Overview

• The museum acquired the Melsonby Hoard using £192,096 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund plus over £54,000 from public crowdfunding and £20,000 from other donors
• The hoard comprises more than 800 Iron Age artefacts dating back around 2,000 years, including chariot wheels, ceremonial cauldrons and horse harnesses
• Detectorist Peter Heads discovered the collection near Melsonby in 2021 and a Durham University team excavated it with guidance from the British Museum
• Archaeologists say the variety of high-status objects challenges the view that power and wealth were concentrated in southern Britain during the Iron Age
• Further fundraising has been launched to support ongoing research, conservation and the hoard’s eventual exhibition