Carnoustie Hoard: Bronze Age hoard from 3,000 years ago saved for the nation

A Bronze Age hoard discovered on land that was due to be turned into football pitches will go on display next year after being saved for the nation.

The Carnoustie Hoard, named after the town near where it was discovered in 2016, includes objects spanning nearly 3,000 years from the early Neolithic to the late Bronze Age.

A rare spearhead and a bronze sword in a wooden scabbard, dating from around 1120-920 BC, were part of the discoveries. 

The spearhead has an intricately decorated gold-bound socket, one of only two such examples known from Scotland. 

It was discovered alongside the bronze sword with an unusual lead-tin pommel, still sheathed in the remains of a wooden scabbard. 

The sword was carefully wrapped in a woven wool garment, fastened with a disc-headed pin. The spearhead blade was wrapped in sheepskin, and the socket was wrapped in a fine woollen cloth. 

The weapons hint at the existence of a localised warrior elite in the Angus area over 3,000 years ago. 

Experts said the hoard was deliberately placed near a Bronze Age round structure and is the only Bronze Age weapon hoard from Scotland to be found within a clearly defined settlement.

The survival of prehistoric textiles and organic material is extremely rare, they said, and reveals an extra layer of the care and attention that went into the formation of the hoard. 

‘The Carnoustie Hoard is a remarkable discovery,’ Matthew Knight, senior curator of prehistory at National Museums Scotland said.

‘This is the first time we’ve encountered weapons buried at a settlement where people lived. 

‘It forces us to reconsider relationships between people and these objects and enriches our picture of life in Bronze Age Scotland. 

‘On top of that we have the exceptional survival of wood, textiles and animal skin that express how much these objects were valued. 

‘After hours of painstaking conservation, I can’t wait for visitors to see the hoard for the first time in our new exhibition Scotland’s First Warriors.’

The hoard was unearthed in 2016 by GUARD Archaeology near Carnoustie, in an area that was due to be developed into two football pitches.

Alongside the Carnoustie Hoard, Scotland’s First Warriors will include never-before-seen internationally significant archaeological discoveries from across Scotland. 

From the Neolithic (late Stone Age) to the coming of the Romans, the exhibition will present the origins of organised conflict.

 It will explore how people fought, the motivations for fighting, the brutal impact of war on people’s lives and the long-lasting legacy of prehistoric conflict. 

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