As we reported last November 5th, a cache of more than 100 copper alloy axes, heads, chisels, sickles, gouges and tools has been unearthed in a field near Tisbury, in the southwest of England. This Bronze Age hoard has just gone on display at Salisbury Museum.
     It is very unusual for a hoard of this significance to be on display in a regional museum before it has been assessed by the experts at the British Museum. The hoard will only be on display until Saturday 26 November – it will then go to the British Museum for assessment and the local coroner will need to hold an inquest to determine whether it is Treasure Trove.
     Adrian Green, Director of the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, found out about the hoard only three weeks ago, when a metal detectorist reported a telltale spearhead to regional Finds Liaison Officer, who was then able to get a team of archaeologists together to professionally excavate what turned out to be a rather large hoard.
     "What was clear was that it wasn't buried in a pit or a hole that had been deliberately dug in the ground. It was actually in what appeared to be the scoop left behind by a tree when it fell over," says Green. The person who concealed it had taken advantage of a natural hiding place.

Edited from Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum News (15 November 2011), Culture24 (17 November 2011)