In May 2018, the Shropshire
Finds Liaison Officer, Peter Reavill, received a phone call from a metal detectorist who had made a spectacular find. The names of the landowner and metal detectorist, and the location, were not revealed, in order to protect the findspot and potential archaeological artefacts. In viewing photographs of the intricately carved gold pendant, Reavill's first thought was that the pendant was the missing Irwell bulla, which had been found in the
Manchester Ship Canal in 1772. That bulla was eventually sold at auction in 1806 and has since disappeared. After further evaluation, Reavell concluded that the new find was not the missing bulla. , 2022 The Shropshire bulla is only the second bulla to be discovered in England and the eighth bulla found to date in Britain and Ireland. This artefact is the most south-westerly example of high-quality Late
British Bronze Age gold metalwork production and deposition. The find indicates the existence of rich mineral deposits in this region of Britain. The British Museum acquired the bulla in 2020 for £250,000 with help from
Art Fund and the
American Friends of the British Museum. In 2021 it was on display at the
Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery, loaned as part of the British Museum's National Programmes. ==See also==