Hollingbourne Founder’s Hoard
On Sunday 12th January 2003, David Button, a metal detectorist from Sittingbourne, was detecting on farmland near Hollingbourne. As the light was fading he recovered a length of copper alloy blade, and then, about 12m away, a large socketed axehead, also of copper alloy. Both were clearly of Bronze Age date.
The scope of the Treasure Act had been extended on January 1st to include two or more associated prehistoric base metal finds. Realising that the blade and axehead were possibly part of a dispersed hoard, and therefore could constitute treasure, David telephoned Andrew Richardson, the Finds Liaison Officer for Kent, who is based with Kent County Council. It was agreed to meet at the site the following Wednesday afternoon, along with the farmer, Michael Summerfield. Upon arrival the positions of the two findspots were located and marked, and a sweep of the area around these was made by a metal detector. Further signals were immediately noted, and these were plotted and then dug. This resulted in the finding of a further 11 Bronze Age artefacts, consisting of 4 socketed axeheads, 4 lengths of double-edged blade, 2 ‘cakes’ and part of one sword or dagger handle. All the objects were of copper alloy and all were incomplete, the axeheads having either the end of the blade or the end of the socket broken off in antiquity.
The regularity of the breaks, combined with the presence of the cakes, suggested a smith’s (founder’s) hoard of scrap metal. The finds were deposited in the British Museum the following day, and it was confirmed that this hoard represented the first find in the county to fall within the scope of the extended Treasure Act.
A further sweep of the area some days later, using a more powerful detector, resulted in the finding of one further ingot and part of a sword handle, bringing the total number of artefacts recovered to 15. These were all found within the ploughsoil, which consists of heavy grey clay no more than about 30cm deep. The finds were distributed across a roughly crescent-shaped area about 15m by 10m across, and clearly represented a hoard that had been dispersed by the action of the plough.
Given the possibility that further artefacts might remain to be recovered, and in the hope that part of the hoard might remain in situ, an excavation of the findspot was organised. This took place on the weekend of 1st to 2nd March, and was led by Andrew Richardson and Simon Mason of KCC Heritage Conservation. Stuart Cakebread, SMR officer with Heritage Conservation, also assisted, along with volunteers from KCC, Maidstone Area Archaeological Group, the Kent Archaeological Society, the Lenham Archaeological Society and Giles Guthrie, curator of Maidstone Museum. David Button also took part, along with fellow detectorist Terry Bodily. The excavation was filmed by the BBC as part of their forthcoming series “Hidden Treasure”, which is due to air in September.
An area 4m by 4m was excavated by hand in the centre of the zone where most of the finds had been made, but no further artefacts were recovered from this trench, and no features were noted. Sweeps across the general area by the four metal detectorists present revealed only a few finds, notably a silver coin of Elizabeth I in very good condition, but no further Bronze Age artefacts were found until about 3pm on Saturday 1st, when Gill Davies located a socketed axehead downhill from the scatter found previously. Further finds were then located in a very concentrated area, and more signals were noted. It seemed probable that the source of the hoard, or indeed a secondary hoard, had been located, and the following day a trench was opened around the area of these finds. In addition, the first trench was extended in the hope that more material might be recovered from this area. In the event, no further Bronze Age artefacts were recovered from the later trench, but
Top: The BBC crew film as the hoard (below) begins to emerge.
The articulated burial of a small horse, associated with prehistoric pot sherds and an iron object, was located. At the site of Saturday’s finds, however, three cakes and an axehead which had been disturbed by ploughing, were found distributed around an in situ group of metal work. The latter consisted of three socketed axeheads, all placed vertically, blade downwards, with a complex of cakes, spearheads and a blade wedged in between them. These were recorded and photographed before lifting, and the soil from the small pit that they were placed in was collected and bagged for later analysis. It was not until about 8pm on the Sunday night that the in situ hoard was eventually lifted, and the excavation could not have continued without the assistance of local resident Mr Gordon Reeves, who kindly provided lights and a generator.
A total of 35 late Bronze Age metal artefacts have now been recovered from the site, comprising 12 axeheads or parts of axeheads, 6 lengths of blade, 2 spearheads, 2 sword/dagger handles and 13 cakes. The finds are comparable to the material recovered from the Monkton hoard in Thanet, and fall within the Carp’s Tongue Complex industry, which dates to the very end of the Bronze Age, circa 800 BC. It is hoped that further finds on the site will be carried out in the near future, and it is expected that the finds will eventually be acquired by Maidstone Museum under the Treasure Act. The credit for the discovery of this important find lies with David Button, whose decision to call for archaeological assistance after making the initial finds has allowed the recovery of the in situ material, and the accurate plotting of all find spots. This was a textbook example of the benefits to be gained by all from cooperation between metal detectorists and archaeologists, and shows the value of the work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme in fostering such co-operation. The excavation was also an exemplary piece of community archaeology, with individuals from several different groups giving up their time and working together for the benefit of Kent’s heritage.
Stray socketed axe near the in situ hoard.