A Mark of the Economy

March 24th, 2012 by Laura Burnett

Cloth seals, although small and not much to look at, can give us fascinating insights into the Medieval and Post Medieval cloth trade, which was so important to economies of the period. This lead seal, SOM-B424B7, is of a form typical in England and some adjacent areas of the continent. It is formed of a row of four disks with tabs between. The row was bent in half over the edge of the cloth and a projecting point on one of the small outer disks went through the cloth then through a hole on the other outer disk before being stamped flat to rivet the ends together and to the cloth. The small disks appear plain apart from the raised circle from flattening the rivet. One larger disk is stamped with the legend *TAVNTON encircling 79 within a pellet border, the other has several faint raised lines, probably a ‘privy’ or ‘merchants’ mark.

Seals were attached to cloth at several stages of production. Personal seals might be added by the weaver and dyer, guild seals might also be added to show the quality of the work had been checked and it was of a required length and seals were added to show various taxes has been paid. This is almost certainly for serge cloth and Taunton seals with similar designs are known from the British Museum collections (Egan 1994: 51 and fig 23, no.97 and 98) and from Gloucester, Norfolk, Jamestown (Virginia) and Stockholm. It is suggested they are 17th century seals and the full date would read 1679, other dated examples include 1676, 1677 and 1674 (Egan ibid).

As cloth seals were discarded where the cloth was used, it is uncommon to find local seals (other seals from the same parish include a group from Ausburg, Germany). The VCH discussed the extensive cloth industry in Dunster and suggests: “The Dunster cloth industry spread to Carhampton before the end of the 16th century when clothiers, weavers and feltmakers were recorded. Weaver Edward Mills left two pairs of looms in 1635… and a weaver was recorded in 1713 but none thereafter” (Sireut 2010, Vol XII, in progress ). It is possible either that cloth from Taunton was consumed locally as well as exported or that Carhampton did not have its own mark but used the Taunton one and this seal was lost or removed before the cloth was exported.

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Trader’s Token from Somerset

February 24th, 2012 by Laura Burnett

In the 17th century, small denominations of coinage were in short supply. This meant that day to day transactions, for instance buying a loaf of bread, became difficult. Following pilot schemes under Elizabeth I, copper farthings were issued officially under licence during the reigns of James I and Charles I. By the execution of Charles I in 1649, the shortage of small change was again severe (Dickinson, 1986, 4). It is at this point that unlicensed tokens began to be issued by private individuals.

Tokens were issued by local merchants and by local authorities, such as the constable of Taunton or the City of Wells. SOM-2DC917, a much worn token, is made of copper alloy. The legend reads ‘The farthing of a merchant// of the staple of England’ and depicts the arms of the Staple-Merchants on the obverse and a fleece on the reverse. The token is very unusual as it doesn’t give the location or name of the issuer.

The Staple managed the export of wool from the 1300’s and a merchant staple was the designated market for the wool trade in order to excise control over taxes and duties. By the 17th and 18th centuries, following export and import bans of raw wool and cloth, the Company of Merchants of the Staple of England was managing the wool supply within the UK, mainly confined to local markets.

This token provides a wonderful example of the role PAS can play in adding to the history of the country. Because this token, unlike most, doesn’t name the issuer or location and previous known examples are from historic collections rather than archaeological finds we don’t know where it was issued or by who. It could even have been an attempt to produce a generic type issued by several people in different locations which could be cashed in with any merchant of the staple. This token was found in Chedzoy, near Bridgwater and is the only example on the PAS database so far. Tokens do move through trade from their area of issue, but the find spots are usually confined to the surrounding counties. The find spot of this token, and similar ones found in future will help build the picture of where the token was issued and how widely it was traded.

For more information see Dickinson, M (1986) ‘Seventeenth Century Tokens of the British Isles and their Values’.
Katie Marsden
IfA/HLF Workplace Learning Bursary holder in Archaeological Finds in Somerset
Laura Burnett
Finds Liaison Officer for Somerset

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An Unusual Penannular Brooch

February 17th, 2012 by Laura Burnett
penannular brooch

Iron Age to Roman penannular brooch from Wiltshire

The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a national scheme with one unified database. This makes research easier, bringing all records together in one place. It also means we can record finds from across the country and other Finds Liaison Officers regularly record things found in Somerset. This lovely brooch, SOM-629D01 is an example of a find from Alverdiston, Wiltshire with strong Somerset connections that can tell us something about local industries in the Iron Age and Roman periods.

The copper alloy brooch is a penannular type; an almost but not complete circle, and has a plain, undecorated frame and pin. The pin is also made from copper alloy and would once have moved freely around the frame but is now stuck in place with the tip over the gap in the frame. The brooch secured clothing by the pin being pushed through the fabric and out again, with the tip resting on the outside of the frame. Whilst the brooch has been in the ground, it has developed a dark green patina and would have been a simple but beautiful addition to the clothes it secured.

The ends of the frame coil outwards in a spiral and the way they do this makes this brooch very interesting. Most penannular brooches of this time terminate in either rounded knops (e.g. WILT-DA0C01) on the end of the frame, coils that rise up from the frame so that the loops are viewed from the side (e.g. SOM-E6EC36) or ‘omega’ ends that bend back from the frame, producing the shape of the Omega symbol (Ω) which gives them their name (e.g. KENT-5B4FA5). Our example has coils that are viewed from the top and are on the same level as the rest of the frame. This is the only example of a brooch with level coil terminals on the PAS database.

Brooches of this type are significant to the Somerset area. Fowler (1960, pg 157-158) suggests this brooch may have been a local derivative of Type Aa manufactured in the Weare and Glastonbury area. The findspot would seem to support this as it is only 30 miles away from Glastonbury.

Very few brooches of this type are found complete and unbroken which makes this example such a lovely find. This brooch has been dated to the first century BC or AD, a range of 200 years.

For more information, see Fowler, E., 1960 The origins and development of the Pennanular Brooch in Europe, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society

Katie Marsden, IfA/HLF Workplace Learning Bursary holder in Archaeological Finds, Somerset.

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Royal wedding souvenir

April 21st, 2011 by Laura Burnett

With Royal wedding fever all over media I was interested to come across this find which shows souvenirs of Royal weddings are nothing new. It is a silver heart shaped locket found in two pieces with moulded portraits of a crowned Charles II on one side (flanked by the incised initials C/R) and his wife, Katherine of Braganza, (flanked by K/R) on the other. It commemorates their marriage in 1662 and was found near the site of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which took place on 6th July 1685. It is possible that the locket was lost by someone fighting on the side of the King during the battle.

SOM-C6EDD1: Locket commemorating the marriage of Charles II and Katherine of Braganza

Having been through the Treasure process (2004 T247), the locket was acquired by Somerset County Museum (accession number TTNCM 202/2005) and will be on display in the Museum of Somerset when it opens in the summer. Half of a similar locket was featured in the September 2004 issue of Treasure Hunting magazine (p. 17) suggesting it was a souvenir produced in some numbers rather than an individual commemorative item.

A more commonly found item which is also thought to commemorate this wedding is a type of cufflink, found in both silver (LVPL-BF30A6 and PAS-625C72) and cheaper lead alloy copies (LON-306542 and ESS-B32D14). They show either two crowned hearts or clasped hands with a crown above and two flaming hearts below. Although items with this design are thought to have originally been made to commemorate the marriage of Charles II and Katherine of Braganza the design continued in use probably into the 18th century as a general symbol of love and/or marriage.

Other Royal wedding souvenirs recorded by the PAS include a copper alloy medalet from the wedding of the Prince Regent (the future George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick in 1795: HAMP-0F4355and this Roman Denarius (DUR-3D7720) of Plautilla wife of the Emperor Caracalla minted in Rome 202 AD to celebrate their wedding. For other wedding related finds see this search on our database.

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Forthcoming Closure of the Somerset County Museum

April 11th, 2008 by Daniel Pett

The Somerset County Museum will close to the public on Saturday 19th April at 5pm for a Heritage Lottery Funded restoration and refurbishment.

Naomi Payne, Finds Liaison Officer for Somerset, will still be able to take in and return finds for identification and recording at the Museum on weekdays until August 2008. It is advisable to phone ahead to make sure she will be in the office when you wish to visit. Naomi’s direct dial telephone number is 01823 320206 and the Museum office telephone number is 01823 320200.

Naomi will be moving to the Record Office in Obridge Road, Taunton, in August 2008 and will be based there until new purpose built offices at Silk Mills are opened.

The Museum is due to reopen as the Museum of Somerset in August 2010.

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Recent finds of note

February 5th, 2008 by npayne

These two objects were recently discovered near Charlton Mackrell in South Somerset. They are both pretty unusual for Somerset and it has been difficult to find a close parallel for the second.

The first find is a copper alloy knobbed terret harness fitting (SOM-9455E3) which probably dates from the second century AD. Terret rings were metal loops which served as rein guides on horse-drawn vehicles. Terrets would have been positioned on the yoke, like on this reconstruction (see below) of the Newbridge chariot which has recently been built by a Somerset craftsman, Robert Hurford, and is on display at the Somerset County Museum in Taunton until is taken to its new home at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
SOM-9455E3

PAS record number: SOM-9455E3
Object type: Harness fitting
Broadperiod: Roman
County of discovery: Somerset
Stable url: http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/203963

The knobbed terret is a Roman type (rather than Iron Age, when terrets first appeared) and although they are occasionally found in 1st century contexts most seem to be of 2nd century AD date. The terret consists of a oval loop which has a lozenge-shaped cross-section around most of its circumference, with the exception of a short section which has a narrowed rectangular cross-section in between a pair of wider collars. This part of the terret would have been secured onto the yoke (see reconstruction below). The loop becomes slightly thicker before it joins the collars, which have oval cross-sections and decoration in the form of a circumferential grooved line. Originally there would have been three knops projecting from the outside of the loop, but one of these (that opposite the narrowed section) has broken off. The two surviving knops are sub-spherical and each is decorated with a single circumferential grooved line. They are purely decorative.

Click here to view the Chariot Maker’s website.

The second find is a copper alloy toggle (SOM-946D43) of late Iron Age or early Roman date. The toggle is cylindrical with a loop on one side, which would have been used to attach the toggle to clothing or horse harness. The loop has a broader curving central section which narrows slightly on each side before flaring out again at the point where it meets the main body of the toggle. At each end of the cylinder is a slightly expanded terminal which contains a deep and wide groove on the side opposite the loop. There is a further similar feature in the centre of the bar. Lipped decoration such as this is more commonly seen on late Iron Age terret harness fittings.

SOM-946D43SOM-946D43

PAS record number: SOM-946D43
Object type: Toggle
Broadperiod: Iron Age
County of discovery: Somerset
Stable url: http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/203968

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Interesting finds from Somerset

November 27th, 2007 by npayne

Below are details of a couple of interesting Somerset finds which have been reported through the Scheme in recent weeks. The first is a near complete socketed axehead of late Bronze Age (c. 1000-800BC) date (SOM-C03882). This is a fairly plain bronze axe which fits into the the South-eastern A1 category of the Ewart Park phase. What makes it particularly interesting is that it is a garden found, discovered whilst digging new flowerbeds in a house in Langford Budville, near Wellington.

SOM-C03882PAS record number: SOM-C03882
Object type: Socketed axehead
Broadperiod: Bronze Age
County of discovery: Somerset
Stable url: http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/201169

An unusual early Roman brooch (SOM-304001) has come up in the Charlton Mackrell area. This is a variant of an aesica brooch, of which only two Somerset examples have previously been recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. The brooch has been cast in two pieces which are rivetted together and is undecorated. There is a good unprovenced parallel in Richard Hattatt’s ‘Visual Catalogue’ (2000). There are some fairly strong regional variations in the distribution of Roman brooches which Sally Worrell has been researching. The most common type recorded for Somerset is the T-shape as can be seen on the graph below.

SOM-304001PAS record number: SOM-304001
Object type: Brooch
Broadperiod: Roman
County of discovery: Somerset
Stable url: http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/200538

A lovely flint chisel arrowhead (SOM-AFA743) has been recorded from Queen Camel. This is a type characteristic of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. It is wedge-shaped and has been invasively retouched over most of the dorsal surface and part of the ventral surface (to sharpen the business end).

SOM-AFA743PAS record number: SOM-AFA743
Object type: Arrowhead
Broadperiod: Neolithic
County of discovery: Somerset
Stable url: http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/201097

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Corfe Castle Rally

September 18th, 2007 by Daniel Pett

Recording at CorfeCiorstaidh and i went to the Minelab owners rally at Corfe Castle (Dorset) last weekend. The rally has taken place over a weekend in September for several years now and there have been some very interesting discoveries. Two of these, a Roman patera (a copper alloy cooking vessel resembling a modern saucepan) and a hoard of late Iron Age staters, prompted the finders to get in touch with the Dorset County Museum and subsequently the Norden Archaeological Project was set up by Peter Woodward, the museum’s curator of archaeology. Survey and small scale excavation have been undertaken by the Dorset County Museum and Terrain Archaeology in order to put the finds into context and discover more about how they came to be where they were found.

This year, two fields were examined in detail by the archaeological project. Fieldwalking was organised concurrently with the metal detecting rally and a structured detecting survey took place. All the discoveries in two fields were marked by the detectorists on the rally and then each find was given a number and the findspot recorded with a total station or a hand-held GPS. All these finds will go to the Dorset County Museum. Several other fields were also detected by the c. 70 Minelab owners who attended the rally and about 100 finds were recorded by PAS and David Connelly, who used a hand-held GPS to pinpoint findspots.

About 75 of these finds will go onto the PAS database; the remainder were post-1700. Finds recorded in detail included medieval hammered coins, post-medieval tokens, a small number of Roman coins and one Roman brooch.

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Regular finds surgeries at Wells Museum

September 11th, 2007 by npayne

I have recently arranged to hold a new monthly finds event at Wells Museum which will take place on the first Wednesday of each month, between 11am and 3pm. Finds can be brought in for identification and recording on the day, or you can come in anytime the museum is open and drop in items for me to look at the next time  come in. Hopefully I’ll be able to reach more of the detectorists from the eastern part of the county, but of course anyone with archaeological finds (metalwork, pottery, worked flint etc) is very welcome to come along. The first surgery will be on Wednesday 3rd October 2007.

Opening times and other information about Wells Museum can be found at: http://www.wellsmuseum.org.uk/

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