RON AGE WARRIOR’S WEAPONS GO ON SHOW Next Story | Previous Story | Back to list BY JOHN PERFECT 18:00 – 01 December 2005 Hidden treasures from the 2,000-year-old grave of a warrior uncovered at Kelvedon are to make a rare appearance at an exhibition. A sword, scabbard, spear, two pear-shaped urns together with fragments from a shield boss and tankard have not been in the public gaze since being unearthed by amateur archaeologist and retired policeman Jim Bennett in 1982. Mr Bennett, who died in 1994 aged 78, was stationed in Kelvedon in the 50s and early 60s. His hobby was archaeology and he spent hours working on excavations. Assistant curator of archaeology at Colchester Castle Museum, Dr Paul Sealey, said the grave belonged to an Iron Age warrior buried between 25-75BC, complete with the weapons. The finds have been loaned by Mr Bennett’s family and will be included in a new year-long exhibition at Colchester Castle, starting on December 6. Dr Sealey said: “It is of national importance and the reason is that there are only 15 warrior burials of the period found outside Yorkshire. “This man was buried on a hillside overlooking the modern village of Kelvedon where there was also an Iron Age settlement. “The thing about the Kelvedon burial is that he was elite, an aristocrat. He was from the top of society and well travelled. The spear and shield boss are of a type not normally found and are a product of an armourer working in France.” The fact that this warrior was equipped with sword, spear and shield was unusual and gave data to help rewrite the history of warfare at that time, said Dr Sealey. ” I would like to think he was a village headman from Kelvedon who achieved renown and glory in warfare and was mourned by all and sundry when he died.” Dr Sealey is currently preparing a report on the significance of Jim Bennett’s find, but in the meantime wants to hear from anyone who knew of the discovery or can help with photographs of the grave. The exhibition “Rulers, Warriors and Druids” is the first in a new display area at the Castle. It reveals stories of the past and will exhibit many finds for the first time including discoveries from Cressing Temple, Witham._________________Corinne Mills
