“Completely unique” Iron Age party cauldrons and more unearthed in Leicestershire

Archaeologists were called to Glenfield Park, Leicestershire, just before a development company broke ground on a massive project to build a warehouse and distribution center. People walking in the grassy field between two towns on the fringes of Leicester had found what seemed to be ancient artifacts. Previous digs in the area had uncovered a few Iron Age items, so it seemed likely there might be something more to find. Indeed there was. Much more. In fact, according to University of Leicester Archaeological Services' John Hancock, new excavations revealed a 2,000-year-old feasting center full of rare, valuable items, including 11 ceremonial cauldrons.

Archaeologists had uncovered a party town.

Of course, the Iron Age center wasn't just for parties. Hancock and his colleagues explain in a release about their findings that it was likely a very small settlement that endured over centuries. What began as one or two roundhouses grew in the 300s BCE into several compounds. Many were rich with artifacts like jewelry, and, in a few places, researchers found buried treasure like the 11 cauldrons, which served both ceremonial and pragmatic purposes as food preparation vessels. Finding this many cauldrons in one place is very rare, Hancock said, and indicates that this was a special place.

Said Hancock:

It is the metalwork assemblage that really sets this settlement apart. The quantity and quality of the finds far outshine most of the other contemporary assemblages from the area, and its composition is almost unparalleled. The cauldron assemblage in particular makes this a nationally important discovery.

Little is known about Iron Age beliefs in England before the Romans arrived. Julius Caesar described Druidic religions, led by local shamans. Celtic tribes had invaded the island at various times before the Romans' arrival, no doubt affecting local cultures and languages. Indeed, one of the cauldrons discovered at Glenfield Park has a stem-and-leaf pattern on its rim that's associated with Celtic designs. Archaeologists sometimes interpret burials of cauldrons and other treasures like these as offerings to Earth gods.

What's certain is that these items were buried deliberately, over a period of centuries, in a circular ditch surrounding one of the roundhouses. Some were buried upright and others upside down, probably to mark the end of the building's use. A few other cauldrons were buried throughout the settlement, likely during rituals and important events.

The cauldron had spiritual significance in pre-Roman English culture, but we know several of these cauldrons were used for cooking, too. Some are covered in charring, and one has been extensively repaired with a copper-alloy patch that was carefully attached with several rivets. The largest of the cauldrons found could hold 550 liters, which suggests it was intended to cook or hold mead for a very large party indeed.

Hancock and his team couldn't simply yank the cauldrons out of the ground to analyze them—each is made from extremely thin copper and would have fallen apart. So they excavated each one in a block of soil and searched for a facility that had scanning equipment that would reveal the hidden treasure. Eventually, they got incredible images of their finds from a CT scanner at Paul Strickland Scanner Centre in Middlesex, which usually handles humans, not blocks of soil full of iron. But it was the only place where they found a scanner large enough to accommodate their unusual request.

Currently, conservation of the cauldrons is being done by Liz Barham at the Museum of London Archaeology, who discovered "sooty residues" on the outermost cauldron, suggesting it had been suspended over a fire. "If we're lucky, we may even find food residues from the last time they were used—over 2,000 years ago," she said.

Other items found at the site, including a brooch and a "horn-cap" from a ceremonial staff, were buried just like the cauldrons were. The site seems to have been used for parties, ceremonies, and other large gatherings devoted to Druidic rituals. Thousands of years ago, people must have flocked to this place from miles around for spiritual events and great, communal feasts. But soon, it will become a warehouse and shipping center. Who knows what will remain buried beneath all those lorries and shipping crates? Sounds like the perfect start to a Doctor Who story.

Listing image by University of Leicester Archaeological Services