NHER 22306 (Find Spot record) - Bronze Age metal hoard and Iron Age pottery find

9 February 1985. Metal-detecting.
On ploughed land beside track, immediately west of Minor Plantation:
Late Bronze Age Age copper alloy hoard consisting of fifteen socketed axes (two broken and incomplete), three fragments of socketed axes, a small segment of sword blade and a cake of bronze. Dug out by finder who stated they were laying criss-cross on top of each other.

J. J. Wymer (NAU) visited site on 6 March 1985 with finder.
Excavation revealed base of shallow pit 50cm in diameter and 20cm deep beneath plough soil which had contained the hoard.

It was reported that the first discovery had been a socketed axehead recovered by [1] "…round corner of Plantation", although this was probably a reference to the objects recorded as NHER 1858 (which is indeed around the corner of the plantation). A tractor driver [2] had apparantly then found one or two axeheads "near [the] site" of the hoard itself, which were in his possession.

Further information and drawings (S1) and (S2) in file.
Hoard photographed.
Identified by J. J. Wymer (NAU).
J. J. Wymer (NAU), 10 February 1986.

Found before 1985.
In April 1985 objects in the possession of [2] were borrowed and drawn by J. Wymer (NAU). These included a fragment of a Late Bronze Age sword (with six rivet holes on the remaining part of the hilt) and three socketed axeheads. The sword fragment was said to have been found on the approximate site of the hoard, but the date and circumstances were not known to the owner. The three axeheads include one that was found at site NHER 1858 in 1968 and published in (S4). The other two were drawn by Wymer and identified, probably incorrectly, as the 1967 and 1970 finds from site NHER 1858 (these were drawn at the NCM and are clearly different objects). It seems much more likely that the additional axeheads seen and drawn by Wymer were the initial discoveries made at this site by [2], before the rest of the hoard was uncovered (see above).
See drawing (S3).
J. J. Wymer (NAU), 27 July 1987. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 22 February 2018 [3].

1986. Metal-detecting.
Found by original finder [4] "…at same place as rest of hoard":
1 Late Bronze Age copper alloy socketed axehead. See drawing (S4).
Information from note on drawing - no other paperwork located [5].
P. Watkins (HES), 12 November 2019.

1986. Metal-detecting.
Found by original finder [4], presumably at this site.
1 Late Bronze Age copper alloy socketed axehead blade fragment. See drawing (S5).
Information from note on drawing - no other paperwork located [5].
P. Watkins (HES), 12 November 2019.

1992/3. On site of hoard; one bodysherd slightly gritty, sandy Iron Age.
Identified by A. Rogerson (NLA) and S. Percival (NAU).
A. Rogerson (NLA), 14 March 1993.