Crime & Safety
Ancient Celtic sacred site with coins uncovered in Cotswolds
Archaeologists working near Cirencester over the Oxfordshire border in Gloucestershire have made the discovery.
This includes coins and iron spearheads, as well as miniature bronze shields and spearheads, at a major ‘votive’ site dating back to the late Iron Age.
The site was first discovered by a metal detectorist in 2020 when a hoard of more than 150 silver and bronze coins and metalwork, which has now been acquired by the Corinium Museum in Cirencester, was uncovered.
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This further archaeological work, conducted by the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) as part of a training excavation for the university’s MSc students, has now revealed the scale and national importance of the site.
Working with the original finder and in collaboration with the landowner, archaeologists were able to relocate the original hoard pit and place it in its historic context.
Professor Mark Horton, the RAU’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, who is also Director of the University’s Cultural Heritage Institute, which offers MSc programmes in Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, and Historic Building Conservation, ran the excavations.
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He explained: “Our archaeologists found that the hoard had been inserted into a sacred precinct marked out by a large area of cobbled pavement.
“These stones were worn flat by extensive wear, which suggests that some form of mass processional activity took place around the central area of the sacred site.
“During our excavations, we also discovered multiple spears which had been inserted, often vertically, into the soil to ‘protect’ this central area.
“Some were iron, but others were miniature spears, sometimes less than an inch in length, made of bronze.
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“Model swords and scabbards, daggers, and shields, also made of bronze, were found scattered around this central deposit.
“These would have been used as ritual offerings, known as ‘votives’, and many of these had been deliberately broken into pieces to signify that they were offerings to the gods and were not to be recovered and reused.”
The site rested over a series of small pits cut into the local Cotswold limestone and filled with a fine soil, which the archaeologists believe had been introduced to the site.
These pits were completely empty of any artefacts, and the researchers think these holes may have been deliberately cut into the bedrock to plant trees or bushes.
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Professor Horton added: “This is a major find. We know so little about the Iron Age or Celtic religion beyond the literary sources, written by the classical authors.
“Here we have direct archaeological evidence of religious practices at the very end of the Iron Age, on the eve of the Roman invasion.
“The many coins found show that the site belonged to the Dobunni tribe, whose capital was at Bagendon, just a few miles away from our dig site.
“Our newly discovered site was likely a natural place, or possibly a grove of trees, where offerings were made to the Celtic gods.”
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Many of the coins from the hoard feature a distinctive three-tailed horse motif, which is believed to be typical of the Dobunni tribe.
The original hoard of coins, which was officially declared Treasure under the Treasure Act, has now been secured by Cirencester’s Corinium Museum, which raised £13,250 for its acquisition.
£25,000 is now needed to be raised for the objects’ conservation and display, and a fundraising campaign is being led by the Friends of Corinium Museum, with the aim of getting the hoard on display to the public sometime next year.
The excavation site has now been refilled to protect the site, but Professor Horton hopes that the RAU will be able to undertake another excavation next year.
Mourners, including members of the Royal Family, travelled to a small village in the county for the funeral of Lady Pamela Hicks on Saturday (June 13).
The service for the 97‑year‑old took place at St Bartholomew’s Church in Brightwell Baldwin, between Wallingford and Watlington.
Lady Pamela died last week at her home in the village, where she had lived for many years with her late husband, interior designer David Hicks.
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Among the mourners were Lady Helen Taylor, daughter of Prince Edward, and Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma.
There was no sign of King Charles or Queen Camilla, though, as the funeral came on the same day as Trooping the Colour, the King’s official London birthday parade.
Nevertheless, mourners paid their respects outside St Bartholomew’s Church as the coffin was carried inside, before following the procession for the service.
The small parish church is close to The Grove, the family house that became her long‑term base in Oxfordshire.
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According to the published order, the funeral was arranged in line with Lady Pamela’s wishes, with rousing hymns but no formal sermon or eulogy during the service.
Lady Pamela was a first cousin of the late Prince Philip and a great‑great‑granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
She was also a bridesmaid at the 1947 wedding of the then Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
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The 97-year-old later served as a lady‑in‑waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and accompanied the then Princess on the 1952 tour of Kenya.
This was when news came through of King George VI’s death and Elizabeth’s accession to the throne.
Following her death on June 5, King Charles paid a warm tribute, saying he was “greatly saddened to learn of the death of Lady Pamela Hicks, a sorrow tempered by the fondest memories and deepest gratitude for her long life and loyal service to Queen Elizabeth.”
In the statement released by Buckingham Palace, he added that her “warmth, wit and perspicacity always made such an impression” and that she would be “so dearly missed by all those who knew and loved her.”
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Lady Pamela is survived by her three children, Edwina, Ashley and India, and several grandchildren, many of whom were expected to attend today’s village service.
Brightwell Baldwin is a small rural parish in South Oxfordshire, about four and a half miles north‑east of Wallingford and close to the foot of the Chiltern Hills.
The village, whose name comes from the Old English for “bright spring”, had a population of just over 200 at the last census and is centred around a handful of stone cottages, farms and the church.
St Bartholomew’s itself dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries, with later medieval additions, and is regarded as one of south Oxfordshire’s most interesting historic churches.
Led by manager Daley Cross, a renal and transplant youth worker at the Churchill Hospital, the England men’s side claimed the title with a 9-1 win over Scotland in the final.
The tournament, held in Dingwall at the Global Energy Stadium, brought together more than 60 transplant recipients from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with each team showcasing the life-changing impact of organ donation and the resilience of transplant recipients.
Mr Cross said: “While it’s fantastic to bring the trophy home, the most important thing is the message behind the tournament.
“This is about showing what organ donation makes possible. Every player is living proof of the difference it can make.”
Among the England squad were two kidney transplant recipients cared for at Churchill Hospital – defender Robert Collins, 23, who received a kidney from his uncle in 2009, and goalkeeper Adam Martin, 35, who received a transplant from his sister in 2023.
Mr Collins, from Bedfordshire, said: “I’ve always loved playing football. When I was ill, I couldn’t play at all and I really missed it.
“Having a transplant has given me the chance to get back on the pitch and enjoy the game again.
“Being part of this team makes it even more special. There’s a real bond between us, one that extends beyond football – we’ve all been given a second chance.
“Every time we play, it’s a celebration of that. Scoring goals and winning along the way also helps.”
Mr Martin, from Banbury, said: “Representing your country is always an honour, but doing it alongside all the other transplant recipients – and in recognition of our donors – means so much more.
“I’ll always be forever grateful for the support the team offers and also to my sister for giving me a second chance at life.”
England finished the tournament unbeaten, securing dominant group-stage wins against Scotland (10-0), Northern Ireland (8-2), and Wales (7-0) before winning the final.
Mr Cross, who has worked at Oxford University Hospitals for 11 years, said: “We’re proud of what we’ve achieved on the pitch, but above all we want to raise awareness and encourage more people to consider organ donation.
“It truly saves and transforms lives.”
The tournament also featured public outreach to encourage sign-ups to the NHS Organ Donor Register.
England’s transplant team will now set their sights on the Transplant Football World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany, taking place later this year.
The competition will bring together teams from around the world to promote organ donation and celebrate the achievements of transplant recipients on a global stage.
The actress, who was born and grew up in the city, is well known to audiences around the world after starring as Professor Sprout in several of the Harry Potter films.
Known for her character actor work across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs Mingott in Martin Scorsese’s 1993 film, The Age of Innocence.
Ms Margolyes was awarded an OBE in 2002 for services to drama, but there were calls for this to be taken back last year.
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The 85-year-old, who is Jewish, has said that “people don’t like Jews” whilst speaking at the Hay Festival in Powys.
Ms Margolyes added that her Jewish identity has shaped her “whole life” and added: “What your parents teach you and what you learn from the community you live in.”
Addressing concerns about rising antisemitism, she told the audience: “Nobody likes me to say this, but I’m going to say it – people don’t like Jews.”
She reflected on how, after the Holocaust – “when millions of Jewish people, and people from other backgrounds, were killed by the Nazis during World War Two” – there was a period when people “realised that they couldn’t say nasty things about Jews because terrible things happened to Jews and they must be sympathetic, so it stopped.”
However, she added that, over time, when “people with no morals who happened to be Jewish” appeared in public life, “the knives came out again, and they have never been put away.”
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