Bronze Age hoard discovered in Carnoustie to go on public display for first time

A Bronze Age hoard discovered in Carnoustie has been acquired by National Museums Scotland and will go on display for the first time in a new exhibition opening next summer.

The hoard includes a rare spearhead decorated with gold and a bronze sword in a wooden scabbard, dating from around 1120-920 BC.

The spearhead has an intricately decorated gold-bound socket, one of only two such examples known from Scotland.

It was discovered alongside a bronze sword with an unusual lead-tin pommel, still sheathed in the remains of a wooden scabbard.

The sword was carefully wrapped in a woven wool garment, fastened with a disc-headed pin; the spearhead blade was wrapped in sheepskin, and the socket was wrapped in a fine woollen cloth.

The weapons hint at the existence of a localised warrior elite in the Angus area over 3,000 years ago.

Dr Matthew Knight, senior curator of prehistory at National Museums Scotland, said: “The Carnoustie Hoard is a remarkable discovery. This is the first time we’ve encountered weapons buried at a settlement where people lived.

“It forces us to reconsider relationships between people and these objects and enriches our picture of life in Bronze Age Scotland.

“On top of that we have the exceptional survival of wood, textiles and animal skin that express how much these objects were valued.

“After hours of painstaking conservation, I can’t wait to for visitors to see the hoard for the first time in our new exhibition Scotland’s First Warriors.”

The hoard was unearthed in 2016 by GUARD Archaeology near Carnoustie in an area that was due to be developed into two football pitches.

The full assemblage of archaeological finds represents a nationally significant group of objects spanning almost 3,000 years from the early Neolithic to the late Bronze Age.

It is also the only Bronze Age weapon hoard from Scotland to be found within a clearly defined settlement.

Alongside the Carnoustie Hoard, the exhibition will include never-before-seen internationally significant archaeological discoveries from across Scotland.

From the late Stone Age to the coming of the Romans, the exhibition will present the origins of organised conflict.

It will explore how people fought, the motivations for fighting, the brutal impact of war on people’s lives and the long-lasting legacy of prehistoric conflict.

Scotland’s First Warriors (running from June 27, 2026 to May 17, 2027) will bring together over 250 objects spanning thousands of years, to explore the origins and impact of conflict and warfare in prehistoric Scotland.