Catsfield hoard goes on display
A Bronze Age hoard has gone on public display at Bexhill Museum. It was found by detectorist Paul Crone in 2017 in a field near Catsfield in the Rother district of East Sussex. Paul reported the find to his FLO, Jane Clark. It was recorded at the PAS as SUSS-F37B02, went through the Treasure process and was disclaimed.
Photo: PAS CC By SA2.0
The hoard is believed to date from 1500 BC – 900 BC. It comprises three palstave axeheads and these 11 fragments of a “Sussex Loop” bracelet – the fragments appear to be from a single loop armlet.
The PAS report notes that this is the 11th example of a hoard with a Sussex loop bracelet with some including palstaves “The association of palstaves of the Taunton phase of the Middle Bronze Age and Sussex Loop is entirely consistent with existing knowledge“
When Paul was given the hoard back he wanted to find a museum who could “house the hoard for everyone to see and study” and sought the help of his local Heritage Crime Officer at Rother Police, Daryl Holter. They worked with Jane Clark and the curator of Bexhill Museum, Julian Porter, to find it a home.
Daryl said “Working together has been an absolute pleasure, I cant thank Paul, Jane and Julian enough, its great to see such significant local objects from our past in the Museum, publicly available for all to see. This is a great example of how metal detecting can bring history through objects closer to us all, please do go and see these fascinating objects from our past“.
Julian Porter added “Bexhill Museum is delighted that such an important archaeological find is now on display for everyone to see and enjoy. It sheds light on our prehistoric past, showing what people were making and doing here thousands of years ago. Special thanks must go to Paul Crone for finding this remarkable hoard and donating it to the Museum where it will be permanently displayed.”