Detectorists! Mystery of Jersey's huge iron age hoard may have been solved

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/11/mystery-iron-age-hoard-jersey-solved

Mystery of Jersey’s huge iron age hoard may have been solved

Archaeologists identify a possible Celtic settlement on the island and believe the trove was hurriedly transported there

Dalya Alberge
Tue 11 Mar 2025 08.30 EDT

The mystery of why the world’s largest iron age Celtic hoard was buried on the south-east coast of Jersey more than 2,000 years ago may have been solved by archaeologists.

When about 70,000 silver coins, 11 gold torques and jewellery were unearthed in a field at Le Câtillon in the Grouville district in 2012, experts were unable to explain why they had been transported to a remote and unpopulated area with dangerous coastal reefs.

Now a geophysical survey around the site has identified a possible Celtic settlement, which means Jersey was no isolated backwater in the mid-first century BC.

…

The detectorists Reg Mead and Richard Miles had immediately reported their discovery to Jersey Heritage. As a crown dependency, it was processed under the England, Wales and Northern Ireland Treasure Trove Act 1996, leading to its acquisition by Jersey’s government for £4.25m. The finds are displayed at La Hougue Bie Museum in Jersey.

The detectorists have joined experts in researching the hoard, which is believed to have originated in the ancient French region of Armorica, which is modern-day Brittany and Normandy, as almost all the coins are linked to the Coriosolitae tribe, whose name may derive from the Celtic corios, meaning army or troop.

… more … hiding treasures from invading Romans …

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Neat! And just think, how much more of history is still in the ground that we haven't discovered yet?