Overview

• Martin Williams discovered the decorative bronze piece within minutes of searching a recently ploughed field near Dorchester.
• He first mistook it for a child’s badge before cleaning revealed bronze, then reported it to a local finds liaison officer.
• The officer described it as “an interesting item for Dorset” and dated it to the Roman period at roughly 1,800 to 2,000 years old.
• Estate managers are keeping the precise site secret on land that has also produced 14 Bronze Age axe heads now at the British Museum, about 30 Roman coins and two medieval posie rings.
• Under the Treasure Act, the brooch will be evaluated for potential museum acquisition, otherwise it may be returned to the finder or landowner, with 1,377 treasure cases recorded in 2022 as metal detecting grows in popularity.