Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales) revealed Wednesday the stunning discovery of 16 ancient treasures found at a potential “sacred spring” site in Wales.
The ancient items were first uncovered by metal detectorist Ian Porter in March 2020 on a field pasture in Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf Community in Anglesey, Wales, according to a press release from Amgueddfa Cymru. The pieces are believed to come from the Roman and Iron Age settlements, around the 1st century A.D., and include a copper ingot, a copper ram’s head, three bridle bits, a rein-guide (terret), harness discs, a decorated brooch, coins and a lead pot repair.
“This culturally mixed artifact group, containing both Iron Age chariot fittings and Roman cavalry fittings, is an important new find for the island. It was placed during or in the aftermath of the period of invasion of the island by the Roman army,” Amgueddfa Cymry prehistory curator Adam Gwilt said.
@BethanGwanas Ramboy wedi ei ddarganfod?! https://t.co/YpzgHHbjS2
— Ioan (@ioanprys) February 29, 2024
“This dramatic event is vividly captured by the Roman author Tacitus, writing about the strange first encounter between Roman soldiers and Druids on Anglesey. This group of gifted objects illustrates how watery locations, including the sacred lake site at Llyn Cerrig Bach, were seen as significant places for religious ceremony at this time of conflict and change,” Gwilt noted. (RELATED: Amateur Archaeologists Uncover ‘Toilet Spoon’ In Wales)
The artifacts were uncovered in an area close to a “sacred” spring in a boggy part of a field, which is believed to be where people made religious offerings. “I was so excited when I found these items. To think that the last person who touched them lived almost 2,000 years ago and it shows some of the history of the island,” Porter told the museum, which is probably the coolest sentence I’ll write all day.
Imagine holding something no one else has touched for all those years! Magical.