Medieval History
The discovery of a huge hoard of Gaulish and Roman coins in Jersey has hit the headlines recently. An interesting overview of the hoard and its significance is given by ASNC alumna Carly Hilts in Current Archaeology. Further press coverage can be found in the Guardian, the Independent and on the BBC News website.
Dr Rory Naismith, a numismatics expert based in ASNC, gives us some further context for the find:
- 2,000 Year-old Gold And Silver Hoard Uncovered In Israel
The Israel Antiquities Authority reports they have uncovered a spectacular 2,000 year-old gold and silver hoard during an archaeological excavation in southern Israel. The hoard includes jewelry and silver and gold coins from the Roman period, and was...
- Viking Treasure Discovered In England
A metal detector enthusiast has found a major hoard of Viking silver in a field on the Cumbria-Lancashire border. Darren Webster, from Carnforth, uncovered more than 200 silver pieces including ornate bracelets, coins and ingots in a lead pot. He said...
- Viking Silver Coin Hoard Discovered In Northern England
A Viking treasure hoard of silver coins has been discovered in the northern English country of Cumbria. The find is being billed as ?the missing link? by experts who say it is the long-awaited significant evidence of 9th and 10th Century AD material culture...
- Wrexham Museum Debut Showing For Medieval Coin Hoard
A hoard of medieval coins found near Llay is to go on display at Wrexham Museum for the first time. The hoard is made up of 31 coins and it is thought they were probably buried soon after 1412. "The coins lay in the ground until December 2005 when...
- Treasure Hunter Finds Ancient Coins
A hoard of medieval silver coins has been found buried in ground at Wellow, it was revealed this week. The 16 silver pennies were found by an amateur treasure- hunter, using a metal detector, and are being examined by experts at the British Museum. ...
Medieval History
Jersey coin hoard
The discovery of a huge hoard of Gaulish and Roman coins in Jersey has hit the headlines recently. An interesting overview of the hoard and its significance is given by ASNC alumna Carly Hilts in Current Archaeology. Further press coverage can be found in the Guardian, the Independent and on the BBC News website.
Dr Rory Naismith, a numismatics expert based in ASNC, gives us some further context for the find:
Coinage was already well known among the pre-Roman peoples of what is now France and Britain long before the Roman conquest. Gold, electrum, silver and base-metal pieces were all made in large volume, many of them bearing rich and artistically accomplished designs. Some also carry the names of kings or mint-places. This major find sheds light on the scale of the Iron-Age currency, and on interaction with the Roman world around the time of Caesar's campaigns in Gaul (c. 50 BC). It constitutes the largest collection of Iron-Age coins ever found, containing approximately 50,000 Iron-Age copper-alloy and silver pieces, along with some Roman pieces. Most of the Iron-Age coins were probably made in Armorica, the region of Gaul now known as Brittany and Normandy. Importantly, its finders - who had been searching with metal-detectors - alerted local archaeological authorities when the nature of the discovery became clear. The hoard was subsequently excavated with all due care, and will be examined thoroughly in a controlled context. It promises to be a major resource for a period when archaeological sources (including coinage) are the principal form of evidence.Dr Paul Russell, our Head of Department, whose research interests include the Continental Celtic languages, such as Gaulish, adds:
Gaulish tribes acquired literacy as a result of contact with first Greek and then Roman scripts in the second and first centuries BC. Numerous inscriptions, some very lengthy, survive written in Gaulish, the Celtic language of Gaul. One important source of linguistic data is numismatic with many of the coins having the names of rulers or tribes on them though sometimes abbreviated, and often badly worn and difficult to decipher. Even so, this new hoard, particularly in view of its size, promises to add more names to the dossier.We look forward to discovering what new evidence the hoard reveals about Gaulish history, language and culture.
- 2,000 Year-old Gold And Silver Hoard Uncovered In Israel
The Israel Antiquities Authority reports they have uncovered a spectacular 2,000 year-old gold and silver hoard during an archaeological excavation in southern Israel. The hoard includes jewelry and silver and gold coins from the Roman period, and was...
- Viking Treasure Discovered In England
A metal detector enthusiast has found a major hoard of Viking silver in a field on the Cumbria-Lancashire border. Darren Webster, from Carnforth, uncovered more than 200 silver pieces including ornate bracelets, coins and ingots in a lead pot. He said...
- Viking Silver Coin Hoard Discovered In Northern England
A Viking treasure hoard of silver coins has been discovered in the northern English country of Cumbria. The find is being billed as ?the missing link? by experts who say it is the long-awaited significant evidence of 9th and 10th Century AD material culture...
- Wrexham Museum Debut Showing For Medieval Coin Hoard
A hoard of medieval coins found near Llay is to go on display at Wrexham Museum for the first time. The hoard is made up of 31 coins and it is thought they were probably buried soon after 1412. "The coins lay in the ground until December 2005 when...
- Treasure Hunter Finds Ancient Coins
A hoard of medieval silver coins has been found buried in ground at Wellow, it was revealed this week. The 16 silver pennies were found by an amateur treasure- hunter, using a metal detector, and are being examined by experts at the British Museum. ...