RARE Iron Age jewellery has been found in the remains of an ancient Celtic settlement uncovered on a site earmarked for a motorcycle showroom in Yorkshire.
Dave Clarke
Among the finds unearthed at the Catesby business park at Balby Carr, near Doncaster, are the foundations of a round house and a rare black glass bangle that would have been worn by a Celtic woman over 2,000 years ago.
The round house was found dire
ctly beneath the low-lying site during survey work for the showroom which will sell Harley Davidson motorbikes.
Experts says they are "most excited" about the discovery of the round house, which is typical of the type used by families who formed part of larger tribal units.
They say the rare glass bangle dates from the 1st century BC and is the first of its type found in Yorkshire.
Fragments of wattle and daub used in the house construction plus a trackway lined with treetrunks leading to the entrance have also been uncovered.
And archaeologists believe animal bones unearthed may be the remains of meals eaten by the first Doncastrians who lived in the round house during during the Celtic Iron Age.
Archaeological consultant Sally Randell, who is in charge of the work, said: "The roundhouse is about 15 metres (50ft) in diameter with a ditch running into what is a possible entrance.
"It has not yet been fully excavated and so its precise date and function have not yet been officially confirmed but this is quite a find.
"But we've uncovered some traces of pottery and the remains of animal bones which may have been part of feasts eaten by the inhabitants."
Earlier survey work had uncovered evidence of Iron Age field systems on the Balby Carr site.
