Archaeologists have discovered a possible Celtic settlement near the site of Jersey's massive iron age hoard - potentially solving a 2,000-year-old mystery.
When around 70,000 silver coins, 11 gold torques and a collection of jewellery were unearthed in a field at Le Câtillon in Jersey's Grouville district in 2012, experts were met with severe bafflement.
They struggled to explain why such treasure had been transported to what appeared to be a remote and unpopulated area with dangerous coastal reefs.
The hoard is believed to have originated from Armorica - modern-day Brittany and Normandy.
The hoard is believed to have originated from Armorica - modern-day Brittany and Normandy
Jersey Heritage
Archaeologists think the riches were hurriedly moved to Jersey to protect them from Julius Caesar's advancing Roman army during the Gallic wars.
A geophysical survey around the site has now revealed linear anomalies spanning several tens of metres.
These features run parallel and perpendicular to each other, with some showing subdivisions.
The patterns closely resemble late iron age rural Celtic settlements found in northern France.
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Small magnetic anomalies detected during the survey suggest the presence of pits and postholes of buildings.
These findings indicate Jersey was no isolated backwater in the mid-first century BC, but likely had an established Celtic community.
Dr Hervé Duval-Gatignol, Société Jersiaise's archaeologist, said: "This could represent part of a rectilinear enclosure consistent with known forms of rural settlements of late iron age date in Armorica."
Meanwhile, Dr Sean Kingsley, Wreckwatch's editor-in-chief, explained that the Celts were skilled seafarers.
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"By the time Caesar attacked Brittany in 56BC, the Celts' seaborne trade was a well-oiled machine," he said.
Kingsley suggested the hoard may have been transported on a hide-boat vessel similar to the gold model found at Broighter in Northern Ireland.
These first century BC vessels had sails, steering oars and multiple oarsmen, making them ideal for navigating Jersey's dangerous coastal reefs.
Such boats were "light and flexible, ideal to ride the crests of high waves".
