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Near-Complete Iron Age Battle Trumpet Unearthed in Norfolk Hoard

An early-2026 coroner’s ruling on Treasure status will set its future home, with conservation and study already under way.

Overview

  • Planning-led excavation in summer 2025 uncovered the hoard on undisclosed private land in west Norfolk.
  • Finds comprise a near-complete carnyx, a sheet-bronze boar’s head from a military standard, five shield bosses and an unidentified iron object, with some coverage noting parts of another carnyx.
  • Archaeologists say the deposit likely dates to the first century AD in Iceni territory, though any link to Boudicca’s tribe remains unproven.
  • Historic England notes the trumpet is one of only three known from Britain and among the most complete in Europe, describing the assemblage as internationally significant.
  • The objects were lifted in a soil block, scanned and are under stabilization at Norfolk Museums Service, with a coroner to decide Treasure status early in 2026 and a BBC Two feature due January 14.