Archaeology & History

Mystery surrounds London's 'Havering Hoard'

By T.K. Randall
October 21, 2019

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Unearthed in the British capital back in September of last year, the stash of 450 objects, which dates back to between 900 and 800 BC, was found during an archaeological investigation in Havering.

Consisting of axe heads, spearheads, daggers, knives and sword fragments, the so-called "Havering hoard" is the largest discovery of its kind in London and the third-largest in the UK.

What makes the find particularly notable however is the fact that the weapons are all broken and that someone had taken the time to bury them all in small groups around the site.

Exactly why this was done continues to remain a mystery."It's incredibly rare to have uncovered a hoard of this size on one site," said Roy Stephenson from the Museum of London Docklands. "This discovery is of huge importance and raises questions as to why this treasure was buried in this way and why it was never recovered ?"

Some experts have suggested that a metal worker may have been operating in the area and that the broken weapons had been in the process of being repaired or refurbished.

Others meanwhile speculate that the weapons had been intended as a religious offering or may have even been dumped at the site after the rise of iron weapons caused their value to plummet.

As things stand, we may never know for sure.

Largest ever Bronze Age hoard found in London, the “Havering hoard” go on show.
Collection of 453 items including swords and bracelets will be at Docklands museumhttps://t.co/CZQfekf21H pic.twitter.com/8FCZ8arxxN

— CARAA (@CARAA_Center) October 21, 2019

Source: Independent

Tags: Havering Hoard, Bronze Age