23 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2,000-Year-Old Iron Age and Roman Treasures Found in Wales Could Point to an Unknown Roman Settlement

A metal detectorist found a pile of exceptionally preserved Roman and Iron Age objects buried 2,000 years ago in a field in Monmouthshire, a county in southeast Wales.

Metal detectorist Jon Matthews discovered the objects, which date back thousands of years, in a field in Llantrisant Fawr in 2019. The Roman finds, now officially declared a treasure, could suggest a previously undiscovered settlement in the area, according to experts.

These finds include a Roman pot and a Celtic bucket mount, which initially emerged as a bloc collection of buried treasures.

According to the press release, archaeologists determined that the 2,000-year-old artifacts were Iron Age and early Roman pottery vessels. From the field, eight artifacts, including two whole pieces, were found.

The artifacts were likely buried together “around the time of the Roman conquest, in the second half of the first century A.D.,” the release said.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Ancient Roman saucepan found in Llantrisant Fawr. Photo from National Museum Wales
Ancient Roman saucepan found in Llantrisant Fawr. Photo from National Museum Wales

Among the finds was a fascinating bowl decorated with an ox face, as seen in one of the photos. A wide-eyed ox with bowed horns is depicted on the blue-green metal design. He sticks out his lower lip or jaw into the handle-like loop.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I didn’t think our ancestors could make such a beautiful, beautiful thing. I was quite shocked. I feel honored to have found something so unique that is linked to Wales and our ancestors,” Matthews told Wales Online.

The excavation team nicknamed the ox “Bovril,” said Adelle Bricking, an archaeologist who worked on the excavation. Bricking said. “Imagine our surprise when we flicked off the mud and exposed Bovril’s adorable little face!!!” she wrote.

The handle of an ancient Roman saucepan. Photo from National Museum Wales
The handle of an ancient Roman saucepan. Photo from National Museum Wales

The subsequent investigations conducted by experts from the Portable Antiquities Scheme in  Wales (PAS Cymru) and Amgueddfa Cymru uncovered a total of two complete and six fragmentary vessels. Among the findings were remnants of two wooden tankards, an  Iron Age bucket adorned with copper alloy fittings, an Iron Age copper alloy bowl, cauldron, and strainer, as well as two Roman copper alloy saucepans.

“I feel honored to have found something so unique that is linked to Wales and our ancestors,” Matthews said.

Alastair Willis, a senior curator at Amgueddfa Cymru, said, “The discovery of two coin hoards in the same field and in the general vicinity of the Roman town at  Caerwent, is exciting and significant. The results of the geophysical survey undertaken suggest the presence of a previously unknown settlement or religious site where the coin hoards were buried. This sheds light on life in the rural hinterland around the Roman town of Venta Silurum. The discoveries are also important for understanding events happening in south-east Wales around the time when the Romans left, at the beginning of the fifth century AD.”

Related Articles

Archaeologists Uncover 4,800-Year-Old Bronze Age Tombs in Başur Höyük, Türkiye, Where Teenage Girls Were Ritually Sacrificed

30 March 2025

30 March 2025

As the first civilizations began to emerge in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, significant transformations in social structure, economy, and culture took...

The 11-meter giant statue of the island of Naxos “Dionysus of Apollonas”

22 March 2023

22 March 2023

One of the two ancient marble quarries, thought to have begun the sculpture, the greatest art of antiquity, is located...

Archaeologists have discovered a large-sized 4,000-Year-Old steppe pyramid of the Bronze Age in Kazakhstan

10 August 2023

10 August 2023

Archaeologists of L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University discovered a massive Bronze Age steppe pyramid associated with a horse cult...

Evil-Wisher Well: Ancient curse tablets 2,500-year-old found in a well in Athens

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

30 ancient curse tablets were found at the bottom of a 2500-year-old well in ancient Athens. In 2020, Archaeologists from...

Over 1,600-yr-old tomb of embracing lovers found in north China

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Archaeologists recently published a study of the tomb of cuddling lovers, dating to the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), more than...

Rare African Script Offers Clues to the Evolution of Writing Systems

4 February 2022

4 February 2022

The world’s very first invention of writing took place over 5000 years ago in the Middle East, before it was...

Researchers explored a rock art site near Idupulapaya in India

1 October 2021

1 October 2021

A rock art site was discovered near Idupulapaya in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Rock paintings from the Megalithic...

The Largest Medieval Coins Treasure found in Recent Decades discovered in Germany

16 August 2024

16 August 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed one of the largest medieval coin hoards, consisting of approximately 1,600 coins, in recent years in the...

25 Qing Dynasty tombs found in China’s Hunan

25 May 2022

25 May 2022

25 graves dating from the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1644–1912) have been uncovered in the Houbeishan tomb complex in southern China,...

An unknown human group is revealed in a 7,200-year-old skeleton discovered in Indonesia

27 August 2021

27 August 2021

According to a study released this week, archaeologists uncovered the bones of a 7,200-year-old skeleton from a female hunter-gatherer in...

Bronze Age Wedge Tomb Discovered on the Dingle Peninsula maybe Even Older

22 April 2021

22 April 2021

A wedge tomb recently discovered on the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland was described by archaeologists as “quite unusual”. Wedge tombs...

Culinary Habits of Ancient Maltese

24 February 2021

24 February 2021

Pottery shards found at the ancient settlement were analyzed for fragments of organic residue and protein. The culinary habits of...

A woman in Norway found Viking-age 1000-year-old hoard in basement

20 April 2023

20 April 2023

A woman in Norway cleaned her parents’ home, she found 32 iron ingots dating to the Viking or early Middle...

Hidden Roman Passage Unearthed Beneath Split: A Secret Gateway into Diocletian’s Palace Revealed

23 June 2025

23 June 2025

A groundbreaking discovery beneath Hrvojeva Street, near Diocletian’s Palace, is reshaping our understanding of Roman life and architecture in the...

Archaeologists uncovered largest Bronze Age burial site of Nitra culture in Czech Republic

19 October 2024

19 October 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered the Nitra culture’s largest Bronze Age burial site near Olomouc in Central Moravia, during their rescue research...