Burial treasures reunited for first time since 1960s

ANGLO-SAXON CEMETERY FINDS GO ON DISPLAY

- 

Artefacts from Broughton Lodge

EXTRAORDINARY finds from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery have been reunited for the first time since the 1960s for a new exhibition.

Excavated between 1948 and 1968, the site, at Broughton Lodge, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, contained about 120 graves dating from circa 475CE to 580CE.

It is considered the wealthiest and most exceptional cemetery of its date in the county.

Jointly curated by the University of Nottingham Museum and Nottingham City Museums which each holds some of the artefacts - the free exhibition runs until Sunday, July 12 at the University of Nottingham Museum at Lakeside Arts.

New research into the 40 artefacts on display draws on advances in archaeological science to create a picture of a Nottinghamshire community with pan-European connections in the sixth century.

Objects on display reveal the extraordinary reach of the community's connections. Raw materials travelled from the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, linking Nottinghamshire to global networks of exchange.

Highlights include elephant ivory purse rings, traced to elephants probably from eastern Africa, and richly gilded brooches whose materials originated in the Byzantine world.

The treasures were unearthed through a pioneering community archaeology project.