Friday 26th August 2005
Another update from Caroline today:
Hi Co,
I have now had a response from Leslie Webster at the BM who has been away. She is deferring judgment until she sees the widget, but has passed details over to another expert at Nottingham University, so there are lots of people on the case now!
hope all is well with you,
regards
Caroline McDonald
Finds Liaison Officer, Essex
A fragment of gold runic inscription
The farmer has mentioned the possibility of the land where the find was made being scheduled – this is obviously a concern to farmers where small finds are made as they have a business to run and land to plough and farm.
I have emailed him to tell him I do not think that one small find will mean that this particular field would be scheduled but have also asked Caroline the FLO if she is able to put his mind at rest. She emailed him too – this is part of her email to him:
“Corinne Mills find is very exciting and interesting, but please let me reassure you that such a small find, even of gold, will not lead to your land being scheduled. Scheduled Ancient Monuments are exactly that – monuments, and stray finds alone will not lead to this sort of action. Scheduling is an extreme reaction in exceptional circumstances and very little has been scheduled in the past 10 years.
It is also unlikely that any archaeological investigation will take place, and should anyone express an interest in this (again this is unlikely), nothing can happen on your land without your permission and you are well within your rights to say no.
Miss Mills has acted very responsibly in reporting the find, as there is a legal requirement for her to do so within 14 days of discovery. I am very impressed with Miss Mill’s quick reaction to the find and how she is tracking the process on the website so that other finders can be made aware of their legal responsibility.
Let me reassure you once again that this find is unlikely to cause you any bother and encourage you to take heart that you have such a responsible person detecting on your land.
If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me. You will of course be updated by letter at each significant stage of the process
The Scheme engaged OAD to write the XML Schema for the transfer of data from our database into regional Historic Environment Records. Documentation can be found here:
http://heritage-standards.org/midas/docs/object/
And an example can be found here:
http://heritage-standards.org/midas/examples/object_example.xml
This is still in the drafting process and will be formalised soon…..
The Moorlands Patera or Trulla
The Staffordshire Moorland’s pan has finally made it into Compass. There is a new description provided by my eminent colleague Dr Ralph Jackson, and some nice images, there’s also a nice zooming image that I created here PATERA ZOOM.
Guardian Unlimited Books | By genre | Review: Gold & Gilt, Pots & Pins by David A Hinton
Gold & Gilt, Pots & Pins: Possessions and People in Medieval Britain – The review of this book highlights the fact that some people in the Heritage profession, do not comprehend the nature of the Scheme.
Jane Morris states -
[...]while Hinton remains ambivalent about the Portable Antiquities Scheme – the fund that now pays detectorists for finds to stop Wanborough-type incidents[...]
Now I think that she’s slightly confused by the Treasure Act and the functions of the Scheme….
This book actually contains a high number of images provided by the Scheme!
Telegraph | News | ‘Henry VIII hunting whistle’ unearthed
A silver huntsman’s whistle, which may have belonged to Henry VIII (according to the finder), has been unearthed during a metal detectors’ club gathering.
The record will eventually appear under – IOW-954403 and as Treasure item 2005 T96
A fragment of gold runic inscription
Friday 19th August
Another email from Caroline to tell me “Your treasure case now has a number!!”
2005 T298
Now THAT does make it very official 
Tuesday 16th August
A fragment of gold runic inscription
Arrive outside the museum at 9am only to find it doesnt open till 10am ……… so I head off to the shops instead for an hour. I’m back at 10am and ask if I can see Caroline McDonald and the answer is yes – she will be with me in 5 minutes. Wey Hey!
Caroline arrives in the museum – she has been up very early this morning as she has been on local radio for a session about metal detecting and has only just got back. She hasn’t even had a chance to read her emails – so doesn’t know I have a Treasure item to give to her.
Was she surprised? Yes!
Was she pleased? Yes!
Was she excited? Yes!
We go to Carolines office (after signing in, getting a chocolate from reception and traipsing up 4 flights of stairs). Here we sit down and complete the Treasure Act 1996 form – this is a receipt for objects of potential treasure reported to the coroner. I need to give my name, address, phone number,details of the owner of the land I was detecting on, the date it was found, the circumstances of the find (found in ploughsoil whilst using a metal detector), the location of the findspot. Caroline then completed a brief description of the find as follows:
Gold fragment with runic inscription
Length: 8.18mm
Width: 8.22mm
Thickness: 5.06mm
Weight: 3.10g
I then signed the form and officially handed over the wee find I’d found just 36 hours ago. T’was Easy Peasy.
Caroline explained that the Treasure Process can take some time to complete – in some cases up to a year but that I will be kept informed every step of the process.
I was then lucky enough to be introduced to the museum conservator, Emma, who was busy working on some crotal bells found by detectorists on a development dig. She allowed me to view my find under her powerful microscope – have to say it made it look even better! And it also showed all the dirt which is still in place.
It was back to work after that, but by 3pm I received an email from Caroline advising that she had faxed the Coroners Office and that she had received confirmation that they had received the paperwork – and that I was now officially “In the system”.
Now I have to be patient and wait and see……………..
A fragment of gold runic inscription
One of the forum members from Croatia posted the comment “Surely those are runes on the sides?” , Another poster said “the runic symbols on there seem to say that it was a gift to Odin and Tyr for a safe journey”………
There were suggestions it could be Viking Hack Gold, a part pommel cap, a votive offering to the Gods, a talismanic piece, amulet or charm, part of a finger ring, part of a Bridle. The academics on the Portable Antiquities Forum were also very complimentary about the find offering suggestions of what it could be – now this was getting to be exciting to say the least.
After a phone call to my local museum, I find that my Finds Liaison Officer isn’t in today. I decide to take half a days holiday tomorrow morning and hope that she is “in the office” and not out and about.
I need to hand this in to her as soon as possible because I am away from this weekend. The possibility of the find being Treasure means that I have to get it reported within 14 days..
There appears to be a great deal of interest in this little find – and I still have no idea what it is.
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