This axe-head was made about 4,500 years ago of Jadeite from the Alps of Northern Italy and is one of the finest of its type ever found in the British Isles. Its craftsmanship and high polish makes us believe it was a purely ceremonial piece. Some people believe that such axes were initially practical tools that repeatedly changed hands; were re-polished, re-used and only gradually became ceremonial.


Jadeite axe-head

Gold Torque


This 1.4-metre-long torque was made over 3,000 years ago from a single piece of high quality gold, and is one of the island's greatest treasures. No other torques have been found in the Channel Islands but they are associated with Ireland, Britain and France and it may have been a gift from one of these areas. Torques were typically worn around the neck, as jewelry or symbols of office, but this example is more likely to have been worn
around the body.


The gold stater was found along with 2,500 other coins at Le Catillon in Grouville in 1957 and it was made or 'struck' in the 1st century BC by the Baiocasses tribe, of Bayeux in France. The front of the coin shows a human head with a boar in its hair and the back shows a human-headed horse galloping towards a gate.


Gold Stater


Bronze Hoard


The Cadoret bronze hoard is the largest collection of Bronze Age artefacts ever found in the island. It consists of 178 pieces of broken weapons, tools, ornaments and casting debris. The fact that many of the objects in the hoard had been deliberately broken into small manageable pieces suggests that it was a typical founder's hoard - a bronze smith had probably collected the pieces for re-use but we don't know why he failed to
return to its hiding place.


This 14th century silver and gilt brooch was found on the floor of the Ecréhous Priory during excavations in 1988 and is the finest piece of medieval jewellery ever to have been discovered in the Channel Islands. The brooch is stamped with a fleur-de-lys, which was used as the town mark of Paris at the time, and was a precursor of the modern hallmark, guaranteeing the high quality of the silver.