49°14′N2°05′W / 49.23°N 2.09°W /49.23; -2.09
Trinity Hoard is a collection ofBronze Age items, including 23 bronze axeheads, found inJersey in 2012.
The hoard of late Bronze Age (around 1,000 BCE) items was found inside a pottery container, about 30 cm underground, in October 2012, bymetal detectorist Ken Rive, in the Parish ofTrinity in the north ofJersey. A conservator from Jersey Heritage was able to attend at the find before digging began. The container was around 30 cm across. It had been damaged, probably by a plough, which had freed the two axeheads.[1] There was other material at the site, including pieces of broken pottery not from the primary find.[2]
Initially, only two socketed axeheads were identified,[2] but after scanning by an X-ray scanner atJersey Airport, a further 21 axeheads, at least, were seen to be present in the pot. The first two axeheads were subjected to anX-ray fluorescence scan atCranfield University, which showed that the bronze alloy has a very high lead content (nearly 55%). Such a high lead content level would have made the axes too soft for practical use, suggesting that they were prestige objects that were accumulated as a sign of wealth.[3] The pottery container was opened by conservators, and a total of 25 axeheads were recovered, in the care of Jersey Heritage, and treated with advice from the British Museum. A display from the hoard was established in the Jersey Museum in December 2012.[1]
The find came months after another significant find in Jersey, theGrouville Hoard, which included about 70,000 pieces of Celtic coin, and gold and silver jewellery.[2]
