The spathae had been found throughout a steel detecting rally within the Cotswolds in March 2023. For the detectorist who discovered the swords, Glenn Manning, it was a case of newbie’s luck: “Discovering two swords in the identical spot was superb. The morning earlier than the rally, I had a sense I might discover one thing particular. This was solely my second time steel detecting.”
The discover was reported to the Moveable Antiquities Scheme (a authorities programme in England and Wales that encourages the general public to formally document archaeological objects), and Historic England then carried out geophysical survey work on the location, revealing the potential of in depth Iron Age and Roman settlement.
Following excavations throughout January and February 2025, archaeologists from Historic England and Cotswold Archaeology confirmed the existence of the Iron Age web site, together with proof of a attainable Roman villa modern with the swords. The settlements, situated close to the village of Willersey, had been beforehand unknown.
Unclear possession
The exact relationship between the swords and the encircling settlement web site isn’t but clear, however post-excavation evaluation is underway to determine additional proof. If the presence of a high-status Roman villa within the neighborhood of the spathae is confirmed, it could assist to clarify the circumstances through which they had been deposited.
Professor Simon James, an skilled on Roman warfare primarily based on the College of Leicester, stated that the invention was uncommon.
“Discovering a Roman sword in Britain is a uncommon occasion; discovering two collectively like that is exceptional – and they’re in ok situation to say one thing of how they had been constructed. These had been high-quality blades, which had been of their scabbards when buried.
“However they had been with out the flowery shoulder-belts on which troopers carried such weapons. This is among the clues we have to contemplate in making an attempt to grasp how and why they got here to be buried the place they had been discovered.”
Although the swords are Roman in design, that doesn’t essentially indicate that their house owners had been residents of the Roman empire. In accordance with Professor James, it was authorized for provincial residents to own these kind of weapons, including a level of complexity to the image. It stays to be seen whether or not the evaluation will shed any mild on who could have owned the swords, and the place within the empire they might have hailed from.
A brand new definition of ‘treasure’
Within the meantime, the swords have been preserved and can be displayed on the Corinium Museum in Cirencester from August this yr. Emma Stuart, director of the museum, stated: “It’s a privilege to amass such uncommon artefacts. This beneficial addition of Roman weaponry on the museum broadens the story of life within the Cotswolds throughout the mid-to-late Roman interval.”
The truth that the swords can be on public show is as a result of generosity of each the finder and landowner. On the time they had been found, the spathae weren’t coated by the 1996 Treasure Act, as they don’t include the valuable metals that may have certified them to be classed as ‘treasure’ and thus topic to a declare by the Crown. As a substitute, they may have been retained or offered by their house owners.
Nonetheless, an modification to the Treasure Act got here into pressure in July 2023, simply 4 months after the swords had been found. This widened the standards for treasure to incorporate gadgets that had been of nationwide significance, by advantage of a number of of the next circumstances: their rarity for example of their kind present in the UK; the situation, area or a part of the UK through which they had been discovered; or their reference to a specific particular person or occasion.
How a helmet modified the regulation
The change to the regulation adopted a long-running debate over the Crosby Garrett helmet, a chunk of Roman cavalry gear found in Cumbria in 2010. It’s a exceptional copper-alloy helmet, with a human face masks beneath a pointed Phrygian cap, topped by a griffin.
Just like the swords, the helmet additionally fell exterior the bounds of treasure, however on this case the house owners determined to promote it. The native museum, Tullie Home in Carlisle, mounted a funding marketing campaign, however it was offered at public sale to a personal bidder for over £2 million. This proved to be the catalyst for change.
On one other recent episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Michael Lewis (head of the Moveable Antiquities Scheme) and Ian Richardson (senior treasure registrar on the British Museum), mentioned the saga surrounding the helmet.
“There was no requirement for the finder or landowner to truly hand [the helmet] in to be processed beneath the Treasure Act as a result of it wasn’t fabricated from treasured steel and it wasn’t prehistoric in date,” stated Richardson.
“Within the treasure laws, there was a brand new modification to the Treasure Act that was handed in 2023 to incorporate objects fabricated from steel that present an distinctive perception into our historical past or archaeology or tradition. And that was actually impressed by the case of this discovery.”
Had that modification been in place in early 2023, it’s attainable that the swords would have fallen beneath this wider definition of treasure. Nonetheless, the weapons had been donated anyway, and can now discover their residence on a public show on the Corinium Museum from August.
David Musgrove can be discussing the spathae at Cirencester’s Corinium Museum with their finder, Glenn Manning, and Roman sword skilled Professor Simon James as a part of the Cirencester Historical past Pageant on Wednesday 29 October 2025.