Melsonby Hoard Secures Funding
Tuesday, 29th July 2025
Press release: DATE (29 July 2025)
Melsonby Hoard saved for the UK thanks to National Heritage Memorial Fund and public support.
The Yorkshire Museum is delighted to announce that it has received £192,096 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund alongside support from public fundraising to acquire the Melsonby Hoard for future generations.
Discovered by a metal detectorist in 2021 near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire, the Melsonby Hoard is a collection of over 800 Iron Age artefacts dating back 2,000 years. It is a groundbreaking discovery for Iron Age research with objects such as chariot wheels, cauldrons, horse bridles and ceremonial spears. The quantity and variety of objects are unusual and have important implications for reassessing our understanding of Iron Age life in the north of England.
The hoard was found by a metal-detectorist and then excavated by a team of archaeologists from Durham University who stabilised and began researching this extraordinary find with financial support of over £120,000 from Historic England and expert advice from the British Museum. The find was reported under the Treasure Act 1996, administered by the Treasure Registry at the British Museum on behalf of the Department for Culture Media and Sport, and recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Thanks to the collective hard work of these organisations, alongside this generous support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, £54,000 in donations from the public via the online crowdfunder and a further £20,000 in other donations, the purchase of the hoard has been secured for the Yorkshire Museum. Here, further research, conservation and analytical work will be carried out to learn more about its fascinating contents and ensure its long-term preservation. It will also become an important part of the Yorkshire Museum’s public programme, sharing the discovery with the museum’s visitors.
The Yorkshire Museum will be continuing its fundraising efforts to support the next steps for the hoard; conservation, display and research. Conservation will be undertaken to stabilise objects and prepare them for display. The Yorkshire Museum will work in partnership to undertake detailed research into the objects, their context and their significance for understanding life in the Iron Age.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund exists as a fund of last resort to support the acquisition, preservation and maintenance of the UK’s most outstanding heritage to create a publicly accessible and timeless collection as a memorial for those who have given their lives for the UK.
Kathryn Blacker, Chief Executive of York Museums Trust said: “The Melsonby Hoard is a significant piece of Yorkshire’s history and York Museums Trust are delighted to have secured the funding to acquire the hoard for the nation. Thanks to the incredible support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, as well as generous donations from members of the public, the hoard will remain here in Yorkshire, to be made available for everyone to see and to enjoy. We remain committed to researching and conserving these unprecedented finds to improve our understanding of our shared past and securing them for future generations.”
Simon Thurley, Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: “The Melsonby Hoard throws bright new light on Iron Age life in Yorkshire and beyond. We are pleased to support this acquisition which will keep the hoard intact, in the county in which it was buried and enable research to take place to gain a deeper insight into its origin and history.
“The Memorial Fund exists to save the UK's most outstanding heritage and make it publicly accessible, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. We are delighted to count the Melsonby Hoard as part of the growing and timeless collection of UK heritage that belongs to all of us forever."
Dr Andrew Woods, Head of Research and Collections at York Museums Trust, said: "The support from the public, other heritage organisations and the National Heritage Memorial Fund means the Melsonby Hoard remains in Yorkshire for the public. This is only the beginning of the story, next the Yorkshire Museum will work in partnership to undertake a careful programme of conservation to reveal more of the hoard’s beauty and to keep it protected for future generations. There will also be a research project to understand the stories of creation and deposition. Over the coming years the hoard will be put on display, and we cannot wait to share it with our visitors.”
Deputy Leader of City of York Council and Executive Member for Economy and Culture, Cllr Pete Kilbane, added, “The huge level of public interest in the Melsonby Hoard, and support for keeping it in York, shows just how much people value our city’s role in showcasing the heritage of Yorkshire and these islands that we call home. It’s a major addition to a fantastic collection in the heart of York. Thanks to all the organisations and public who have supported the project so far. It feels like we are writing the next chapter in understanding our shared history, and York is at the centre of that story.”
ENDS
For more information about the Yorkshire Museum’s Melsonby Hoard acquisition please contact:
Kendra Grahame-Clarke: kendra@kendrapr.co.uk / 07910 214474.
York Museums Trust on 07761 634646.
Yorkshire Museum Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 10am - 5pm
www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk @YorkshireMuseum
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About the National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund was set up in 1980 as a fund of last resort to save the most outstanding parts of our heritage, to create a timeless and publicly accessible collection as a memorial to those who have given their lives for the UK. The Memorial Fund receives annual grant-in-aid of £5million from the UK government to help save some of our most-loved treasures such as paintings, natural heritage, maritime and industrial vessels, and historic houses, from being lost forever. Any funds remaining from the Memorial Fund’s annual allocation at the end of the financial year remain available to the Memorial Fund to award grants to exceptional heritage treasures such as the Portrait of Mai (Omai), The Artist Rooms, Titian’s Diana and Acteon, the Honresfield Library, Tyntesfield Estate and Wentworth Woodhouse.
www.nhmf.org.uk
@NationalHeritageMemorialFund
#NationalHeritageMemorialFund
About the Melsonby Hoard
In 2021 a metal detectorist unearthed a vast array of Iron Age metalwork in Melsonby North Yorkshire. Over 800 items were uncovered, including parts of vehicles such as chariots, weapons and cauldrons, as well as hundreds of individual items.
This is the largest hoard of Iron Age metalwork found in the UK. The site is located next to the hillfort at Stanwick, the royal capital of Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes tribe, and less than fifty miles from the Yorkshire Museum.
This hugely significant discovery is an archaeological time capsule from 2,000 years ago which was buried in the first century around the time of the Roman conquest of southern Britain. The quantity and variety of objects found together are highly unusual for the Iron Age. The hoard includes partial remains of more than seven wagons and chariots, elaborate harnesses for at least 14 horses, three ceremonial spears, two ornate cauldrons, and an iron mirror. Similarities to objects found in France and Denmark and coral imported from the Mediterranean reveal a community with international connections.
A large amount of the material within the hoard was either burnt or broken at the time of burial, suggesting a symbolic process of people showing their wealth and power by destroying the objects.
Save the Melsonby Hoard | Yorkshire Museum
About the fundraising campaign
The Melsonby Hoard is a game-changing discovery, shedding new light on Iron Age Britain’s technological skill, artistry, trading links and society. But without urgent action, this treasure could have been lost to private collections or dispersed beyond the UK.
The value of the hoard was assessed at £254,000. Raising this amount was enough to save the hoard from private sale, keeping it in a public museum where it will be available for research and public display. The objects are all 2,000 years old and require professional conservation to prevent deterioration of the fragile metalwork, enamel and coral. To protect the hoard into the future we need to raise additional funds for conservation, so the fundraising continues.
Save The Melsonby Hoard - Yorkshire Museum - a Community crowdfunding project in York by Save The Melsonby Hoard - York Museums Trust
About the Yorkshire Museum
The Yorkshire Museum is home to some of Britain’s finest and most remarkable archaeological treasures from the region’s famous Roman, Viking and Medieval past. It also houses amazing artefacts from earlier periods from across Yorkshire, including those from Star Carr, as well as a nationally significant Natural Sciences collection.
Opened in 1830, by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, the museum is one of the earliest purpose-built museums in the country. It is located in botanic gardens which include the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, a powerhouse in Medieval York until the dissolution of the monasteries in King Henry VIII’s time.
Our collections which are on display today are shared with our communities across York and North Yorkshire and with the many thousands of people who visit and enjoy York each year.
Supported by Arts Council England.
The Treasure Act 1996
Under the Treasure Act, finders have a legal obligation to report all finds of potential Treasure to the local coroner in the district in which the find was made. The success of the Act is only possible through the work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, advising finders of their legal obligations, providing advice on the process and writing reports for coroners on Treasure finds.
The Act allows a national or local museum to acquire Treasure finds for public benefit. If this happens a reward is paid, which is (normally) shared equally between the finder and landowner. Interested parties may wish to waive their right to a reward, enabling museums to acquire finds at reduced or no cost. Rewards are fixed at the full market value of the finds, determined by the Secretary of State upon the advice of an independent panel of experts, known as the Treasure Valuation Committee.
The administration of the Treasure process is undertaken at the British Museum. This work involves the preparation of Treasure cases for coroners' inquests, providing the secretariat for the Treasure Valuation Committee, and handling disclaimed cases and the payment of rewards.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS)
Managed by the British Muse in ngland, and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museums Wales in Wales, the PAS is a partnership project, working with at least 117 national and local partners to deliver the Scheme's aims. It is funded (in England) through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's grant-in-aid to the British Museum with local partner contributions. All the Finds Advisors, Finds Liaison Officers and Finds Liaison Assistants (in England) working for the PAS are employed locally but work as a national team directed by the British Museum.
Thousands of archaeological objects are discovered every year, many by members of the public, most by people while metal-detecting. If recorded, these finds have great potential to transform archaeological knowledge, helping archaeologists understand when, where and how people lived in the past. The PAS(Opens in new window) offers the only proactive mechanism for recording such finds, which are made publicly available on its online database.
The PAS has also benefitted from internships funded by the Headley Trust, providing opportunities for people to develop a career in archaeology. Also, the Graham and Joanna Barker Fund, which has enabled extra support for the PAS in areas where resources are low. The PAS welcomes anyone interested in supporting its work locally to contact the British Museum.
Many organisations have also supported the acquisition of Treasure finds, including Art Fund, the Headley Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund. Without these, as well as public donations, many important archaeological finds would not be in public collections.