Good News Digest

Science and discovery

Rare Bronze Age moulds could link two Scottish hoards

United Kingdom

A 3,000-year-old hoard from the Scottish Borders has arrived in Edinburgh for conservation and study. Its rare clay moulds may help researchers connect two ancient collections and understand more about the craftspeople who made them.

Metal detectorist Mariusz Stepien discovered the Blyth Hoard in 2022, just seven miles from where he found the Peebles Hoard in 2020. The newly revealed find is now at the National Museums Collection Centre.

Alongside two bronze axe-heads, it contains clay moulds that may have been used to make some of the distinctive bronze fittings in the Peebles Hoard. Matthew Knight, a Bronze Age curator at National Museums Scotland, said mould materials rarely survive, making the discovery significant even without the possible connection.

The collection also includes a complete copper ingot, a solid block of metal believed to be the first of its kind found in Scotland. Researchers hope analysing it will help identify where the metals used in both hoards came from. Archaeological excavation also revealed an ancient stone cairn.

Stepien promptly reported his discovery to Scotland’s Treasure Trove Unit. Knight credited that response with helping archaeologists understand the site and excavate the material quickly and safely. Further research will explore whether the two finds are connected, and what they can reveal about the people behind them.

Sources

  1. BBCMetal detectorist finds second Bronze Age hoard seven miles from first near Peebles
  2. The IndependentI'm a metal detectorist. Here's how I found two Bronze Age hoards in two years
  3. The ScotsmanMetal detectorist's second 'extraordinary' find of Bronze Age treasure arrives at NMS

Reporting notes

Where this came from

NMS

BBC, The Independent and The Scotsman explicitly identify NMS as the institutional source of the archaeological assessment and research information. This chain records that disclosed attribution only; it does not infer a press release or wire intermediary.

Mariusz Stepien

All three selected publishers explicitly quote Mariusz Stepien about discovering the Blyth Hoard and its possible relationship to his earlier find. No intermediary for those comments is identified.