The excitement of uncovering a hoard of hidden treasure is mostly the stuff of storybook adventures, but in Norfolk there is indeed gold buried beneath our feet. Buried treasures, discovered by metal detector enthusiasts in the county, have been bought by a museum for more than Β£50,000. Bronze Age gold bracelets found buried at Foxley, Norfolk, will go on display at Norwich Castle Museum after The Art Fund, the UK's leading independent art charity, paid part of the Β£35,000 price. The museum has also acquired an Anglo Saxon sword pyramid found at Shouldham, Norfolk and a 145-piece hoard of Bronze Age weapons found at Eaton, Norwich. The Foxley Hoard The Foxley Hoard of gold bracelets was found during a detecting rally in Foxley in September 2005. It was purchased by the museum for Β£35,000. "We're extremely excited by the acquisitions. These are incredibly important objects and an excellent new addition to our collections," said Doctor Tim Pestell, curator of archaeology at the Norwich Castle Museum. Gold was a highly-prized and valuable metal in Bronze Age society, and it is exceptionally rare to find Bronze Age gold work in Britain. This collection of seven bracelets is particularly exciting as it is the largest of its kind to be recovered in the county. "It tells us about the highest levels of Bronze Age society and just how wealthy Norfolk was during that period," said Doctor Pestell. "The gold was perhaps sourced in Wales, so these unusual bracelets in Norfolk is fascinating evidence of the way elite members of late Bronze Age society (950-750 BC) developed fur-flung contacts for trade and exchange. "It's difficult for us to say how the bracelets would have been worn. We assume on the wrist, but if it was singly or as a collection, who knows," he added. Shouldham Sword Pyramid
 | | Anglo Saxon Shouldham Sword Pyramid |
In addition to the gold bracelets and items of Bronze Age weaponry, the museum has also secured a gold Anglo-Saxon sword pyramid, known as the Shouldham Sword Pyramid. The first sword pyramid to enter the museum's collections, standing at one centimetre high, it was found using a metal detector at Shouldham in West Norfolk. "Swords were incredibly rare in Anglo Saxon England. The pyramid was attached to a strap to hold a sword in its sheath, a bit like a decorative button," said Doctor Pestell. "The pyramid is so rare as only people from the highest social status could afford a sword in the first place. "These acquisitions are a significant addition to the museum, which already is known to have one of the best collection of Bronze Age metal work in the UK," he added. Funded by the Friends Of The Norwich Museums in addition to The Art Fund, the items will be on display as part of the museum's permanent collections. | 
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