Rare Dawlish Bronze Age treasure goes on display

All of the items in the hoard were broken, something curator Tom Cadbury said would have been deliberate

A hoard of "rare treasure" from the Bronze Age, that was found in a Dawlish bog, has gone on display in Exeter's museum.

The collection was bought by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum after locals helped raise £12,000 for the purchase.

A curator said the 2017 find was, to his knowledge, unique in the UK because it contained both bronze and gold.

"What is almost never done is burying bronze and gold together," explained curator Tom Cadbury.

"As far as I know, this is unique in the UK that's why it's special, and why we are so grateful for the people who helped us purchase them and put them on display."

All of the pieces have been deliberately cut up, bent or broken which the museum said was typical of the Bronze Age.

Four deliberately broken gold bracelets were among the hoard, with experts believing they would have belonged to a woman or child

The hoard, which had lain buried for about 3,000 years, consisted of four gold bracelets, 11 fragments of bronze ingot, two small tin nuggets, two fragments of axe and a section of bronze sword.

It was found by two people using metal detectors who reported it to the Portable Antiquity Scheme - the national reporting programme for items people find.

Mr Cadbury said that because there were two or more prehistoric metal objects, the hoard was legally defined as treasure.

"Maybe these were the treasures of somebody of importance back in the Bronze Age," he added.

He suggested the hoard could have been an offering to the gods to mark a significant point in the person's life, like a marriage or a death.

"If the gods are really important to you, you want to give them the best," Mr Cadbury explained.

The museum has plans to get the gold analysed to find out if it came from Cornwall or Devon, or from further afield.