Talks and some events are free for FORA members.
Pricing on events below is normally for guests but please see individual events for details.
The Melsonby Hoard – Prof Tom Moore, Durham University and Dr Sophia Adams, British Museum
A chance discovery by metal detectorist Peter Heads, in 2021 at Melsonby, North Yorkshire, led to the excavation of one of the largest hoards of Iron Age metalwork ever encountered in Britain. Including 28 iron tyres, a range of chariot or wagon parts, two copper-alloy vessels, horse harness for around 14 ponies, spears and many other items, these deposits surpass in quantity and quality any contemporary metalwork assemblage from Britain and Ireland. As well as assessment of the finds themselves, the talk will show evidence from excavations and geophysical surveys provides information on the relationship between the Melsonby discoveries and the Late Iron Age ‘royal site’ at Stanwick. Last year, the Yorkshire Museum permanently secured the hoard for its collections and plans for it to go display this summer.
Dr Sophia Adams is Curator of the First Millennium European and Roman Conquest period Collections at The British Museum. She has been in post since 2021, prior to which she undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Bristol and SUERC, University of Glasgow. Recently Sophia has been researching the Enderby bark shield, re-investigating the bog bodies from Lindow Moss and recording and identifying every item in the Melsonby hoard.
Tom Moore is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University specialising in the British and European Iron Age with a focus on landscape and field archaeology. Tom’s recent research and publications have focused on the nature and role of Late Iron Age power centres in Europe, with recent field projects at the major oppida of Stanwick and Bagendon, in Britain, and at Bibracte in France, as well as researching the recent Melsonby hoard discoveries.