UK's largest artefacts discovery of era finds home

The Melsonby Hoard and other 800 prehistoric era valuables which were discovered in North Yorkshire, UK, in December 2021 are being acquired by the Yorkshire museum.

National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) granted around £192,000 after the museum asked for public fundraising to collect the cultural patrimony.

British archeologist Dr Andrew R. Woods, who heads the research and collection department at York Museums Trust called it "a once in a generation find” as per BBC.

Woods continued on the legacy of the museum: “For 200 years the museum has been collecting, we have nothing like this, even nothing like this was ever found in UK history.”

"So to be able to put that into the collection, to share that with people, to tell new stories is one of the best days of my career," the curator concluded.

The Melsonby Hoard which was unearthed by a metal detectorist, Peter Heads, with the help of Durham University is now considered as UK's largest historical discovery.

The British Museum supported the Yorkshire museum from initial discovery in December 2021 while it received a grant worth £120,000 from Historic England.

Art lovers oversubscribed the museum needs in an overwhelming turn by donating £54,000 via online fundraising model then NHMF giant amount alongside £20,000 from other donors.