Musket balls, 14th century horseshoes and bone toothbrushes have gone on display at an exhibition devoted to the history of the waterways running through Bradford on Avon.

Local archaeologist Adrian Powell, from Poulton, has temporarily donated a number of items dredged up from the river Avon dating back hundreds of years for the ‘River Runs Through It’ exhibition at the museum in Bridge Street.

Roy Canham, a former Wiltshire county archaeologist who is behind the exhibition, said: “Adrian has a whole variety of items and a lot of them are iron objects, like large iron keys and a few iron padlocks. There is so much stuff it is quite amazing.

“What is remarkable is the condition of the iron works because when things drop into mud and silt it rests in an anaerobic condition so decay ceases and that’s why these artifacts are in that condition.”

The collection will be on view to the public until April 8.

Mr Powell discovered the items in the late 1980s after carrying out some trench work in a bid to find out more about the make-up of the river.

Other items on display include a 17th century spoon, 18th century marbles, keys from the 15th and 16th centuries and 16th century foot pattens.