Massive 2,000-year-old hoards of exquisite metalwork found in Britain

Archaeologists have uncovered two remarkable Iron Age hoards in North Yorkshire, including the largest ever found in Britain, dramatically reshaping the understanding of wealth, power, and technology in pre-Roman Britain. The hoards, buried between 100 BCE and AD 70 near the Iron Age center of Stanwick associated with the Brigantes tribe, contained about 950 fragments of over 300 objects. Notably, the finds include horse-drawn vehicles and harnesses, with the unprecedented discovery of four-wheeled wagons—previously unknown in Britain but known in continental Europe—indicating that advanced wheeled transport technology had reached Britain by the time of Roman contact. The hoards, labeled Hoard 1 and Hoard 2, were found within a complex landscape of enclosures and trackways and are dominated by copper alloy and iron metalwork related to horse-drawn vehicles, such as iron tyres, brackets, linchpins, yoke fittings, and ornate bits and strap fittings