A ROMAN hoard of eight eight bronze vessels that were unearthed by metal detectorists in Pewsey Vale are now on display at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes.

This month, the museum are displaying remains of the ancient flowers, which were discovered by metal detectorists in Pewsey Vale in 2014, that were carefully buried inside bronze bowls.

After the discovery was reported to Richard Henry, the Wiltshire Finds Liaison Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, he went onto work with Historic England and Southampton University who found that the hoard was buried around 1,500 years ago.

And for the time being, the flowers, which were analysed through radiocarbon dating, are on display at the museum in Long Street.

Museum Director, David Dawson, said: "Richard Henry has led this remarkable partnership project, drawing specialists from across the country to piece together the fascinating story of the burial of Roman bronze cauldrons that took place on a summer's day 1,500 years ago. We are thrilled to be able to display this important material."

The finders donated the plant remains to the Wiltshire Museum to allow the detailed research to take place.

Mr Henry added: "Such discoveries should be left in situ to allow full archaeological study of the find and its context. The finders did not clean or disturb the vessels which has allowed us to undertake detailed further research. If the vessels had been cleaned none of this research would have been possible."

Dr Ruth Pelling, who also was part of the research team, said: "It has been an absolute pleasure to examine this unique assemblage. By combining the plant macro and pollen evidence we have been able to identify the time of year the vessels were buried, the packing material used, the nature of the surrounding vegetation and the likely date of burial.”