RICHMONDSHIRE Museum is the best kept secret of Richmond town; tucked away from the market place down Ryders Way, this volunteer-run museum is not just a hidden gem but a whole treasure chest waiting to be discovered.

Join us each week as we explore some of what Richmondshire Museum has to offer with this A to Z guide.

This week, the museum shares a second to third century AD iron flat bladed arrowhead is around 1,600 to 1,800 years old.

This example has a tang, the name for the part which connected it to the arrow shaft.

The arrow head is made from iron, smelting iron was an important and valued skill in the past.

This artefact was found at Gilmonby, near the Roman fort at Bowes. Surprisingly, proficiency at archery was not usually associated with Roman soldiers, early Roman armies did not even contain archers.

Later, archers from client kingdoms throughout the Roman Empire accompanied the legions as auxiliaries.

Auxiliary soldiers from what is now Southeast Europe and also Bulgaria were based at the fort at Bowes.

Arrowheads of this type were easy to produce and are the most common found in northern Britain, many were unearthed at Housesteads on the Roman Wall in Northumberland.

They were used for hunting as well as for military purposes.

To see this Roman Arrowhead and other treasures, visit Richmondshire Museum when it reopens on Friday, April 1. It will be open six days a week (closed on Sundays) from 10.30am to 4.30pm, and children are free of charge.

For more information visit www.richmondshiremuseum.org.uk.

Next week we will be seeking out objects being with B, join us then to discover more secrets of the past from Richmondshire.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated North Yorkshire Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054