Treasure show pulls in 50,000

A staggering 50,000-plus people have visited Norwich Castle's Buried Treasure event - the best attendance at an exhibition in the past decade.

With just two weekends to go until it closes, it could be the last chance to see so many incredible discoveries - many of which have never been shown outside London before - under one roof in Norfolk.

It includes the greatest treasure finds ever made in this country, such as the Hoxne Treasure, the Mildenhall Treasure and the Cuerdale Hoard, together with finds such as the recently discovered Amesbury Archer burial.

Charles Wilde, marketing and visitor services manager, said: “More people have seen this exhibition than any other exhibition in the last 10 years. Since it opened we've issued more than 50,000 tickets giving access to the exhibition, and visitor response has been tremendous. Norwich Castle is the final venue in a national tour that has taken treasure from London's British Museum to Cardiff, Manchester and Newcastle.”

The exhibition includes:

t Palaeolithic Hand Axe - Norfolk beachcomber Mike Chambers found what is probably the oldest known man-made object ever found in Britain. Cautious estimates place it at about 550,000 years old, which shows that man was living in Britain far longer than previously thought.

t The Ringlemere Gold Cup - Found by Cliff Bradshaw near the village of Ringlemere, Kent, the cup is crushed, probably from being hit by farm machinery. Further investigations of the find site have led experts to believe that it may have been a Bronze Age cemetery.

t The Amesbury Archer - Aged between 35 and 45, it was buried in 2300BC and may have seen the raising of Stonehenge. He was discovered during a professional excavation and is the most well-furnished burial of the Copper Age found in the UK.

t The Snettisham Torcs - Dubbed the “crown jewels” of Norfolk, they came from one of the key sites of British pre-history.

It first began to reveal its secrets in 1948 when five gold torcs - which are Iron Age neck bands - were unearthed during ploughing.

The reason why they were buried is uncertain but experts speculate it could have been for safekeeping or as part of a sacred ritual.

Buried Treasure, which opened at the castle in July and ends on January 15, is the first major exhibition of British archaeology for more than 20 years.

For more information, visit www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk