An Iron Age Torc found by Mr M Richardson near Newark in 2005. Photo Richard Moss © Culture24
A stunning golden torc dating from the Iron Age, a hoard of over 3,600 Roman coins and a tiny Anglo Saxon roundel depicting the Hand of God were just some of the items on show at the British Museum in November 2008 for the launch of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) Treasure Annual Report.
The report lists the 1,257 archaeological finds made and reported by members of the public and includes all of the discoveries that passed through the Treasure Process in 2005 and 2006 – each of them contributing in some way to our understanding of the past.
Established 11 years ago, the PAS encourages metal detectorists as well as the many gardeners and walkers who make chance discoveries, to report their finds through a network of regional Finds Liaisons Officers (FLOs). The idea is to plot the and record finds, advise on their importance and to ease people through their legal obligation to report gold and silver objects and groups of coins over three hundred years old to their local coroner.
Culture Minister Barbara Follett was on hand for the launch and to confirm the £1.3 million (rising to £1.4m in 2010/11) per annum funding for the scheme after a period of financial retrenchment and a government review. She also revealed her own experiences of Treasure hunting.
“When I was young and found an object in a field in Essex nobody knew what to do. Now we have a system in place,” said the minister.
Sadly she didn’t reveal what her mystery object was, but she did go on to praise the massive record of 359,000 finds logged by the PAS since it began in 1997, and the thousands of metal detectorists – among them the minister’s friend, Rolling Stone Bill Wyman – who report them.
Many of them can be found on the PAS website www.finds.org.uk, which is an online treasury of axeheads, torcs, brooches and other wonders of Britain’s evidently rich archaeological landscape.
“When you see some of the objects on display here today you will understand the scale of the detailed work that goes into the compilation of this detailed database,” she added.
A Large Roman Coin Hoard found in Snodland, Kent. Photo Richard Moss © Culture24
If anything brought home the important work of the PAS – especially in reaching out to Britain’s army of metal detectorists – it was a stunning Iron age Torc found by Marcus Richardson in 2005 near Newark in Nottinghamshire.
The amateur metal detectorist was searching for the remains of a crashed aircraft in a field when he stumbled upon the golden ceremonial necklace, which he described as: “looking as golden and as fresh as the day it was made.”
“It’s a weird feeling really,” he said. “It’s the metal detectorist’s equivalent of winning the lottery if you like. For me it doesn’t get any better. It is a wonderful feeling.”
Despite his excitement Mr Richardson said he knew exactly what to do with his find. “There was no question,” he explained. “I knew immediately that this had to go to the Finds Liaison Officer. Something like this doesn’t belong to me, it’s for everybody to share.”
Valued at £350,000, a proportion of which goes to Mr Richardson and the landowner, the torc has been acquired by a delighted Newark Heritage Service who have plans to display it locally.
High profile finds like this aren’t the norm, but like thousands of others reported through the PAS every year – its discovery is forcing archaeologists to re-think some of the assumptions they have made about the archaeology and history of the East Midlands region.
Although torcs have been found in the UK, most particularly in Norfolk, this is the first time one of these high impact objects has been found in this part of the country. The job now for the experts is to re-assess the importance of the region 2,000 years ago and to question how and why such a high status object travelled from East Anglia to Nottinghamshire.
At a nearby table, experts from the British Museum were pondering similar conundrums relating to an outstanding haul of Roman coins. They were discovered when a mechanical digger sliced the top off an urn on a building site in Kent.
Dramatically displayed - spilling out from the remains of the pot - the hoard consists of more than 3,600 coins together with associated pottery deposited in about 347 AD.
Experts believe the coins, which are roughly uniform ‘nummi’ from mints right across the Roman Empire, were stored in the pot when the coins went out of circulation in 348.
“It's intriguing because these coins were placed in a pot like we might do today with old, out of circulation coins,” said Sam Moorhead the PAS’ finds specialist for ancient coins. “They represent around one third of a Gold Solidus and would have brought up to a third of a horse or 15 to 30 gallons of grain.”
Anglo Saxon mount, dating to the 7th century AD and made of gold and garnet. Photo © Richard Moss / Culture24
Much like the Newark golden torc they were found in pretty much pristine condition and for the Finds Liasion Oficer, Andrew Richardson, who was called out to excavate them, it was a fascinating and rewarding experience.
“It was nice because that day we were talking about filing systems in the office,” said Andrew, “and the call came in about the hoard and I turned to my colleagues and said ‘I’m sorry, this is going to have to wait until later’”
The coins when he picked them up fell through his fingers as though they were newly minted.
Apart from the thrill of the finds and the research questions they throw up, one of the great benefits of the PAS has been its impact on museum collections. Also on display was a beautiful Anglo Saxon mount, dating to the 7th century AD and made of gold and garnet. It was found in 2006 by Pete Minshall and is now in the possession of Chelmsford Museum.
Pete was metal detecting in farmer’s field when he saw a glint of gold. When he realised it was Saxon, he took it back to the farmer then promptly reported it.
“I sent an email to the FLO and I got an email back saying: ‘Wow’,” said Peter. “I’m really happy it’s going to be displayed. It’s not just for me. I don’t want to keep it hidden away at home somewhere.”
The brooch will soon be on display at Chelmsford Museum, where it will bolster their small but developing Anglo Saxon collection.
“Anything like this that comes up we’re very keen to try and acquire, as the Anglo Saxon influence is very important in this area,” said Nick Wickenden, Museums Manager for Chelmsford Borough Council. “It’s such a beautiful piece, it’s so well preserved and detailed. The public of course love the glint of gold so I think it could become quite an iconic piece for us.”
Museums are evidently benefitting from the upswing in reported finds with 282 new treasure finds from the latest PAS Treasure Annual Report having been or in the process of being acquired by museums. Furthermore in 2007 there were 749 Treasure Finds reported, compared with 506 in 204 – 97% of these were reported via the Finds Liaison Officers of the PAS.
And it is metal detectorists, for so long cast as the desecrators of archaeology, who are becoming an increasingly important way of exploring, highlighting and even preserving Britain’s rich archaeological heritage. There is still some way to go – the PAS continues to work with police to monitor the illegal use of metal detectors and the sale of items on internet auction sites – but as museums enjoy a ten-fold increase in the number of treasure items they are offered, there are grounds for optimism.
As Culture Minister Barbara Follett said: "The treasures of the past that are found in the fields, farms and fells across the United Kingdom are vital pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of our history. They help us to understand the origins and development of our culture and identity."
Amateur treasure hunters, thanks in main to the work of the PAS, are increasingly key to this understanding.
Find out more about the Portable Antiquities Scheme at www.finds.org.uk
