quote:

Originally posted by Tetricus:
Dad coins it in with Roman find A FATHER-OF-TWO is set make thousands of pounds after discovering a significant hidden hoard of 2000-year-old Roman treasure in a Gwent field.

It seems to me that museums in Britain are spending tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money each year buying duplicate coins which they can never properly display. Have British museums not got enough Roman coins by now? My information is that many of them already have more than enough to be able to catalogue them properly or make them available for numismatic study.

What would be the problem with making a full record of such hoard finds in the form of a digitalized coin database, keeping a selection and then releasing the duplicate items in such a hoard onto the numismatic market? The revenue generated could be used for heritage work (and self-finance the creation of the database). It would also make the coins themselves more widely available for study of die links and so on by specialist numismatists all over the world, many of whom would have no chance of accessing them locked away in some provincial museum in Wales. The wholesale retention of masses of coins of relatively common type like these is surely simply a drain on public resources and may actually hinder their proper study. What is the retentionist archeologist's objection to such a treatment of hoards like this one? It seems like a perfectly workable solution to me and one that can be applied in this case for example.

In general, museums are not interested in buying individual coins, unless they are particularly rare or unusual. So once they are recorded, the finder is free to do whatever they like with them, even sell them if that’s their thing.
A hoard is a different matter. It could make an interesting museum display, even if the individual coins are unremarkable.

Perhaps museums are unable to display everything they have, but are they any more accessible if in private hands ?

Funnily enough, someone stood up at this years PAS conference, and suggested that more coins and artefacts should be in private hands.
A statement which brought incredulous looks from archaeologists and detectorists alike.

quote:

Originally posted by Antiquitist:
[QUOTE]"Barry Ager, Viking curator for the British Museum, said: "Some of the dates on the coins suggest a different political situation to that which is recorded in Anglo Saxon chronicles in terms of the extent of the rule of King Athelstan". reported in several online articles from a number of newspapers. It was apparently said at a British Museum press conference.

Apparently?, Aren't you sure? Would it not have been a good idea to get definate confirmation of what Barry Ager said before you start attacking him?

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Well, that's a bit embarassing. I'd at least expect a British archeologist to know who was the first British monarch to put dates on their coins....

I said it was scanty, not none existant. I simply don't have enough knowledge of the subject to comfortably challenge any opinions puit forward by an acknowledged expert in this field. Slightly surprised by your reaction, actually, I thought you might appreciate an admission of fallibility from an archaeologist.We aren't all lofty academic knowitalls, peering over the parapets of ivory towers, you know.

In point of fact, my main area of interest is later prehistoric Europe,(particularly landscapes) and my job concerns mainly excavation and survey.

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A coin collector could tell you right away. Ask one, or have a look in a dealer's catalogue,

Should I ever find myself in the position of needing to research early medieval coinage, I will be using a wide range of accredited sources, as any researcher in a scientific discipline would do. And also referencing them correctly in a properly constructed bibliography. Just like most professional archaeologists do these days.

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or maybe start a collection yourself, you'll find it helps you to learn all sorts of things about the past.

I'm more in favour of using a collection held in a museum, actually. You know those places where people can actually go and freely access material, should they need to research anything?

Somehow,I suspect I'd have little chance if it were locked away in some billiniare's bank vault

quote:

I'm more in favour of using a collection held in a museum, actually. You know those places where people can actually go and freely access material, should they need to research anything?

Somehow,I suspect I'd have little chance if it were locked away in some billiniare's bank vault

or

when it is on sale in my local antique Arcade which has a unit dedicated to 'Roman Artefacts'!!

Treasure items bought by museums, with help from the Art Fund.

Art Funding

Cursing the emperor

Early this year, a metal detectorist called Tom Redmayne was searching in a muddy field in the parish of Fulstow in Lincolnshire. He had already found Roman pottery (Samian ware from Gaul), some late Roman coins and several lead weights. Then he found several pieces pieces of lead, two of which were folded over.When he carefully unfolded them, he saw that they had holes drilled in them. Furthermore, in the centre of each was an impression. He took them to Adam Daubney, the Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Liaison Officer for Lincolnshire, who realised that they were coin impressions.

[color=red][u]From the PAS Website[/u][/color]

I'll try that again

Cursing the emperor

Early this year, a metal detectorist called Tom Redmayne was searching in a muddy field in the parish of Fulstow in Lincolnshire. He had already found Roman pottery (Samian ware from Gaul), some late Roman coins and several lead weights. Then he found several pieces pieces of lead, two of which were folded over.When he carefully unfolded them, he saw that they had holes drilled in them. Furthermore, in the centre of each was an impression. He took them to Adam Daubney, the Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Liaison Officer for Lincolnshire, who realised that they were coin impressions.

From the PAS Website

Roman walls unearthed under city

An exhibition has been set up in Bath to show some of the discoveries that have been made as part of the city's Southgate redevelopment.

BBC News

A word from David

Well... this is it... Archaeologists working with/for Detectorists live on TV... at a Rally!

Yup this is the big one... Neil Oliver and myself will be presenting on the One Show - BBC1 7pm.. on Friday 17th and Monday 20th September... watch out for thrills Spills and adventure as hundreds of detectorists add to the knowledge of an area near Water Newton showing that far from being irresponsible looters they are just as able, just as interested, just as capable as anyone else - no need for an ology :wink:

Norman and I have put our all into this showcase of why detectorists are able to have a rally, have fun and add to out understanding of an area without the normal fingerpointing.. This is going to be BIG.. cheers to all that have helped, offered to help, given time and money to make sure this works... not often you get 5 FLOs and a TV crew at a Rally.. !

If this works (of course it will!) then all those that are watching will have to re-evaluate where we all go from here...

David Connolly

Neil Oliver showed some of the nice finds made on Friday. Monday's programme should be worth watching, to see what was found over the weekend.

Fingers crossed for the weather.

Your talking about the YouTube thing?
Let me get this right. These people paid good money to get policed by thirty snooping archeologists? Then stood there as pictureque props in the background... while some archeologist in his "look at me! dayglo waistcoat" spouts off HIS opinions about THEIR finds? How dare he? Don't these detectorist people know what they've found, and don't they have a voice? Its the typical archeologist five-minutes of fame thing again isn't it?
What's with all the ham acting?
Still, everything is so nice and green.

quote:

Originally posted by Tetricus:
Cursing the emperor

I have rarely read such a load of bull. This is really stretching credibility - this "curse" story is not a subtle English archeological joke is it? What on earth will these attention seekers come up with next?

quote:

Originally posted by Ann W.:
my local antique Arcade which has a unit dedicated to 'Roman Artefacts'!!

Do you have a problem with that? Would you prefer to see it shut away where only the archeologists can see it? Or is it only right that every citizen should have access to the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations?

quote:

Originally posted by Antiquitist:
Your talking about the YouTube thing?
Let me get this right. These people paid good money to get policed by thirty snooping archeologists?

It was a very well run rally, as are all those run by these people.
Nobody was snooping on anyone. The detectorists attending the rally, knew from the very beginning how it was to be run. It all went very well, as you should see on Monday evening.

Inquest to rule on field 'treasure'

An inquest will decide whether an object discovered in a field can be classed as treasure.

Lancashire Evening Post

Finders keepers at museum!

A MUSEUM is offering people the chance to identify intriguing objects they have found while gardening, walking or metal detecting.

Museum Finds Day

Earl Spencer, a £500,000 painting dug up on his estate ... and questions the taxman might ask

How did an unknown art treasure by Britain's most illustrious painter of society miniatures come to be buried - and then miraculously discovered - in the grounds of Earl Spencer's family estate?

Daily Mail Story

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Ann W.:
my local antique Arcade which has a unit dedicated to 'Roman Artefacts'!!
Do you have a problem with that? Would you prefer to see it shut away where only the archeologists can see it? Or is it only right that every citizen should have access to the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations?

I fail to see how selling it off to people who have enough money to buy it benefits anyone except the buyer!

If I could afford it I would buy and display in our local museum -if they are genuine of course, there is always that aspect, as I would have thought a ready supply of rings, bracelets, pots, lamps etc was just a little difficult to establish -but no doubt I will be corrected on that!

quote:

Posted 27-08-07 19:11 Hide Post
Earl Spencer, a £500,000 painting dug up on his estate ... and questions the taxman might ask

How did an unknown art treasure by Britain's most illustrious painter of society miniatures come to be buried - and then miraculously discovered - in the grounds of Earl Spencer's family estate?

Daily Mail Story

Anything is possible there. I heard him on the radio in an interview talking about his latest project- a study of Prince Rupert. he spoke as if nothing was known of the prince until he came ulong and unearthed it.

I have three excellent biographies on my bookshelf and the one by Patrick Morrah I would have thought covered it all!

quote:

Originally posted by Tetricus:
Earl Spencer, a £500,000 painting dug up on his estate ... and questions the taxman might ask

How did an unknown art treasure by Britain's most illustrious painter of society miniatures come to be buried - and then miraculously discovered - in the grounds of Earl Spencer's family estate?

Daily Mail Story

Very bizarre. I wonder if we'll hear the outcome or whether it will be investiagted privately.
Interesting to hear that the children objected to her selling off items to pay for repairs. Did they prefer Althorp to crumble?

Lad digs up £160k in coins

A LABOURER will soon be quids in after finding a hoard of 500-year-old gold coins.

From: The Sun

Muddy find turns out to be a little treasure

When Martin Head found a penny-sized hook caked in mud on a Lancashire farm he thought it was a worthless trinket.

Lancashire Evening Post

6,600 objects have been added to the PAS database since July, and 56,000 since January.