A rare 3,000-year-old gold object found in Staffordshire is set to go on public display in Stoke-on-Trent when The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery fully reopens next spring.
The museum is planning a Festival of Treasure from spring 2027, with the event expected to mark both the reopening of the transformed museum and the first public display of the Bronze Age artefact.
| Detail | Confirmed information |
|---|---|
| Event | Festival of Treasure |
| Venue | The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent |
| Date | From spring 2027; event brief lists 1 March 2027 as the start date |
| Time | Not yet confirmed in the source material |
| Price | Free |
| Entry | Public display |
| Best for | Local residents, families, archaeology visitors and anyone interested in Staffordshire history |
A Bronze Age gold find saved for Staffordshire
The object is believed to be a dress fastener made from solid gold. It was discovered by a metal detectorist near Ellastone in 2023 and has since been declared Treasure.
According to Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s published announcement, the fastener is the first object of its kind found in Britain in almost 30 years. Only seven others are recorded across England and Wales.
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery has acquired the artefact after a £150,000 appeal kept it in the county. The fundraising total was reached through public donations, support from the Friends of the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, and grants from Art Fund, the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The fastener will eventually sit alongside the Staffordshire Hoard and the Leekfrith Torcs, placing it within one of the county’s most visible collections of archaeological gold.
What visitors can expect at the Festival of Treasure
The Festival of Treasure is planned to coincide with the museum’s full reopening after its multi-million-pound transformation. The source announcement says the fastener’s first public display will form part of that moment.
For visitors, the main draw is clear: a newly acquired Bronze Age gold object, found in Staffordshire, remaining in a public collection rather than disappearing from local view.
The museum team will also deliver outreach events and activities before the reopening, supported by National Lottery players, to help people explore the dress fastener and Staffordshire’s Bronze Age past.
Physical and digital replicas of the fastener are also due to be created for events linked to the Festival of Archaeology in July and Heritage Open Days in September.
Why this object changes the museum story
Joe Perry, curator of local history at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, described the item as carefully worked and not an everyday object. He said objects like it were worn as visible displays of wealth and status, suggesting the wearer may have belonged to the highest levels of Bronze Age society.
He also said it is the most significant Treasure item acquired by the museum for almost a decade and the first of its kind discovered anywhere in Staffordshire.
That matters for how visitors see the county’s past. The museum’s Treasure collection now reaches across thousands of years of local history, with this Bronze Age object adding an earlier chapter to the better-known gold discoveries already associated with Staffordshire.
Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for finance and anti-poverty at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said the discovery, alongside the Staffordshire Hoard and the Leekfrith Torcs, confirms Staffordshire as home to some of the most important gold treasures found in the country.
Peter Wilson, chair of the Friends of the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, said the Friends were delighted the find had been saved for local people and visitors to see and enjoy.
Practical details still to be confirmed
The Festival of Treasure is planned for The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent from spring 2027, with the event brief listing 1 March 2027 as the start date.
The source material confirms the display is planned as a free public display, but it does not give an opening time, closing date, booking process, venue address, transport guidance or accessibility information.
The confirmed next step is that the fastener will go on public display when the museum fully reopens following its transformation, with related outreach activity taking place before then.
Source: Stoke Scraper
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This event preview is based on the Stoke-on-Trent City Council announcement and the verified event brief supplied for the Festival of Treasure.
- Checked the event name, venue and public display status against the supplied source text.
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- Matched the artefact description, discovery location and acquisition details to the source...
- Used the event brief date while noting that the source describes the reopening as spring 2...
- Source
- Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- Scope
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Updated
- 2026-06-04 19:18
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