2022 Annual round up from the West Midlands PAS team for the West Midlands

Total number of finds recorded for the county in 2022:29
No of Treasure cases discovered in Staffordshire in 2022:0
Material composition of highest number of objects recorded:Silver
Historic period with the most finds recorded:Post Medieval
Object type with the highest number of finds recorded:Coins followed by brooches
Objects recorded in the West Midlands in 2022

The following objects have been chosen by Sarah Williams, Finds Liaison Assistant for West Midlands:

(WMID-9D6540) Victorian Token

This complete Victorian copper alloy token was found in the Birmingham area and is dated to AD 1862 – 1893. Well preserved and readable, the obverse contains a shield in the centre and the word ‘FORWARD’ written underneath in a scroll. Surrounding this in a circumferential circular band is the address: SMALLBROOK STREET BIRMINGHAM. A further outer circumferential field reads: DAY’S CRYSTAL PALACE CONCERT HALL. The reverse has a central circular field, which has a 3d symbol for the value of the token. In the surrounding circumferential field, it reads: THE SAME EVENING AS RECIEVED. The outer field reads: TO BE SPENT IN THE CONCERT HALL ONLY.

The Day’s Crystal Palace Concert Hall was located on the corner of Smallbrook Street and Hurst Street, Birmingham.

It was built for James Day, who had a large Crystal Ball and mirrored walls installed into the Concert Hall and named it Day’s Crystal Palace Concert Hall for its opening on Thursday the 18th of September 1862.

The concert hall was very popular but closed In September 1893, due to the site being sold to Moss Empires, who demolished most of the hall to build their new theatre. Unfortunately, the Empire Theatre was then destroyed by German bombers in 1941 and subsequently demolished in 1950.

Day's Concert Hall poster
Interior of the Concert Hall drawn on a silk programme. Copyright: Arthur Lloyd http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/
silver groat of Henry VI
(WMID-FF240F) Henry VI Silver Groat

This well preserved and complete silver groat of Henry VI was found in Wolverhampton. It has been designated as a find of note due to the rarity of this denomination, with only four recorded on the PAS database.

Henry VI reigned from AD 1422 to 1461 and this coin has been dated to circa AD 1445 to 1454, issued as part of the unmarked coinage. Minted in London, the obverse of the coin has a crown bust facing and one saltire stop. The inscription reads: HENRIC DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC.

 The reverse has a long cross with three pellets in each quarter and the inscription reads: POSVI DEVM A DIVTOR E MEVM / CIVI TAS LON DON.

Roman brooch
(WMID-87ABB2) Aesica Brooch 

This beautiful copper-alloy brooch is nearly complete and has been identified as a crescent type ‘Aesica’ brooch from the late Iron Age to Early Roman period, possibly dating to circa AD 25 – 100.

The brooch comprises an upper curved bow and a lower flat bow. The spring mechanism is similar to the Polden Hill brooches (Aesica, type 3) in that the springs are contained within cylindrical wings which are pierced by a central axis bar.

Well preserved, the only evident damage is at both ends of the spring, the missing pin and the damaged rearward facing hook that would have held the external chord in place at the centre of the rear of the head. The brooch has an upper plate which has a ‘C’ shaped curve that gives the brooch its crescent shape. At the centre of the bow running vertically is a prominent lateral rib. The decoration consists of a linear vertical inlay of red enamel.

 The upper curved bow is joined to the lower flat bow with a circular knop that forms a large, pierced hole which can be seen when the brooch is in profile and at the reverse. This central rounded knop is decorated with seven triangles inlaid with red enamel.

Extending from the large circular knop is the lower bow which is flat and broadly triangular in form. The triangular fantail foot is decorated with a design consisting of a series of inlaid cells filled with enamel. In the centre is a blue lozenge cell. Above and expanding to the outer border are two blue triangular cells. Above is a red enamel semi-circle. Below the central lozenge are two red triangular cells expanding to the outer border. Below this at the lower edge are three smaller triangles inlaid with red enamel interspersed with four smaller blue triangle cells.

For more information about this brooch, please visit the object record at: WMID-87ABB2

unidentified object
(WMID-F10125) unidentified object

This incomplete lead alloy probable bell or other decorative furniture fitting has been dated to the Post Medieval period, and dated to circa AD 1600 to 1800.

The artefact is a conical shape with a narrowed top and is hollow on the inside. At the top is a broken attachment point. The narrowed top is undecorated but the lower skirt bears foliate style decoration, with the inscription IHS appearing once. This could refer to a monogram meaning Iesus Hominum Salvator (Jesus Saviour of Mankind). On the inside, it is concave, with a broken attachment point at the centre.

The shape of the object would suggest a bell of some type, but due to the weight at 110.1g, this is less consistent. Unfortunately, no direct parallel for this object has been found on the database as of yet.

On this object record at WMID-F10125, you will find a 3D scan of the object underneath the 2D image. This is new for 2022 and something FLO Teresa Gilmore has been working on for new finds over the past year. The 3D model of the object has been scanned using the mobile phone app, Qlone. This app can be used by anyone and is a quick and easy way to scan objects and upload them to the database. It can take all of 15 minutes to do this!

3D models can show much more detail than just relying on a 2D image and it could act as an aid for a later more accurate identification of an object, such as this one.

round object, Quartzite hammerstone
(WAW-D443C4) Quartzite hammerstone
white flint bladelet
(WAW-DF9EC3) Microlith

Both of these Mesolithic objects have been found this year in the same Dudley area of the West Midlands and have been dated to 9000 BC to 4000 BC. Showing that there had been Mesolithic occupation within Dudley long before the industrial landscape we associate with the area today. 

The hammerstone (WAW-D443C4) is a completely rounded, ovate quartzite pebble. One end has considerable surface damage due to the stone being utilised as a hammer stone.

The microlith (WAW-DF9EC3) is complete and manufactured on a tertiary bladelet of white patinated flint. The complete left-hand edge of the dorsal face has abrupt, parallel retouch which continues around the obliquely truncated proximal end.

West Mids PAS Team Newsletter Volume 3 – April 2021

Hello and welcome to the first newsletter of 2021. We hoped we would all be meeting in person by now and have the opportunity to return the finds we have been recording in lockdown. At the moment we do not have any confirmed dates for when this will take place and our initial priorities will be dealing with treasure. Your local FLO will be in touch when we can start meeting with finders again. We hope this will be sometime this summer.

If you intend to go metal detecting please read through the latest government guidance before you set off as the rules may have changed since your last trip. You must ensure you are complying with the law, including the restrictions on meeting with other people (currently rule of six).

Some larger rallies may be able to go ahead if they have the correct local authority permits and safety measures in place. It is up to you as an attendee, as well as the responsibility of the organiser, to ensure that the correct permissions are in place for a larger group meetings to happen and that the event is operating within the law and government guidance. If they are not then you maybe liable for a penalty fine. Please also note that permissions are granted by local authorities on a case by case basis, so an event that is authorised in one region may not be permitted in another. This process is outside the control of PAS so any enquiries about larger metal detecting events should be made to the relevant local authority in the first instance. Keep up to date with current guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-on-searching-for-archaeological-finds-in-england-during-covid-19

paintings hanging on the wall of the round room at Birmingham museum and art gallery and Sir Jacob Epstein's Lucifer bronze statue from the back
The round room at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/bmag

You may have heard in the news that Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery will remain closed throughout 2021 while essential electrical upgrade work takes place. Please be assured that another suitable safe accessible venue will be used as an alternative and we will keep you posted.

YouTube open on a laptop
Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash

Did you know the Portable Antiquities Scheme had their own YouTube channel? link below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFxzEtnqZQCkeqhqc-SbX4w

You can find some useful videos on our YouTube channel such as a guide to searching the database. This is a useful tool if you wish to search for Roman brooches for example or a specific coin type. You can also use the search for statistics, such as how many coins have been discovered in a specific county or how many coins are recorded dating to Elizabeth I. Another video gives you an introduction to the county pages. This is where FLO’s and volunteers write blog posts relating to their county, so do have a look as we post blogs and videos about specific news and finds relating to the West Midlands here.

a cup of coffee on a desk alongside a mobile phone displaying a podcast on the screen with headphones plugged in on top of a brochure
Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash

https://finds.org.uk/counties/blog/tag/podcasts/

Have you heard the PAS Podcast yet? PAStcast is available to listen for free on a number of platforms and now has seven episodes including episodes on treasure, Roman coins and also finds from the Midlands. The podcast is hosted by Lucy Shipley (FLO for Devon) and Ben Westwood (FLO for Durham). Episode 1 tells you about how the Portable Antiquities Scheme started and Lucy and Ben describe their favourite and least favourite finds to record.

The West Midlands PAS team contributed to series two of River Hunters which is aired on the Sky History channel on Monday evenings at 9pm. Our role was to help identify individual finds and advise which objects could be historically significant. Episodes include; the Viking Invasion of York, Scotland & the Civil War, Canterbury Murder, Colchester Siege
and Knaresborough Castle. You may just spot FLO’s Teresa and Susheela in the series!

A Silver penny of a later Plantagenant king, probably post AD 1204. The penny has been folded in two with the reverse being unobserved.
(HESH-EB4141) A Medieval silver penny that has been deliberately folded in two.

The PAS database holds a large number of folded coins, scholars have suggested there was a widespread custom of bending coins in the Medieval period. Folded coins have been discovered with organic material within them for suspension and coins have also been discovered folded over one another. Later in the Post Medieval period sometimes coins were bent into an S-shape to form a love token. They were particularly common in the reign of William III (1694-1702). They may have also been bent and carried as good luck tokens. So next time you find a bent coin in the clod please take care to leave it as you found it. It may just be that it was purposefully bent and this act all adds to the story of the object.

a gold ducat of Genoa, under Louis XII of France (1498-1515), dating 1499-1507.purposefully folded to form a triangle with the obverse of the coin on the outer face
(WMID-01D66A) This coin has been purposefully folded to form a triangle with the obverse of the coin on the outer face.

West Mids PAS Team Newsletter – Issue 2

Merry Christmas from us all. We hope you will be able to spend Christmas with your families after what has been a very strange year. We have got used to new ways of working from home and meeting with finders when the restrictions allow. But we do hope we can get back to meeting with our finders next year and visiting clubs and hosting finds days. We will continue to work from home for the foreseeable future as our work places remain closed to the public. We will continue to record finds and process treasure, so please do get in touch with us via email or telephone.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me….

Five Gold rings:

We thought we would have a look at some of the common types of finger ring we see here in the Midlands that are reported as treasure and explain their meaning and function.

Momento Mori

The tradition for mourning rings began in the seventeenth century. Money would often be left in a persons will to have a ring made to remember the deceased by. This example was discovered in North Warwickshire and depicts a skull in white enamel with the inscription DIE TO LIVE on the bezel. Many examples of memento mori also include the initials of the deceased. The white enamel used in this example is thought to represent an unmarried person with black enamel used for a married person.

The tradition for mourning rings began in the seventeenth century. Money would often be left in a persons will to have a ring made to remember the deceased by. This example was discovered in North Warwickshire and depicts a skull in white enamel with the inscription DIE TO LIVE on the bezel. Many examples of memento mori also include the initials of the deceased. The white enamel used in this example is thought to represent an unmarried person with black enamel used for a married person.

Iconographic

This example discovered near Slimbridge, Gloucestershire dates from the Late Medieval period and is silver-gilt. The bezel is decorated with geometric decoration instead of religious imagery which is often seen on rings of this type. Many examples are engraved with religious imagery such as saints, the Virgin Mary and Christ.

WMID-C2A201
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/480408

Posy rings

Posy, posie or posey rings as they are also known get their name from the French word “poésie” meaning poem. This is due to the devotional messages that are normally inscribed on the inside of the band. They would then be shared with loved ones who knew the secret of what was written inside. Those inscribed with Roman capital letters were first used in the 16th and 17th centuries. Inscriptions in italics then became more popular later in the mid-17th century. This example was discovered near Tamworth in Staffordshire and is inscribed with A friendly pleadge” The small size of the ring suggests it was worn by a female. Does the use of friendly suggest it was given by a friend rather than a lover? Of course we will never know.

WAW-F83228
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/778807

We have many finger rings with inscribed bezels on the PAS database. Some feature the owners or receiver’s initials . Roman examples may feature religious symbols or animals and birds. This Medieval example discovered in South Staffordshire depicts the bearded figure of St John the Baptist, who is cradling a lamb and has a cross behind them. Iconography associated with Holy images are commonly found on Medieval finger rings and are thought to represent personal devotion.

Finger rings with settings

This finger ring is dated to the Medieval period and features a small light blue cabochon turquoise semi-precious stone setting. Research by Adam Daubney (Former FLO for Lincolnshire) suggestsTurquoise was not a particularly valuable stone in the middle ages, but one that was valued for its amuletic properties, protecting the wearer against poisoning, drowning, or having an accident while riding. It was also supposed to have the property of indicating the state of health of the wearer by the shade the Turquoise went.”

Treasure Annual Report 2019

This year the treasure annual review was released in a slightly different way. Unfortunately the usual presentation and chance to see a display some of the year’s most important treasure discoveries could not take place at the British Museum. This year a zoom presentation was made which included discussions from The British Museums coin specialists, The Treasure Registrar, Michael Lewis the head of the scheme and Simon Maslin FLO for Surrey who discussed how 2020 has affected the daily working life of a FLO and our ability to meet with finders. 2019 was another recorded breaking year for treasure with 1,311 cases reported. Highlights from this region include:

This year the treasure annual review will be released in a slightly different way. Unfortunately the usual presentation and chance to see a display some of the year’s most important treasure discoveries will not take place as usual at the British Museum. This year it will instead take place via zoom on 9th December. 2019 was another recorded breaking year for treasure with 1,311 cases reported. Highlights from this region include:

HESH-237E03
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/945312

HESH-237E03 Lead disc struck from the dies for a silver penny of William I (r. 1066–87) or William II (r. 1087–1100) found near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Its function is uncertain, but may have been as a receipt to show that customs dues had been paid or a teststriking of the coin dies.

WMID-FAEC68 Silver shilling of Elizabeth I (AD 1558–1603) which has been modified into a mount or similar decorative item of unclear function. The piece is most unusual and doesn’t have any parallels on the database. It is thought it could perhaps be a mount, possibly for a book.  It was found at Flagg, Derbyshire.

Finds Identified II

A new publication was released in November 2020 by Greenlight Publishing. The book is written by Michael Lewis (Head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme) and Kevin Leahy (Finds Advisor for the scheme with a specialist knowledge in Early Medieval metalwork). The publication is a really useful reference book for metal objects and contains some 300 pages of artefacts from brooches and belt fittings to strap fittings and spurs. The book is packed with images of objects recorded on the PAS database. You may even spot one of your finds in there! The image size and quality is fantastic making it a really useful guide for the finds you may bring back from the field. Maybe one for your Christmas list!

Cast Your Vote

The 13th annual Current Archaeology Award is now open for voting. These are voted for completely by the public and you can have the chance to vote here https://www.archaeology.co.uk/vote. Voting closes on 8 February 2021. All the nominees are projects and publications that made the pages of the magazine over the past 12 months, and are believed to have made outstanding contributions to archaeology. The Herefordshire Viking hoard: unpicking the story of a stolen treasure is one of the nominees for rescue project of the year.

Our very own Peter Reavill was involved in a project to identify and retrieve a number of objects that are unique and help tell the story of Herefordshire in the Viking period. You may remember the story from the press last year with the finders who did not declare these archaeological significant objects facing tough prison sentences. Sadly, some of these items have never been retrieved and their full significance will not be understood. The work that Peter contributed as part of a collaboration with Herefordshire Archaeology, Birmingham Museums Trust, Herefordshire Museum Service and The British Museum is worthy of this award, well we think so anyway! Good luck Peter and don’t forget to cast your vote online.

Crystal sphere from the Viking Age hoard

We need your help – Do you have one of these in your collection?

Could you have one of these silver plaited wire rings in your collection at home? Historically the belief has grown up that they are all 19th-century walking-stick mounts and so are not only considered not treasure, but not worth recording as they are too modern. Recent research suggests that at least some are from 16th– to 18th-century sword-grips, and that others are certainly early-Medieval, either Anglo-Saxon or Viking. So if anyone has one in their collection please get in touch. They won’t be reported as Treasure, but will be recorded as of unknown date. Once a wider number have been recorded the relevant experts can then work out how to distinguish the Post Medieval varieties from the Early Medieval examples. These small research projects are just one of the ways that prove by working together with metal detectorists we can advance knowledge and learn more about our shared past.