18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Kent Archaeological Society purchased an Anglo-Saxon hoard ahead of a London auction

The Kent Archaeological Society has bought a large collection of Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the sixth and seventh centuries known as the Ozengell Hoard.

They were scheduled to be auctioned off at Roseberys on October 28 with an estimated value of £12,000-15,000, but were instead purchased by the society for “further research and the preservation of Kent’s heritage.”

The Ozengell Anglo-Saxon Collection includes a wide array of 1700 Anglo-Saxon items of jewelry, buckles, weapons fittings, glassware, and pottery found in excavations of an Anglo-Saxon burial ground near Ramsgate in Kent.

The first discoveries from this location were made in 1846 during the construction of the Ramsgate-Deal railway. Many of these early finds are in museums including in Liverpool and the British Museum.

The Ozengell Hoard bought by the Society was found in the course of excavations between 1977-1981.

The items were conserved by the Ancient Monuments Laboratory and the Institute of Archaeology and were on loan to The Powell-Cotton Museum in Birmingham, Kent, from 1983 to 2010. However, the vast collection was never displayed in its entirety.

The collection was then returned to landowner, farmer, and businessman David Steed. Four glass finds from this hoard were sold by Christie’s in 2011. The 1700 items, contained within more than 50 boxes, were to be offered as a single lot in the auction.

A hemispherical glass bowl and two glass globular bottles.

Some of the stand-out pieces of the collection include a gilt-silver disc brooch set with three wedge-shaped garnets, large numbers of amber and glass beads, a hemispherical glass bowl and two glass globular bottles with narrow necks, a pottery urn decorated with a linear pattern, another decorated with triangles and stippling, a circular incense vessel, copper, bronze and gilt-silver buckles, iron shield bosses, knives and a pair of tweezers with incised decoration.

The Ozengell Collection supplements and expands the society’s nationally significant Anglo-Saxon grave goods collection. Selected objects will be displayed alongside items from the Kent Archaeological Society’s larger collection.

Kent Archaeology

Related Articles

Volunteer archaeologists discovered a 1900-year-old silver military decoration in Vindolanda

17 June 2023

17 June 2023

Volunteer archaeologists have discovered a 1900-year-old military decoration (Phalera) that was awarded to distinguished soldiers and troops in the Roman...

Metal Scraps were Used İnstead of Money in Bronze Age Europe

8 May 2021

8 May 2021

Bronze scrap uncovered in hoards in Europe was used as currency, according to researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and...

Carvings at Göbeklitepe could be World’s Oldest Calendar

6 August 2024

6 August 2024

Experts suggest that markings on a stone pillar at the 12,000-year-old Göbeklitepe archaeological site in Türkiye probably represent the oldest...

4,000-Year-Old Lion Jaw Bone Unearthed in Kültepe

14 September 2021

14 September 2021

Excavations continue in Kültepe, the starting point of Anatolian written history. During the excavations, a 4,000-year-old lion jawbone was unearthed....

Maya Farmers May Have Planned Population Growth Contrary to Thought

19 November 2021

19 November 2021

Contrary to what was thought, Maya farmers may have planned for population growth, says a new study. According to a...

The 2,200-year-old Agora of Aigai ancient city comes to light

19 August 2024

19 August 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered an agora (city square) during excavations in the ancient city of Aigai, west of Manisa. Aigai, located...

Scientists reconstruct Late Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean silver trade

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Scientists have recreated the Eastern Mediterranean silver trade across a time span that includes the conventional dates of the Trojan...

Roman ‘ritual center’ discovered in England

12 January 2023

12 January 2023

Archaeologists from have discovered a Roman ritual centre during excavations near Northampton, England. The find was made by the Museum...

Ötzi the Iceman Had Dark Skin, Bald Head and Anatolian Ancestry -New study rewrites ancient history

17 August 2023

17 August 2023

New DNA analysis by German researchers shows that the famous glacier mummy Ötzi may have had dark skin, dark eyes,...

Archaeologists unearth 6,000-year-old two monumental mounds containing wooden grave chambers in Germany

16 March 2024

16 March 2024

Archaeologists from the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA) have uncovered a significant Neolithic burial landscape on...

Archeologists unearth largest rare wooden “Haniwa” Statue in Japan

10 December 2022

10 December 2022

The remains of a 3.5-meter-tall wooden “haniwa” statue have been discovered at one of the “kofun” ancient burial mounds that...

Ancient Tomb of Nomadic Horse Lord Yields Untouched Treasures and Weapons

2 May 2025

2 May 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery near Grozny has unearthed an undisturbed Alanian tomb dating back over two millennia, revealing a wealth...

Polish archaeologists discovered new petroglyphs dating back to the 3rd century in Colorado

14 December 2023

14 December 2023

Archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University, southern Poland, have made a significant discovery of ancient indigenous paintings and carvings in the...

Archaeologists Uncover 8 Graves Dated 6,500 Years Ago in Lausanne, Swiss

30 October 2021

30 October 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed eight prehistoric tombs between 5,500 and 6,500 years old in the Swiss town of Pully. The site...

A bronze tablet from 2000 years ago proves that Greek was spoken in Anatolia and that a multicultural life existed ‘Anisa tablet’

12 April 2024

12 April 2024

The Anisa bronze tablet proves that Greek was used in Anatolia 2000 years ago and that a multicultural life existed....