A collection of Bronze Age weapons buried as a 'gift to the gods' has been discovered in a field.
Farmer Gwyn Rees had been searching a field in Vale of Glamorgan using a metal detector when he stumbled across a piece of a bronze axe head before then coming across two further pieces.
Then when he returned to the field after it had been ploughed, he discovered a bronze spearhead close to the same spot.
Experts believe the weapons had been buried together around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago.
Were these weapons a gift to the gods? Bronze Age axe and spear unearthed in field may have been buried in ritual ceremony
Farmer Gwyn Rees found the fragments of the Bronze Age axe
Later he discovered a bronze spear head close to same spot in the field
They are thought to be around 3,500 years old and were buried together
Mr Rees also found a 17th Century silver 'fidelity ring' a few years earlier
By Richard Gray for MailOnline
21 July 2016
A collection of Bronze Age weapons buried as a 'gift to the gods' has been discovered in a field.
Farmer Gwyn Rees had been searching a field in Vale of Glamorgan using a metal detector when he stumbled across a piece of a bronze axe head before then coming across two further pieces.
Then when he returned to the field after it had been ploughed, he discovered a bronze spearhead close to the same spot.
Three sections of a bronze axe head and a spear head (pictured) that were thought to have been buried around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago as a 'gift to the gods' have been unearthed by a metal detectorist. Experts believe they had been buried together and were disturbed by ploughing in a field
Experts believe the weapons had been buried together around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago.
Yet the weapons are not Mr Rees' first 'treasure' he has discovered.
In 2012 he found a 17th Century silver fidelity, or wedding, ring inscribed with the words 'I like my choyse'.
Adam Gwilt, curator of the National Museum of Wales, described the axe pieces as being of a type that 'date back to the end of the early Bronze Age, about 1700BC to 1500BC.
Mr Rees found the three axe fragments in August 2014 in a filed close to Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, and then in April the next year he discovered the spear head close to the same spot.
Mr Rees found the three axe fragments in August 2014 in a filed close to Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, and then in April the next year he discovered the spear head close to the same spot
Mr Gwilt said: 'The spear was found at a shallow depth, in the recently ploughed soil. It's my view that they were once buried together.
'This weapon and tool group provides important new information for south-east Wales and western Britain about the technology and culture of a still poorly understood time, towards the end of the early bronze age.
'These objects were made and used by small farming and metalworking communities, who buried their dead in circular mounded monuments, called barrows, which are still to be seen and found across the Vale of Glamorgan.'
In 2012 Mr Rees also found a 17th Century silver 'fidelity ring' which has the words 'I like my choyse' inscribed on the inside (pictured). The ring was found in a different location from the weapons
In a statement issued after the hearing, a spokeswoman for the museum said: 'Archaeologists now think that these prized bronze objects were probably buried during a ritual ceremony, perhaps gifted to the gods and ancestors.
'Many bronze age hoards have been discovered across Britain and Europe, so this discovery fits into a much wider picture of hoarding activity as an expression of early beliefs.'
Farmer Gwyn Rees (pictured) found the fragments of the bronze axe head in August 2014 before discovering the spear a few months later close by
The Vale of Glamorgan, where the axe and spear were found in a field
The discoveries emerged at an inquest to decide whether they could be officially classified as treasure.
Mark Redknap, head of collections at the National Museum of Wales, also described the fidelity ring, which Mr Rees found in Bonvilston in Vale of Glamorgan on May 4, 2012, as 'wonderful'.
He said: 'It is a silver fidelity ring. The hoop has a convex outer surface. It is a form of ring which we find quite commonly in the medieval period.
'The inscription on the inside of the hoop would have been known to the wearer but not anyone else. It says 'I like my choyse'.
The words are written in capitals and Dr Redknap said the unusual spelling of 'choice' was down to the 'lack of standardised spellings'.
'You get these wonderful versions,' he said. 'But the sound means they are easy to understand.'
The outer rim of the piece was worn but thought to have once been gilt.
The ring and weapons, along with a silver dress pin and a 13th Century brooch pin, found by another metal detectorist Ron Sanders in St Donat's, Vale of Glamorgan, were all declared treasure by coroner for Powys Andrew Barkley.
Outside the court, Mr Rees, from Wenvoe, said he goes metal detecting for treasure in the evenings.
He said: 'I found the axe head one night with a piece missing and thought, "That is a pity", and then the next night I found the other piece.
'About a year later I was ploughing and I found the spear head. That's a beautiful thing. It was nearly on top of the ground.'
The grandfather-of-two thought that 'probably belonged to a chief'.
'It's beautifully decorated,' he said. 'I would loved to have kept it. But I did the right thing, I couldn't keep it but I showed it to all my friends.
'The silver ring I found in Bonvilston. I tried it on. It fitted.
'I found a gold one before on my nephew's farm. That came in as treasure about six years ago. That had an inscription too, but they never really worked out what it was. It was religious I think.'
All of the items have now been acquired by the National Museum of Wales.
A BRONZE AGE WEAPON'S CACHE
Experts believe the bronze weapons had been buried as part of a ritual ceremony as part of a gift to the gods or to long-dead ancestors.
They were likely made by a small community who had lived in the area around Wenvoe, in the Vale of Glamorgan, at the time.
People often buried their dead in circular mounds known as barrows during the Bronze Age and many of these can be seen across Britain.
It is thought while the spear head and axe had been buried together, they were disturbed by subsequent ploughing.
Farmer Gwyn Rees had been searching a field in Vale of Glamorgan using a metal detector when he stumbled across a piece of a bronze axe head before then coming across two further pieces.
Then when he returned to the field after it had been ploughed, he discovered a bronze spearhead close to the same spot.
Experts believe the weapons had been buried together around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago.
Were these weapons a gift to the gods? Bronze Age axe and spear unearthed in field may have been buried in ritual ceremony
Farmer Gwyn Rees found the fragments of the Bronze Age axe
Later he discovered a bronze spear head close to same spot in the field
They are thought to be around 3,500 years old and were buried together
Mr Rees also found a 17th Century silver 'fidelity ring' a few years earlier
By Richard Gray for MailOnline
21 July 2016
A collection of Bronze Age weapons buried as a 'gift to the gods' has been discovered in a field.
Farmer Gwyn Rees had been searching a field in Vale of Glamorgan using a metal detector when he stumbled across a piece of a bronze axe head before then coming across two further pieces.
Then when he returned to the field after it had been ploughed, he discovered a bronze spearhead close to the same spot.
Three sections of a bronze axe head and a spear head (pictured) that were thought to have been buried around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago as a 'gift to the gods' have been unearthed by a metal detectorist. Experts believe they had been buried together and were disturbed by ploughing in a field
Experts believe the weapons had been buried together around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago.
Yet the weapons are not Mr Rees' first 'treasure' he has discovered.
In 2012 he found a 17th Century silver fidelity, or wedding, ring inscribed with the words 'I like my choyse'.
Adam Gwilt, curator of the National Museum of Wales, described the axe pieces as being of a type that 'date back to the end of the early Bronze Age, about 1700BC to 1500BC.
Mr Rees found the three axe fragments in August 2014 in a filed close to Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, and then in April the next year he discovered the spear head close to the same spot.
Mr Rees found the three axe fragments in August 2014 in a filed close to Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, and then in April the next year he discovered the spear head close to the same spot
Mr Gwilt said: 'The spear was found at a shallow depth, in the recently ploughed soil. It's my view that they were once buried together.
'This weapon and tool group provides important new information for south-east Wales and western Britain about the technology and culture of a still poorly understood time, towards the end of the early bronze age.
'These objects were made and used by small farming and metalworking communities, who buried their dead in circular mounded monuments, called barrows, which are still to be seen and found across the Vale of Glamorgan.'
In 2012 Mr Rees also found a 17th Century silver 'fidelity ring' which has the words 'I like my choyse' inscribed on the inside (pictured). The ring was found in a different location from the weapons
In a statement issued after the hearing, a spokeswoman for the museum said: 'Archaeologists now think that these prized bronze objects were probably buried during a ritual ceremony, perhaps gifted to the gods and ancestors.
'Many bronze age hoards have been discovered across Britain and Europe, so this discovery fits into a much wider picture of hoarding activity as an expression of early beliefs.'
Farmer Gwyn Rees (pictured) found the fragments of the bronze axe head in August 2014 before discovering the spear a few months later close by
The Vale of Glamorgan, where the axe and spear were found in a field
The discoveries emerged at an inquest to decide whether they could be officially classified as treasure.
Mark Redknap, head of collections at the National Museum of Wales, also described the fidelity ring, which Mr Rees found in Bonvilston in Vale of Glamorgan on May 4, 2012, as 'wonderful'.
He said: 'It is a silver fidelity ring. The hoop has a convex outer surface. It is a form of ring which we find quite commonly in the medieval period.
'The inscription on the inside of the hoop would have been known to the wearer but not anyone else. It says 'I like my choyse'.
The words are written in capitals and Dr Redknap said the unusual spelling of 'choice' was down to the 'lack of standardised spellings'.
'You get these wonderful versions,' he said. 'But the sound means they are easy to understand.'
The outer rim of the piece was worn but thought to have once been gilt.
The ring and weapons, along with a silver dress pin and a 13th Century brooch pin, found by another metal detectorist Ron Sanders in St Donat's, Vale of Glamorgan, were all declared treasure by coroner for Powys Andrew Barkley.
Outside the court, Mr Rees, from Wenvoe, said he goes metal detecting for treasure in the evenings.
He said: 'I found the axe head one night with a piece missing and thought, "That is a pity", and then the next night I found the other piece.
'About a year later I was ploughing and I found the spear head. That's a beautiful thing. It was nearly on top of the ground.'
The grandfather-of-two thought that 'probably belonged to a chief'.
'It's beautifully decorated,' he said. 'I would loved to have kept it. But I did the right thing, I couldn't keep it but I showed it to all my friends.
'The silver ring I found in Bonvilston. I tried it on. It fitted.
'I found a gold one before on my nephew's farm. That came in as treasure about six years ago. That had an inscription too, but they never really worked out what it was. It was religious I think.'
All of the items have now been acquired by the National Museum of Wales.
A BRONZE AGE WEAPON'S CACHE
Experts believe the bronze weapons had been buried as part of a ritual ceremony as part of a gift to the gods or to long-dead ancestors.
They were likely made by a small community who had lived in the area around Wenvoe, in the Vale of Glamorgan, at the time.
People often buried their dead in circular mounds known as barrows during the Bronze Age and many of these can be seen across Britain.
It is thought while the spear head and axe had been buried together, they were disturbed by subsequent ploughing.
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