A hoard of Bronze Age sword and spear fragments dating back more than 2,000 years could go on display in a Suffolk museum after being discovered in a field in the county.

The items, which were discovered by a detectorist at Blythburgh in 2019, have been declared treasure and museums will have the opportunity to acquire the trove should they wish to.

Dr Anna Booth, finds recording officer at Suffolk County Council, said the find included bits of swords and the chapes from sword scabbards, which were fittings at the bottom of swords, adding that the treasure was of 'great archaeological value'.

She added there was now a deeper understanding of when, where and why Bronze Age hoards were deposited, adding that archaeologists used to think they were just hidden scraps of metal waiting for recycling.

But they were now starting to see patterns in how the metals were left, suggesting a deeper, ritual meaning.

She said: "These groups of Bronze Age material are quite common treasure finds. We often call them ‘founder’s hoards’ because it was assumed that they were groups of scrap metal collected for recycling, but there may have been a ritual element to their deposition to."

The hoard still needs to be valued, while any prospective museum would need to raise the necessary funds before being able to display the items.

The Bronze Age swords may have been used in battle, though there was some debate about how 'useable' they were in conflict, Dr Booth said, adding the weapons most probably had a symbolic and ritual function too.

"This part of the county is very rich in archaeology from all time periods. It is rich agricultural land and easily accessible so was intensively settled from prehistory onwards. We see lots of material, both treasure and non-treasure, from this region," she said.