Rare Iron Bowls Unearthed Declared As Treasure

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Craig Mills, a security guard found two bronze bowls and a bronze wine strainer as told by an expert as of " great importance for the UK," buried as a part of religious offering in Langstone area in December 2007. This finding was just nine after he was into metal detecting.

"I didn't realize how significant it was and I didn't have a clue how old they were. I was detecting for nine months before that and I have found nothing like it," he said.

The objects are believed to be made around AD 25-60 and buried between AD 47 and 75 during the
Roman army's campaign against the Iron Age Silures tribe of South Wales. The items are believed to be used for eating and drinking and buried for religious offering purposes.

The two near-perfection bowls has rounded bases, carefully formed rims and decorated fittings with rings for hanging purposes while the strainer has a rounded bowl-shaped body with a wide, flat rim and a ring for suspension. The decoration on all the vessels is believed to be of the late Celtic or La Tene style of the late Iron Age.

Adam Gwilt, curator of the Iron Age Collections at the National Museum of Wales said : "This discovery is of great importance for Wales and the UK. Similar bowls have been found in western and southern Britain, but few spots have been carefully and recently investigated by archaeologists."

"It seems these valued and whole containers were carefully buried at the edge of an ancient bog or lake, as part of a ritual offering. We are looking forward to researching and investigating further during 2009, in order to reveal the full story of how these impressive decorated pieces were made, used and buried," he said.

Gwent coroner David Bowen has declared the rare items as treasure under the Treasure Act of 1996.

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