cleaned; what we can learn about them and how there is so much more to a Bronze Age axe than first meets the eye.

A small selection of the objects from the hoard are on display at Maidstone Museum in the prehistory gallery on the first floor. For more information on the online talk visit the museum’s website: https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/whats-on/events/

For more information on what is classed as Treasure, the Treasure process and the Portable Antiquities Scheme visit: https://finds.org.uk/treasure

Sophia Adams is an archaeological researcher based in Kent. She has recently researched another large hoard from the other side of the Thames at Havering, London. This is on display at the Museum of London

Docklands. Admission is free, but an entry time must be booked in advance owing to COVID safety procedures.

https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum- london-docklands/whats-on/exhibitions/ havering-hoard-bronze-age-mystery

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Fig 2: Before and after: end-winged axe from the hoard before and after conservation cleaning by Dana Goodburn Brown. ©Marie Le Saux and Sophia Adams

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Fig 3: At work in the conservation lab, 2020. ©Marie Le Saux and Sophia Adams

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Fig 4: Online project meetings in the time of Covid, 2020. Image by Sophia Adams