Iron Age Gold in the Hills

Some of the most spectacular gold and silver treasures from the Iron Age ever found in Britain, if not in Europe, have now gone on display at the British Museum. They were unearthed during excavations at Ken Hill, Snettisham, ten miles north of Kings Lynn, Norfolk at a site which, because of previous rich discoveries, already occupies a special place in late Iron Age studies.

Yet finds of such outstanding quality and quantity beg the obvious hut difficult question: just why were the ancient Celts burying away so many of their prized worldly goods – objects that doubtless signified warrior or royal status? But now, after some months of close analysis, answers are beginning to emerge. Examination of the objects by experts at the British Museum has revealed at least one crucial finding numismatic examination has established that one gold coin, a fragment located in a mass of broken metalwork recovered from the first of the newly-unearthed hoards had been deliberately chopped in two. This is considered to offer clear evidence of the use of a coin as bullion, valued for its metal content rather than as a unit of exchange.