Artefacts from 'exceptionally rare' Iron Age blacksmith workshop go on display at Wittenham Clumps

  • ITV News Meridian reporter Ciaran Fitzpatrick looks into the hidden history of one of Oxfordshire's most scenic landmarks

Artefacts found in a 2,700 year old Iron Age settlement are on display this weekend at the Wittenham Clumps in Oxfordshire.

A pop-up exhibition alongside interactive workshops at the 'Festival of Discovery' help visitors learn more about the hidden history of the people who lived there centuries ago.

15,000 objects are available to look at - and sometimes to touch - including all the components of a 'unique' blacksmith's workshop revealed in January 2024.

Radiocarbon dating found a smithy dating back to possibly 771 BC, soon after ironworking first arrived in Britain around 800 BC.

The smithy contained artefacts like pieces of hearth lining, hammerscale, iron bar, and what's been described as an 'exceptionally rare discovery' of an intact tuyere.

Maiya Pina-Dacier, one of the archaelogists who found these objects, said this is evidence of a large ironworking operation.

"The blacksmith was making artefacts that were larger than usual," said Pina-Dacier. "They were more complex than usual, making things like swords and tradebars, or cart and chariot wheels."

Archaeologists were on hand to help give interactive workshops which allowed visitors to touch human bones from the Roman times. Credit: ITV Meridian

The Archaelogist and Director at the DigVentures remarked, "they weren't making things that you would need around the house or around the farm, they were making the high status very special objects.

"This tell us they were extremely skilled, extremely professional and a master of their art at the time."

Archaeologists from DigVentures carried out the excavation between 2018 and 2020. Nat Jackson, which led the project, said these objects - and the exhibition - allows the public to learn more about the rich history of this part of Oxfordshire.

"Weird ritual stuff in the middle iron age, then the Romans turning up and building their villa, it just threads this beautiful story that goes through the whole landscape," said Jackson.

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