It’s August 6th 1848, on-board the massive warship HMS Daedalus. You’re standing on deck as the vessel creaks and heaves its way around the Cape of Good Hope. Peering into the mist, you see a strange shape emerge. Four feet of smooth neck pokes out of the water – the creature moves rapidly through the waves. …more
This month on the PAS blog we’re celebrating the fantastic Festival of British Archaeology, organised by the Council for British Archaeology. From the 16th to the 31st of July, the Festival will be hosting hundreds of in-person and virtual events. Delivered by local groups, these events are designed to get more people involved in local archaeology. The …more
This week, our spotlight is on the small but historically mighty Avon. This area encompasses the City of Bristol, as well as northern parts of Somerset. The river Avon and its luscious surrounding areas have attracted human habitation for thousands of years. For example, this fantastic Middle Bronze Age hoard (GLO-6535E4) was found in the …more
This week we’re travelling through the database to the county of Bedfordshire. The fertile land around the River Great Ouse has been inhabited since the Lower Palaeolithic. This period dates from around the earliest evidence of human habitation in Britain 950,000 years ago, to the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic period approximately 300,000 years ago. …more
Hello and welcome back to the PAS blog. All around the United Kingdom, this weekend marked the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. You may have noticed an increase in Queen-themed paraphernalia – commemorative mugs, postcards featuring the monarch with her family/horses/corgis, Union Jack bunting. The Queen is one of the most photographed people in the world and …more
Hello again readers of the PAS blog. In preparation for the blog post this month, I began my usual trawl through the database. A certain class of objects struck me immediately. Keys are something we all have rattling around – they hang off lanyards and on novelty keychains, in jumbles of bronze and silver. The …more
Hello readers of the PAS blog! My name is Emma and I’m a volunteer with the Portable Antiquities Scheme. I’m here to explore the database and bring you the best finds from around England and Wales. I’m currently studying a Master of Arts at University College London in Museum Studies. I’m interested in learning how …more
Welcome to another edition of Coin Relief. In this issue, Andrew Brown discusses the coinage of Trajan Decius and his family. Trajan Decius and family, AD 249-251 In an effort to restore stability along the Danube, particularly as a result of Gothic incursion, Philip I placed the legions there under the command of Quintus Decius Valerianus as governor …more
Welcome to the latest edition of Coin Relief! In this issue Sam Moorhead examines the coinage of Philip I, his wife Octacilia Severa and son Philip II. Philip I, Octacilia Severa and Philip II, AD 244-9 The coinage of Philip I and II and Otacilia Severa, AD 244-9 Marcus Julius Philippus was an Ituraean Arab …more
Welcome to the next edition of Coin Relief! In this issue Andrew Brown discusses coins linked to the notorious murder of Julius Caesar Kαὶ σύ, τέκνον – Et tu, Brute! On the 15th of March 44 BC a group of 60 senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus of the gens Junia, formerly governor of Cisalpine …more
