Help Save Oxfordshire's Iron Age Hoard

Aim

Help us raise £10,500 for Oxfordshire Museum to acquire this important Iron Age Hoard. Your support safeguards this special hoard forever.

Setting the Scene

These objects offer us a vital insight into the past. In the Iron Age, pre-Roman conquest, horses and the chariots they pulled were an important part of life. The harness and chariot fittings were a way of displaying someone’s wealth, status, and skill in caring for these animals. The horses enabled travel between communities. Burying a hoard of harness fittings protected them from the Roman invaders, they could be part of the grave goods of someone who died, and now, to us in 2025 gives us a glimpse of this way of life.

Finding the Hoard 

The Hoard was discovered in the parish of Rotherfield Peppard in August 2020 by a metal detector user and together with archaeologists was excavated.

We believe that the hoard was buried in AD 50 to 150 which means it was buried shortly after the Roman invasion. The hoard was found in a pottery urn, sealed by a quern stone. The contents of the urn included a stunning copper alloy and enamelled Iron Age horse brooch, an enamelled patera handle, a brooch, one silver roman coin (4) and a lead weight.

Who Are We?

The Friends of the Oxfordshire Museum is a registered Charity who supports the Oxfordshire Museum through fundraising and financial support for special events, acquisitions and educational programs. The Oxfordshire Museum Service cares for, safeguards and makes accessible the heritage of the county. Our collections are accessible via our displays, loans programme, digital catalogue and for research.

This project successfully funded on 29th September 2025