CBA conference, last chance to book

The booking deadline for the Archaeology and Education 2008 conference is approaching fast! So to get your place you need to book before Friday by going to www.britarch.ac.uk/shop/ or by sending the attached booking form back to us here at the CBA.

The Archaeology and Education conference for 2008 will take place on 5th September to 7th September (registration and accommodation will be available from the afternoon of the 4th September).

The 2008 conference will include plenary sessions on National Initiatives, International education projects, and Local projects from around the UK.

The second day will be dedicated to Workshops split into the following four themes:

  1. Working with children and young people;
  2. Working with the public;
  3. Formal education workshops;
  4. Other initiatives (PAS, YAC, EH etc.).

The final day will include a visit to archaeology and education centres within York and a plenary session of short papers sharing innovative practice and experience in archaeology and education.

Further details about the conference and are available from the conference website: www.britarch.ac.uk/conference08/ and a downloadable flyer is available from the site.

If you have any questions about the conference please email the conference organising committee on educationconference@britarch.ac.uk

National Archaeology Week is coming

CBA logoTomorrow sees the start of National Archaeology Week (intriguingly it runs for 9 days – 12th July – 20th August) and there is a wide and very varied series of events around the country that anyone can join in with. The Portable Antiquities Scheme is going to be at a huge variety of these, so if you see someone in one of our T-shirts, please come and say hello. If you are on Facebook, then perhaps consider joining their group.

Examples of activities include:

The Old Oswestry Hillfort Festival 2008
Sat 19 July 11.00-16.00
The Recreation Ground, Llwyn Road, Oswestry (next to Old Oswestry hillfort ~ follow signs for hillfort from A5 ~ parking at Gatacre Sports Ground a 5 minute walk from the venue) A celebration of Old Oswestry hillfort and its place in the community with hands-on activities, demonstrations, information and fun for all the family. Old Oswestry is probably the finest hillfort in the Welsh Marches and has recently been provided with both improved physical access and enhanced public information. This festival will take place on the Recreation Ground right next to the hillfort and will include activities for all ages e.g. clay-working, wattle-and-daubing and a chance to sample some recipes from the past. There will be demonstrations of lost skills, Portable Antiquities Scheme Archaeological Finds Identification and guided walks around the hillfort as well as a display telling the story of the site and presenting current and future plans. FREE EVENT!
Contact: Shelagh Lewis, Old Oswestry Local Archaeology Group, .
T: 01743 271706
E: shelagh228@MSN.com

Peter Reavill, our FLO for Herefordshire and Shropshire will be there and he says:

“I will be running one of the standard archaeological identification sessions so people can bring anything with Mud on It to me for ID / recording. The Wrexham Heritage Society will be there with a metal detecting display of finds and also talking about what they do. The guided walks of the hillfort should be fab as this sort of thing hasn’t happened for free before. More information about the hillfort see http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/history/2003/12/old_oswestry.shtml or
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.00100100101300800200c

Archaeology units are also getting in on the act, for example a young consultancy in the East End of London, LP Archaeology are running an event around their Prescot Street dig. If you haven’t seen their excellent website, then it is definitely one of the best excavation sites I have seen. They have flickr feeds, video, blogs and local stories to vividly retell the tale of the area. Well done. They will be having a series of talks that you need to book into, make sure you do!

The Scheme is provisionally involved in the following events. Call the named person (details found under www.finds.org.uk/involved/contacts.php) to make sure the event is still going ahead. Some events are under threat of being cancelled due to local factors.

Day FLO Event Location Times
12-Jul-08 Anna Tyacke (Cornwall) Finds Day & Display of Finds. Also Tour of Archaeological Site Boden, Manaccan, Lizard, Cornwall 11:00 onwards
12-Jul-08 Frances McIntosh (Cheshire, Gt Manchester & Merseyside) Finds Day & Object Handling Warrington Museum, ? no details
12-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) YAC (not public event) Lancaster City Museum, Lancashire 10:00-13:00
12-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day & Object Handling Lancaster City Museum, Lancashire 14:00-17:00
12-Jul-08 Anja Rohde (Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire) Finds Day & Object Handling Chesterfield Museum, St Mary’s Gate, Chesterfield, Derbyshire 10:00-14:00
12-Jul-08 Wendy Scott (Leicestershire & Rutland) Finds Day, Roman coin Display, Children’s Activities Jewry Wall Museums, Leicester, Leicestershire 11:00-16:00
12-Jul-08 Naomi Payne (Somerset) Finds Day Wells Museum, Somerset 11:00-15:00
12-Jul-08 Katie Hinds (Wiltshire) Finds Day Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire 10:00-16:00
12-Jul-08 Kurt Adams (Gloucestershire & Avon) Finds Day Kings Weston Roman Villa, near Bristol 10:30-16:00
12-Jul-08 David Williams (Surrey) Finds Day Guildford Museum, Surrey 11:00-13:00
12-Jul-08 Frank Basford Finds Day Newport Roman Villa, Isle of Wight 10:30-15:30
12-Jul-08 Ciorstaidh Hayward Trevarthen (Dorset) Finds Day Priest’s House Museum and Garden, Wimborne Minster, Dorset 10:00-16:00
12-Jul-08 Julian Watters (Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire) Finds Day Luton Museum, Luton no details
12-Jul-08 Lisa Staves (North Lincolnshire) Family Activities North Lincolnshire Museum, Scunthorpe 11:00-15:00
12-Jul-08 Laura Burnett (Sussex) Finds Day Old Town Hall Museum, Hastings, East Sussex 11:00-15:00
12-Jul-08 Liz Andrews-Wilson (N&E Yorkhire) Finds Day & Object Handling Yorkshire Museum, York 11:00-16:00
12-Jul-08 Kate Sutton (London) Finds Day Kingston Museum, London no details
12-Jul-08 Rachel Atherton (Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire) Finds Day, Object Handling & Children’s Activities Derby Museum & Art Gallery, Derbyshire 11:00-16:00
12-Jul-08 Mark Lodwick (Wales) Family Activities National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon 11:00-16:00
12-Jul-08 Mark Lodwick (Wales) Family Activities National History Museum, St Fagans, Vale of Glamorgan no details
13-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day & Talk (PAS) – part of CBA North West event Ravenglass, Cumbria no details
13-Jul-08 Katie Hinds (Wiltshire) Finds Day Lydiard Park, Swindon 13:00-16:00
13-Jul-08 Kurt Adams (Gloucestershire & Avon) Finds Day Grove Park, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset no details
13-Jul-08 Laura Burnett (Sussex) Finds Day East Grinstead Museum, West Sussex 14:00-17:00
13-Jul-08 Rob Webley (Hampshire) Finds Day Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth, Hampshire 10:00-16:30
13-Jul-08 Mark Lodwick (Wales) Family Activities National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon 11:00-16:00
13-Jul-08 Mark Lodwick (Wales) Family Activities National History Museum, St Fagans, Vale of Glamorgan no details
14-Jul-08 Amy Cooper (S&W Yorkshire) Finds Day Doncaster Museum, South Yorkshire 14:00-16:00
14-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Object Handling for Schools (not public event) Senhouse Roman Museum, Maryport, Cumbria no details
14-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day & Object Handling Senhouse Roman Museum, Maryport, Cumbria 13:00-17:00
15-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Object Handling for Schools (not public event) Beacon, Whitehaven, Cumbria 10:00-12:00
15-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day Beacon, Whitehaven, Cumbria 13:00-16:00
15-Jul-08 Laura Burnett (Sussex) Finds Day, Object Handling & Family Activities Marlipins Museum, Shorham, West Sussex 11:00-14:00
15-Jul-08 Rob Webley (Hampshire) Finds Day Basing House, Basingstoke, Hampshire no details
16-Jul-08 Amy Cooper (S&W Yorkshire) Finds Day Clifton Park Museum, Rotherham, South Yorkshire 14:00-16:00
16-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Object Handling for Schools (not public event) Penrith Museum, Cumbria no details
16-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day & Object Handling Penrith Museum, Cumbria 13:00-17:00
17-Jul-08 Laura Burnett (Sussex) Finds Day, Object Handling & Family Activities Crawley Museum, Goffs Park House, West Sussex 14:00-17:00
17-Jul-08 Ros Tyrrell (Buckinghamshire) Talk (PAS) Wycombe Museum, Berkshire 12:30
17-Jul-08 Naomi Payne (Somerset) Talk (PAS) Langport Library, Somerset 14:30
17-Jul-08 Liz Andrews-Wilson (N&E Yorkhire) with YAT Finds Day Barley Hall, 2 Coffee Yard, off Stonegate, York 11:00-11.45 & 13.15-14:00
17-Jul-08 Liz Andrews-Wilson (N&E Yorkhire) with YAT Talk (PAS) – pre-book Barley Hall, 2 Coffee Yard, off Stonegate, York 12:00-13:00
17-Jul-08 Mark Lodwick (Wales) Family Activities National History Museum, St Fagans, Vale of Glamorgan no details
18-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day Kendal Museum, Cumbria 13:00-16:00
18-Jul-08 Rob Webley (Hampshire) Finds Day Andover Museum, Hampshire 11:00-16:00
18-Jul-08 Mark Lodwick (Wales) Talk (PAS) National History Museum, St Fagans, Vale of Glamorgan no details
19-Jul-08 Anna Tyacke (Cornwall) Egyptian Extravaganza (Family Activities) Royal Cornwall Museum, River Street, Truro, Cornwall 10:00-16:30
19-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day, Object Handling & Family/Children’s Activities Lancaster City Museum, Lancashire 11:00-13:00 & 14:00-17:00
19-Jul-08 Laura Burnett (Sussex) Finds Day Chichester Museum, West Sussex 10:30-13:30
19-Jul-08 Anja Rohde (Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire) Finds Day & Object Handling Milgate Museum, 48 Milgate, Newark, Nottinghamshire 10:30-12:30
19-Jul-08 Anja Rohde (Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire) YAC (not public event) Milgate Museum, 48 Milgate, Newark, Nottinghamshire no details
19-Jul-08 Frances McIntosh (Cheshire, Gt Manchester & Merseyside) Finds Day & Object Handling Manchester Museum no details
19-Jul-08 Steve Ashby (Northamptonshire) Object Handling English Heritage Festival of History, Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire 09:30-18:00
19-Jul-08 Ros Tyrrell (Buckinghamshire) Finds Day Buckinghamshire County Museum, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire no details
19-Jul-08 Kurt Adams (Gloucestershire & Avon) Finds Day Bristol City Museum 10:30-16:00
19-Jul-08 Rob Webley (Hampshire) & Ciorstaidh Hayward Trevarthen (Dorset) Finds Day Red House Museum, Christchurch, Dorset 10:00-12:00 & 13:00-15:00
19-Jul-08 Liz Andrews-Wilson (N&E Yorkhire) with YAT Finds Day & Displays DIG, St Saviourgate, York 11:00-15:00
19-Jul-08 Kate Sutton (London) Object Handling Museum of London no details
19-Jul-08 Peter Reavill (Herefordshire & Shropshire) Finds Day Old Oswestry Hillfort (Llwyn Recreation Ground), Oswestry, Shropshire 11:00-16:00
19-Jul-08 Mark Lodwick (Wales) Talk (PAS) National Museum, Cardiff no details
19-Jul-08 Rob Collins (North East) Finds Day & Display Binchester Roman Fort, Co. Durham 10:00-17:00
19-Jul-08 David Williams (Surrey) Finds Identification and other activities Surrey History Centre, Working, Surrey 10:00-16:00
20-Jul-08 Steve Ashby (Northamptonshire) Object Handling English Heritage Festival of History, Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire 09:30-18:00
20-Jul-08 Lizzie Gill (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough) Finds Day & Family Activities Wandlebury Iron Age Fort and Country Park, Cambridgeshire 11:00-16:00
20-Jul-08 Katie Hinds (Wiltshire) Finds Day & Mystery Object Competition Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes, Wilshire 11:00-16:00
20-Jul-08 Kurt Adams (Gloucestershire & Avon) Finds Day Warmley Gardens, South Gloucestershire 10:30-16:00
20-Jul-08 Kate Sutton (London) Object Handling Museum of London no details
28-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day & Family Activities Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria 13:00-16:00
29-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day & Object Handling Dock Museum, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria 10:30-12:30 & 13:30-16:30
30-Jul-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Finds Day & Object Handling The Guildhall, Carlisle, Cumbria 13:00-16:00
01-Aug-08 Dot Bruns (Lancashire & Cumbria) Object Handling Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria 13:00-16:00

So if you’re interested in Archaeology, then please do support this excellent week and the work of all involved.

Archaeology and Education conference [CBA]

In these cash strapped times for PAS, we won’t be running a conference this year. However, there is one that might be of interest.

Conference Announcement:

The Council for British Archaeology is pleased to announce the Archaeology and Education conference for 2008 will take place on 5th September to 7th September (registration and accommodation will be available from the afternoon of the 4th September).

The 2008 conference will include plenary sessions on National Initiatives, International education projects, and Local projects from around the UK.

The second day will be dedicated to Workshops split into the following four themes:

  1. Working with children and young people;
  2. Working with the public;
  3. Formal education workshops;
  4. Other initiatives (PAS, YAC, EH etc.)

The final day will include a visit to archaeology and education centres within York and a plenary session of short papers sharing innovative practice and experience in archaeology and education.

Details of the conference and booking your place are available from the conference website: www.britarch.ac.uk/conference08/ and a downloadable flyer is available from the site.

If you have any questions about the conference please email the conference organising committee on educationconference@britarch.ac.uk

We look forward to seeing you here in York in September,

Andy Holland,

Education Project Officer (11 – 18),

Council for British Archaeology.

Portable Antiquities Scheme in the British Museum review 2007/2008

On July 1st 2008, the British Museum Review for 2007 – 2008 was released. The Scheme features prominently on pages 46 – 47 with details of the two gold aurei of Carausius found in Derbyshire, a Pilgrim’s badge depicting Saint Thomas Becket (or classical name St. Thomas a Becket) from Lincolnshire, the figurine of Cautopates from Yorkshire and information about the splendid Viking hoard now called the Vale of York hoard. I’ve included the photos of these discoveries below and links to the records if they have been published.

The figurine of Cautopates

SWYOR-9FCBB3

Vale of York Hoard

The Vale of York Hoard

Aureus of Carausis, Rouen

One of the two coins of Carausius.

Pilgrim badge of St Thomas a Becket

The badge of St Thomas Becket – LIN-D80A35

The Review covers a wide range of Museum activities; from Children’s events, artefact loans (domestic and overseas), latest acquisitions, press coverage, blockbuster exhibitions etc. [It also talks about the new British Museum website (I helped extensively with this) that was launched in May 2007 after a year of concerted behind the scenes efforts.]

So if you’re interested in the Museum’s activities, download a copy from the link above.

Most important Viking Treasure in 150 years found by metal detectorists in North Yorkshire

Today the following announcement was made at the British Museum, regarding a fantastic discovery made by 2 metal detectorists. It was the first Treasure case that local finds liaison officer Amy Cooper was presented with, from now on, what will beat the experience of this one? This is another story highlighting best practise by finders and is very topical as this is National Archaeology Week. Most pertinent in this case, is the fact that it has only been declared Treasure today and has to undergo valuation and the entire Treasure process associated with it. It is not on display to the public at present.

This is the third story to make the front page of 24 Hour Museum in the last week, and we have seen a 4000% increase in visitors from their site in that period compared to the usual average referrals. Photos can be viewed under our flickr profile.

An X ray detail from the hoard’s containing vessel

The official press release is below and the objects will be recorded within the Scheme’s database after the Treasure process is completed.

A major Viking hoard was discovered in the Harrogate area in January 2007 by metal-detectorists David and Andrew Whelan. The size and quality of the hoard is remarkable, making it the most important find of its type in Britain for over 150 years. The father and son detecting team promptly reported the hoard to their local Finds Liaison Officer, and displayed exemplary behaviour in not unpacking all the objects from the bowl, but keeping the find intact. As a possible Treasure find, it was then transferred to the British Museum where conservators have carefully excavated each find to avoid damaging the individual objects or losing important contextual information.

The excavated vessel contents
The conservation work has revealed that like other Viking hoards of the period, it contains a mixture of different precious metal objects, including coins, complete ornaments, ingots (bars) and chopped-up fragments known as hack-silver. The hoard also shows the diversity of cultural contacts in the medieval world, with objects coming from as far apart as Afghanistan in the East and Ireland in the West, as well as Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.

The vessel xray

The most spectacular single object is a gilt silver vessel, made in what is now France in the first half of the ninth century. It was apparently intended for use in church services, and was probably either looted from a monastery by Vikings, or given to them in tribute. Most of the smaller objects were hidden inside this vessel, which was itself protected by some form of lead container. As a result, the hoard was extremely well-preserved. Other star objects include a rare gold arm-ring, and over 600 coins, including several new or rare types. These provide valuable new information about the history of England in the early tenth century, as well as Yorkshire’s wider cultural contacts in the period. Interestingly, the hoard contains coins relating to Islam and to the pre-Christian religion of the Vikings, as well as to Christianity.

The hoard was probably buried for safety by a wealthy Viking leader during the unrest that followed the conquest of the Viking kingdom of Northumbria in AD 927 by the Anglo-Saxon king Athelstan (924-39).

The hoard vessel partly unpacked, halfway through conservation

The Harrogate hoard was declared to be Treasure under the terms of the Treasure Act (1996) by Mr Fell, HM Coroner for North Yorkshire, on 19th July 2007. The find is of global importance, as well as having huge significance for the history of North Yorkshire. York Museum Trust, Harrogate Borough Council’s Museums & Arts Service and the British Museum are committed to working together to acquire, interpret and exhibit the hoard, and to making it accessible to the widest possible public, both in the region and elsewhere.

The next stage of the Treasure process is for the hoard to be valued for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport by the independent Treasure Valuation Committee. In the meantime the museums will continue to develop more detailed plans to raise money for the acquisition, and to exhibit the hoard once it is acquired.

Margaret Hodge, Culture Minister said:

Finds such as this are invaluable in teaching us about our history. This remarkable discovery highlights the contribution both the Treasure Act and the Portable Antiquities Scheme continue to make towards our knowledge of the past. I commend David and Andrew Whelan for their prompt and responsible reporting of this hugely significant find, which will enrich our understanding of the Vikings.

Mr Fell, Coroner, commented:

Treasure cases are always interesting, but this is one of the most exciting cases that I have ever had to rule on. I’m delighted that such an important Viking hoard has been discovered in North Yorkshire. We are extremely proud of our Viking heritage in this area.

Mary Kershaw, Director of Collections at York, said:

York’s new partnership with the British Museum has focused on sharing collections for display, such as the Warren Cup and Roman collections for the Constantine exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum. It would be wonderful to work together on the joint purchase of such a stunning and important group of material.

Gina Lane Director of Operations, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council said:

Thanks to the continuing responsible behaviour of metal detectorists, another fantastic find has been made available for everyone to enjoy, either online or in museums. This is also thanks to successful partnership working between the local museum services and the British Museum.

For further information or images please contact Hannah Boulton at the British Museum on 020 7323 8522 or hboulton@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

  1. The hoard contains a total of 617 silver coins and 65 other objects, as well as a gold-arm-ring and the gilt silver vessel. Several fragments of lead found with the hoard appear to come from some sort of container.
  2. The largest Viking hoard in western Europe was found at Cuerdale in Lancashire in 1840. Objects from the Cuerdale hoard are now on display in several museums around the UK, with the largest group housed in the British Museum. The Harrogate hoard is the largest Viking and most important hoard from Britain since the Cuerdale.
  3. A Viking army conquered the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in AD 869. The area remained under Viking control until it was conquered by Athelstan in 927. The area had another brief period of independence following Athelstan’s death in 939, which lasted until the death of the Viking ruler Eric Bloodaxe in 954.
  4. Vikings made a lasting impact in Britain, including place-names, sculpture and influence on the English language, as well as archaeological remains. Yorkshire is one of the areas which shows the strongest Viking influence. For more information see the BM’s Viking pages
  5. British Museum and the York Museums Trust work closely together as under the banner of Partnership UK, the strategic framework for the British Museum’s programme of engagement with audiences throughout the country.
  6. All finders of gold and silver objects, and groups of coins from the same finds, over 300 years old, have a legal obligation to report such items under the Treasure Act 1996. Prehistoric base-metal assemblages found after 1st January 2003 also qualify as Treasure. Treasure finds must be reported by law to the local coroner, which is normally done through the finders local PAS Finds Liaison Officer. More information is available on www.culture.gov.uk or www.finds.org.uk
  7. The Portable Antiquities Scheme has a national network of 36 Finds Liaison Officers who record all archaeological finds made by members of the public and assist with the reporting of potential Treasure finds, as required by the Treasure Act. The Scheme is run by the BM on behalf of MLA. The online database, www.finds.org.uk, contains details over 280,000 objects

Portable Antiquities request for rally help!

The Portable Antiquities Scheme for the North and East Yorkshire Region is recruiting volunteers to assist with finds recording and identification at two metal-detecting rally weekends. Please contact rallies@ymt.org.uk if you are interested in learning more about metal-detecting and archaeology, or if you would like (or if you have!) object-handling/recording experience. We welcome you if you can offer a day or a whole weekend; post-rally assistance is also appreciated!

The rallies are taking place in North Yorkshire. Transportation to and from the sites will be provided if required.

Snape: 25th, 26th, 27th of August 2007
Ripon: 14th, 15th, 16th of September 2007

If you have any questions, or if you would like to volunteer, please contact:

rallies@ymt.org.uk

Yorkshire Museum
Museum Gardens
York, YO1 7FR
Tel: 01904 687 668

Possible research topics

The Scheme’s Finds Advisers have been discussing research topics amongst themselves and this is what they have come up with. If you want to perhaps take on these topics then you should contact them for a chat. This list is probably not complete but makes use of the database that has been running since 1997. Perhaps the Conference in April is the best time to get along and find out more about research potential?

Bronze Age – contact Sally Worrell

• The landscape contexts of Bronze Age hoards would help to shed light on hoarding behaviour, in the same way that Natasha Hutcheson (University of East Anglia) has established for Iron Age hoards in Norfolk. Richard Bradley (University of Reading) is planning a study looking at south-eastern England.
• Links between flint objects and early metal objects could profitably be explored using metal skeuomorphs of flint objects. There are several arrowheads with noticeably ‘lithic’ tendencies on the PAS database, and daggers could be brought into the argument too.
• Regional patterning in the use and deposition of Bronze Age dress accessories could be looked at using both PAS and excavated data. Dress accessories are relatively rare, but using both sources should provide enough information.
• More widely drawn regional studies (looking at weapons, dress accessories, tools, etc) could profitably be carried out for many under-studied regions of Bronze Age England. David Barrowclough (University of Cambridge) has recently completed a PhD on the regional character of Lancashire and Cheshire, using PAS data and museum collections; this type of study could be carried out in many other parts of the country.
• A remarkable resource of drawings (every BA metal artefact; these occur on 2,225 sites) exists in Norfolk, but as yet no research project has been formulated to use it. For comparison, the Bronze Age metal items on the PAS database (as of end January 2007) number roughly 1,600.

Roman – contact Sally Worrell for artefacts and Sam Moorhead for coinage

• There is still no generally accepted typology of Roman brooches. Computer analysis of the 8,600 brooches on the PAS database (as of end January 2007) should be able to suggest some broad principles.
• It may be that different classifications are appropriate for different areas within Britain. Do regional brooch distributions correspond to Iron Age tribal boundaries?
• In a more general sense, although Iron Age and early-medieval studies are strongly regionalised, Roman Britain tends to be seen as a continuum. Is this a real picture, or could we find evidence of regional variation to link the Iron Age to the early Anglo-Saxon period? Artefacts to do with personal adornment might be expected to show regional variation, and these might include bracelets, finger rings, nail cleaners, cosmetic sets and mirrors as well as brooches. Undergraduate dissertations could choose a single artefact type and compare the dataset in two counties.
• The establishment of ‘normal’ British brooch loss patterns, along the lines of Reece for coins, could follow on from the construction of a typology, and new and old assemblages could be compared to produce ‘brooch signatures’ for different types of site.
• Roman military equipment is well understood from the first century AD, but 2nd- and 3rd-century material could be used to improve our knowledge of military activity at that time.

Early Anglo-Saxon – Contact Helen Geake and Kevin Leahy

• Andrew Richardson (Kent FLO) has discovered that brooch types differ between excavated and metal-detected assemblages. He has suggested that this is because the excavated evidence comes from graves – the costume of the dead – and that PAS data includes a substantial element of casual loss from the costume of the living. Andrew Richardson and Laura McLean (Kent FLA) are comparing brooch type proportions from cemeteries and from PAS records in selected southern counties of England, but there is scope at undergraduate or master’s level to look at eastern midland counties too. To establish differences between funerary and living costume would revolutionise early Anglo-Saxon studies, which are traditionally heavily costume-based.
• Following on from this, if a costume of the living, distinct from that of the dead, can be established, there would be scope for county or regional studies of that costume.
• Continental links in 6th-century England are becoming more obvious from the evidence of dress accessories (e.g. radiate-headed brooches). It seems that more of these are being recorded on the PAS database than one might expect from grave evidence. An undergraduate dissertation might test this hypothesis; another might collect up all radiate-headed brooches on the database and compare with Koch 1998; a PhD might look at questions of Continental influence of costumes of the living and of the dead.
• Small-long brooches are crying out for a rigorous computer-based classification. The labour involved in this task has historically put off researchers, but now that there are 450 examples held together on the PAS database the job is becoming easier. Constructing a chronological framework for a new typology would, however, need to use the closed contexts of data excavated from graves. Much shorter projects, suitable for undergraduate dissertations, might include comparing the small-longs of different counties to try to pick up some regional variations.
• The role of the horse in early Anglo-Saxon England. A comparison of literary sources, grave data and PAS data could establish how far down the social scale horses were used. In addition, the social role of the horse could be explored by looking at the very similar objects which adorned both horses and women in early Anglo-Saxon England. The relationship between humans and animals in the early-medieval period has received a good deal of study recently (e.g. Aleks Pluskowski at the University of Cambridge and Neil Price at the University of Uppsala) and so the theoretical underpinnings of the subject are firmly in place.
• A small topic which would explore some aspects of the above would be the collection and analysis of sixth-century ‘bell-shaped’ pendants. There are 4 on the database and about a dozen known from elsewhere. There is no consistency about where they are found in graves, and it is suspected that they may be re-used horse-harness fittings. One is unfinished. They bear some resemblance to the foot-pendants of florid cruciform brooches and so might provide another link between horses and women.
• ‘Pressblech’ dies are beginning to be found in unexpectedly high numbers. A study of these might look at metalworking technology in early Anglo-Saxon England, or could compare the dies that have been found to the foils that they were used to make. Should we expect to find far more dies? Have we a random sample, or is there patterning to the die finds? Kevin Leahy (PAS Finds Adviser) is currently studying these to establish their research potential.
• The relationship between England and Scandinavia in the 7th and 8th centuries. Some objects hitherto thought of as characteristically Scandinavian are now turning up in England. We know of links in the 6th century, and from the end of the 8th century onwards; can these be joined up? Did the geographical focus of contact, both in England and in Scandinavia, stay the same? There are hints that the 6th century link between eastern England and south-western Norway is replaced by contacts with Russia and the eastern Baltic in the 7th.
• Pagan iconography on artefacts – human and animal art on pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon artefacts. How do these objects relate to Scandinavian finds, and do they become more prevalent as a backlash to the arrival of Christianity?
• Comparing Roman and early Anglo-Saxon landscapes; the distribution of 5th-century artefacts against landscape features (following the work of Jude Plouviez at Suffolk County Council and Mary Chester-Kadwell at the University of Cambridge)

Middle Anglo-Saxon – Contacts as above

• Continental links in 8th- and 9th-century England – the evidence of dress accessories (e.g. ansate brooches) and horse furniture. Until now most of these pieces have been seen as antiques imported as part of Viking activity – but there is now such a lot of 8th- and 9th-century Continental material that this explanation is looking untenable. What were the links at a popular level, at the time of Charlemagne and Alcuin?

Late Anglo-Saxon/Viking – Contacts as above

• Comparison of late Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian art styles within and outside the Danelaw. Is the administrative boundary reflected in these distributions? A larger international study could profitably compare Danish finds to establish just how Scandinavian the Danelaw was – or how English. Relating this to lingustics, for example the study of place-names, would add depth.
• Work needs doing on the types of object that are found decorated with the different Scandinavian art styles (as Karen Høilund Nielsen has done in the early Anglo-Saxon period, for objects decorated with Salin’s Style I and Style II). The late 9th- and 10th-century Borre style seems most common on simple strap-ends and brooches; the tenth-century Jellinge and Mammen styles are high-status and uncommon in England; and the eleventh-century Ringerike and Urnes styles are by far the most common – but the political and social factors underlying this could profitably be explored. There seems to be a greater variety of objects decorated in Urnes style, but we don’t know why. Some of the art styles are near-contemporary – do they have different meanings, or markets?

Norman – contacts as above

• Explaining (or filling) the 12th-century gap. There is relatively little on the PAS database that can be dated to the 12th century. Is the material in existence, but we can’t recognise it? If so, this would imply a strange lack of innovation, just at the time that we should be seeing a great deal of innovation, with the Norman Conquest ushering in a time of change. Or on the other hand, is there a real lack of production? In order to provide some chronological security, this kind of study needs to be an art-historical/archaeological collaboration.

High-medieval – contact Geoff Egan

• The PAS database holds nearly 1700 medieval seal matrices and adds about 400 new ones each year. By comparison, the largest list of seal matrices known before the Portable Antiquities Scheme began – Tonnochy’s catalogue of the British Museum collection which was published in 1952 – contains just 408 medieval examples. The PAS seal matrices are not only more numerous, but also different to the kind of seal matrices that have survived in museum collections or on manuscripts. Tonnochy’s catalogue includes 181 personal non-heraldic seal matrices; the vast majority of the PAS’s are in this category, and in fact are pretty low-status examples. They could provide a fantastic resource for the study of popular literacy in the later medieval period.
• A surprisingly large number of the PAS seal matrices bear women’s names and could be used to study questions of female literacy and female economic power.
• An art-historical study of the motifs used on seal matrices – stereotypical, individual, astrological, obscene, humorous, religious – has the potential to shed much light on popular thought.
• The unsophisticated religious artefacts from rural parish churches have often been thought of as typical casualties of the Reformation. Metal-detector finds of these are uncommon, but show the range that once existed. Candlesticks, censer-covers and processional crosses can be used to study the history of popular religion in the medieval period.
• One of the strengths of the PAS database is that, although it cannot yield the dating evidence that excavated finds do, it can provide a rural counterpart to the range of material found in major urban centres such as London, York, Winchester and Norwich. Geoff Egan (PAS Finds Adviser) has drawn attention to the theoretical differences that may arise in casual loss, suggesting that losses in densely populated areas where streets were constantly walked by the poor are likely to have been recovered far more often than losses in the countryside. He has detected an urban/rural pattern among the pilgrim badges – with many more silver examples found in rural areas – which may be closer to the ‘real’ pattern, and this may also hold true for other artefact types which occur in a variety of materials.

Early post-medieval – Contact Geoff Egan

• 17th-century trade tokens are very restricted in their distribution. Few FLOs ever see a token made outside their county or an immediate neighbour. 18th-century trade tokens, though, appear to have spread much more widely. A study confirming this hypothesis – perhaps in conjunction with the historical sources for 17th-century trade token production – would make a good undergraduate dissertation.
• 17th-century coinage is extremely complicated and interesting. In 1663 the milled coinage begins, but hammered coinage continues to circulate. The great recoinage of 1696 ends a period of amazingly eclectic coin use, with hammered coins, milled coins, trade tokens and foreign coins all circulating together. Silver bullion values were high, and comparatively little silver was minted, leading to clipping of silver coins. Can we establish the make-up of the average circulating handful of coinage between 1663 and 1696? To what extent was the political turmoil of the 17th century reflected in the coinage – or did the chaos of the currency contribute to it?
• Ancient Greek coins found in England are being found in surprisingly high numbers. Andy Meadows (British Museum) keeps a file on them, which could be augmented by PAS data. It used to be thought that they were all post-Renaissance collectors’ losses – but could some or all of them be real imports to Iron Age Britain?

Modern – Contact Geoff Egan

• Much research for later periods is at least para-numismatic, if not numismatic, because it requires substantial information to be encoded on the object itself. Topics include Russian flax seals and 18th-century trade tokens.

Treasure item on display in York

I meant to write this up on Friday, but I’ve been searching for a decent image – to no avail. I’ll use the one from this year’s Treasure report (forthcoming) to show this Viking Arm ring which has an interesting story behind it’s acquisition.

Viking arm ring

The 24 Hour Museum have featured a story  about this piece of Viking gold, which was brought into our offices about 2 years ago by David Evans, FLO for Yorkshire. It had been found under the bed of a local builder who had recently passed away. Andrew Morrison the curator of archaeology at York Museum said:

This is only the second arm ring of this type to be found in England and for us to have it is exceptional,” said Andrew Morrison, curator of archaeology at the museum. “It is a stunningly nice piece and not only is it gold and Viking but incredibly rare as well. We are delighted that we are able to keep it here in York where it was found.”

The entry that will be produced in this year’s report says:

Circumstances of discovery: During construction work; reported after his father’s death by the finders’ son.

Description: The ring has been cut through and partly straightened into a curved L-shape, but is otherwise complete. It is made of two thick, round rods with beaded wires between them, twisted into a cable and tapering to the ends. The original ends (now together at one end of the cable because of the cut) are joined to a plain, polyhedral knob and are closely bound with plain wires on either side of it. The beaded wires of the cable show girth grooves round many of the ‘beads’, which were caused in manufacture. There is a deep cut in one side of the ring towards one end and a few small dents at other points along its length.

The ring has been cut through and partly straightened into a curved L-shape, but is otherwise complete. It is made of two thick, round rods with beaded wires between them, twisted into a cable and tapering to the ends. The original ends (now together at one end of the cable because of the cut) are joined to a plain, polyhedral knob and are closely bound with plain wires on either side of it. The beaded wires of the cable show girth grooves round many of the ‘beads’, which were caused in manufacture. There is a deep cut in one side of the ring towards one end and a few small dents at other points along its length.Discussion: The armring can be compared in its cable combining thick, plain rods and thin, beaded wires with an example of the Viking period from Wipholm, Germany, while the knob joining the ends bound with wires is similar to other Viking gold armrings from Dublin, Hornelund, Denmark, and Goodrington, Devon (Graham-Campbell 1980, pp. 61-2, pls. 220-23).

Dimensions: Length: 260 mm; Diameter: 15 mm at centre and 6 mm at ends; weight: 324.6g. Surface analysis conducted at the British Museum indicated a gold content of approximately 95 per cent.

Disposition: Yorkshire Museum.

The Treasure report will be released in full for 2004 in the next couple of months, and will be the biggest produced yet by the DCMS.

Searching our database

The Scheme’s database is growing rapidly these days and is now starting to attract attention from a wide range of researchers. I’m now issuing around 4 higher level research accounts per month, and the staff at the British Museum are beginning to make use of these data. In the past, the quality of our data has been criticised by many archaeological researchers; for example Cool, Crummy and Cunliffe (3 Cs!) We’re now more confident that the quality of our work is improving and is sufficient for many researchers to produce valid work. In the last few months, Tom Brindle, our FLO for Northamptonshire has been accepted for the PhD at Kings that was advertised on here and extensively criticised by a few over at Britarch. John Naylor’s work on the VASLE project at York is now starting to wrap itself up, and the preliminary results discussed at the April Conference at the British Museum, were interesting.

However, back to the database itself as I have digressed. There are some significant changes planned for August/ September where are wizards at OAD are going to change some functionality, and inshallah, the search mechanism should change extensively!
We’re planning to completely overhaul our numismatic searches (introducing Reece periods at the behest of our new Roman coins adviser – Sam Moorhead) and tying all our dropdowns (JavaScript) together for a more intuitive experience. Usability has been looked at, and we’re adding more features and functions that should make it easier to navigate and hopefully our userbase will increase. I’d like to introduce some more user generated content, such as tagging images and producing tag clouds, comments regarding the objects recorded and various other bits. Can’t tell you them all as that will steal our thunder.

One thing that I have created in the last few days, is a plugin for Firefox’s search box, so if you use this great piece of software, you can add our search engine to the dropdown list. This searches in the same manner as our quick search feature and so you can retrieve objects by entering the following for example:

  1. Roman coin – note not coins as we don’t do plurality!
  2. NMS
  3. CCCE01 – if you just use the alphanumeric code after a record ID it is far easier to find.

That’s just a few examples of what you can search on; I’ll post an attachment detailing what fields you can actually interrogate using the plugin later. At the moment, geographical locations aren’t included – they will be soon if I get my way!

So, to get this plugin, go to this location: add firefox search, and then restart Firefox. This should now appear in the search drop down list as finds database. I’ll be adding it to the mozdev archive of search plugins shortly. Any feedback?