News - Doncaster Roman jewels mystery

PART of a treasure-trove dating back to Roman times has mysteriously surfaced at an antiques fair - almost 30 years after the rest of it was found in a Doncaster wood.


A silver bracelet dating back to the third century is now wanted by Doncaster Museum so they can reunite it with the rest of the famous Cadeby Hoard discovered by a local metal detector enthusiast in 1981.

Yesterday the way was cleared for the Chequer Road museum to acquire it from the owners - an ancient artefacts dealer in Essex - after Doncaster Coroner Nicola Mundy declared the bracelet to be treasure-trove.
Experts from the British Museum, who will now decide its value, are convinced it would have been hidden in the same place as 112 silver Roman coins and four silver bracelets in Pot Ridings Wood, Cadeby, in the period after AD 250.

The Cadeby Hoard, which attracted national interest at the time, was found hidden in a rock crevice in October 1981 by Brendan Kennedy, of Victorian Crescent, Town Moor, while using his metal detector.

But the hearing was unable to shed any light on how the bracelet came to change hands separately at the Newark Antiques Fair in 2009 - where it was sold by Nottingham man Kevin Darby, who has no knowledge of the finder.

He was unable to attend yesterday’s hearing because he is recovering from a heart attack.

In a statement Mr Darby said he had had the bracelet for many years, and bought it t because he liked it.

The bracelet is 85 per cent silver with a carnelian gemstone. At almost 62mm wide it weighs 62.8g. It is believed to have been made by a silversmith in Lincoln or York between 250 and 280AD.

While researching on the internet Mr Darby found a similar bracelet in the Doncaster Museum collection and visited to see the others from the Cadeby Hoard.

He also showed it to museum staff and added: “I have done everything by the book.”

The bracelet was bought by Essex-based dealers Timeline Originals, whose chief executive, Brett Hammond, said they were told it had been excavated prior to 1975 and before treasure hunters’ legislation was tightened up.

Ms Mundy received an expert’s report from the British Museum, with Ian Richardson saying the bracelet dated from the third century and bore ‘strong similarities’ with two found in Pot Ridings Wood.

“Analysis suggest this bracelet is another element of the Cadeby Hoard and should be considered retrospectively as treasure-trove,” he stated.

The coroner concurred, saying the bracelet had ‘strong similarities’ with the Cadeby Hoard bracelets.

She said: “I believe it was part of that earlier hoard and would have been deposited under the same rock.”

The treasure-trove declaration means the object - currently in the custody of the British Museum - is now owned by the Crown and will be valued by experts before being offered for sale.

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/doncaster-roman-jewels-mystery-1-4527933

Event - A taste of the East (Weston Park Museum)

ANCIENT artefacts are bringing China’s 3,000-year-old civilisation to life in Sheffield.

From an 18th century compass, to a bronze mirror from 1000 AD, the remarkable objects are at Weston Park Museum – a rare chance to see such a collection outside London.

The China: Journey to the East exhibition, on loan from the British Museum, concludes its national tour in the city.

Its other star attractions include a 3,000-year-old food container placed in tombs for the dead to use in their journey to the spirit realm and Ming Dynasty ceramics depicting warrior gods.

Young visitors can also discover the story of Chinese New Year or perform their own stories in the display’s puppet theatre.

Teresa Whittaker, senior exhibition curator at Museums Sheffield, said: “China has a long and fascinating history.

“It’s great to offer visitors to Weston Park the chance to explore it through such a unique collection of artefacts.

“We’re delighted to be working in partnership with the British Museum to show these incredible objects in Sheffield.”

The exhibition starts on December 17 and runs until April.

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/a_taste_of_the_east_1_4061324

News - Medieval gold ring declared treasure (Thurcroft)

A METAL detecting enthusiast unearthed a 14th century gold ring studded with a ruby and an emerald, an inquest heard.

Metal finishing plant worker Paul McEvoy, 44, found the medieval finger ring just six inches beneath the soil surface in a field in Thurcroft, Rotherham.

Mr McEvoy, from Dinnington, told the Rotherham hearing: “I thought I had dug up a squash bottle top but it turned out to be a ring.”

He said he had been metal detecting for an hour and until then had only found modern spoons, nails and a buckle.

The find, made in July, 2009, was verified by Beverley Nenk from the British Museum.

Landowners Judith and Hedley Leaning were at the inquest and said the land which had been left fallow after growing wheat was farmed by Richard Crowe from Tickhill.

It is not yet known how valuable the ring is or where it will end up.

Assistant deputy coroner Jonathan Godfrey declared the ring treasure trove under the Treasure Act.

He said: “I am satisfied that the item that was found by Mr McEvoy was a gold finger ring with two stones, one green and one red. Having regard to its age and that it is gold it is treasure.”

The ring is being held by Retford Museum.

From: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/medieval_gold_ring_declared_treasure_1_3940821

News- Project to map ancient landscape of England may reveal burial grounds under your house (National)

The School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford is to compile a map of prehistoric England for the first time.

The 'Portal to the Past’ project will allow people to look online to discover the history of their own area over 3,500 years, from the Bronze Age in 1500BC to the Domesday Book in 1086.

Professor Chris Gosden, who is leading the project, said local history is one of the most popular internet searches after family ancestors.

However at the moment the parish records will only show up to around 1,000 years ago.

The five year project, funded by £1.8 million from the European Research Council, will bring together all the available data into a digital archive to create maps and as much information as possible about prehistoric England.

Prof Gosden said most modern day parishes are based on how the land was set out in Roman estates or even before then by peasant communities.

He said there could be metal works, ancient field systems, peasant huts, a Roman villa or even human bodies under modern buildings.

“We tend to look at surface of the world we live in but as soon as you look beneath the surface there will be a wealth of ancient features," he said.

Most of the data will be from English Heritage aerial photographs showing ancient sites of interest. There is also £100 million spent every year by developers carrying out archaeological research on sites before building work begins and private research by museums and individuals.

Material will also be drawn from county archives, databases of ancient coins, and the Portable Antiquity Scheme (which records the archaeological finds made by metal detectors). Oxford researchers will work with the British Museum, the Archaeology Data Service and local history experts with a good knowledge of the period.

Prof Gosden said bringing all the information about ancient England into one website will reveal where the landscape has developed and indeed, stayed the same.

Access to maps and databases on artefacts may also help budding archaeologists or even treasure hunters to find more.

“England is extraordinary in the level of potential information about the ancient landscape,” he said.

“We hope this project will provide an in-depth analysis of the whole of England, so we can glean new insights into how the landscape has changed and developed. We want to discover what this huge database of information on ancient sites can reveal about England at a national level. Until now we have had fragments of information about landscape use during this period but this project allows us to form a bigger picture of overall patterns and regional variations within England."

The Portal to the Past website is expected to go live in 2014. It will be available through the University of Oxford School of Archaeology website at http://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8675237/Project-to-map-ancient-landscape-of-England-may-reveal-burial-grounds-under-your-house.html

News - Gem discoveries are declared as treasure (Notts)

A MEDIEVAL stud and a 17th Century ring found in Notts were among the items classed as treasure at an inquest.

The hearing at Nottingham Coroners' Court heard that the gold and garnet stud was found by Nigel Somerfield, when metal detecting in north Notts last year.

The exact location of the find was not declared to prevent others digging up the land.

The stud was sent to the British Museum, where experts confirmed that it was a button from a sword scabbard.

It has been dated to the early seventh century, probably between 600 and 650AD.

The stud is small, but similar to items discovered in the Staffordshire Hoard – the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found, valued at more than £3 million.

As the stud was more than 300 years old and contained more than ten per cent precious metal, it was formally declared as treasure by Stephanie Haskey, Assistant Deputy Coroner for Notts.

She said: "The British Museum has said that museums are interested in acquiring the stud, but it is not clear exactly where it will go and whether it will join its more famous comparisons or stay locally."

Other items declared treasure at the inquest included a 18th Century silver thimble, found in Southwell by Gary Zdanowski and a gold ring found in Notts in July last year by Trevor Avis.

The ring has black enamel patterns on the outside and words engraved on the inside which roughly translate to say 'Let local amenity separate annuity'.

The court heard that it had been dated to the 17th Century and that similar items were exhibited in the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The rings were often given as gifts between lovers and friends, and were sometimes used as wedding rings.

Newark and Sherwood museum have expressed an interest in acquiring the ring. Its value was not disclosed.

Miss Haskey thanked Mr Avis for reporting the item.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Gem-discoveries-declared-treasure/article-3581919-detail/article.html

News - Third haul for treasure hunter (Newark)

Treasure-trove hunter Mr Maurice Richardson has unearthed his third haul.

 

Mr Richardson found a cache of Bronze Age tools buried in a field eight miles from Newark.

He found them by accidentally wandering off a track while completely immersed searching with his metal detector.

Mr Richardson, who lives in Newark, made the find while examining a field owned by a farmer he met through his tree surgery business.

The cache includes several well-preserved socket axe handles, chisels, a spear head, broken sections of swords, and unmoulded clumps of bronze.

It is believed they once belonged to a Bronze Age blacksmith with a travelling foundry who would have toured from settlement to settlement forging weapons and tools and collecting broken ones to be re-smelt into serviceable replacements.

Bronze was worth as much as gold is today and was also very heavy so smithies, fearing they could be robbed, would bury stashes near recognisable markers along their well-travelled routes and dig them up when passing by.

Mr Richardson believes this cache remained in the ground because something happened to alter the landscape between the blacksmith’s visits or, that he died before retrieving them.

“Three thousand years ago bronze would have been difficult to obtain. The tin could only come from the mines in Cornwall and the copper from Ireland,” said Mr Richardson.

“This represents the first step up from the use of flints. It was the first use of metals. Some of these items are incredible and very well preserved.

“I only found them after I wandered off the path. My head was down concentrating and then the detector went off. It was a complete accident.

“I have no idea what they are worth or whether they hold any value more than their historical worth.”

Mr Richardson sent the find to the Portable Antiques Scheme. It will then go on to the British Museum to be assessed, dated and valued.

In addition to the Bronze Age items, he found Roman brooches and around 70 coins dating from 40-48BC as well as floor tiles from a Roman villa known to have been built on the site.

If the cache is declared treasure trove, Mr Richardson will split half of its worth with the landowner and the pieces will likely be exhibited locally or nationally.

An earlier find by Mr Richardson, a 2,100-year-old torc valued at £350,000, is exhibited in the British Museum.

He also found 200 pieces of medieval, Saxon and Roman pieces in a field two miles from Newark last year.

 

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Third-haul-for-treasure-hunter