Britain's last Roman hoards
Key project information
Duration
January 2024 – January 2027
Contact details
Email: [email protected]
Partners
University of Kent
Newcastle University
Supported by
Arts and Humanities Research Council
Grant number
AHRC Research Grant AH/Y0000234/1
What can hoards tell us about life in Britain at the end of the Roman period?
'Some they hid in the earth...and some they carried away' − this is how the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the fate of treasure when Roman rule ended in the early fifth century AD. Over 250 late Roman hoards have been re-discovered in Britain and their contents are an important source of evidence for this time of political and economic crisis.
Hoards from the late Roman period include coins, items of precious jewellery and sometimes burial containers, but these component parts have often only been studied separately, if they have been studied at all. A fresh look at hoards promises to shed light on the wealth, power and daily lives of their former owners and the society in which the objects were made and used.
About this project
This project brings together archaeologists with expertise in metalwork, pottery and coins to reassess hoards in UK museum collections, many of which have been acquired through the Treasure Act. There are more late Roman hoards from Britain than any other part of Europe and they have huge potential to transform our understanding of the economy and wider society at the time of their burial.
The supply of coinage to Britain ceased in the early fifth century and the same coins continued to circulate in the subsequent decades, making it difficult to date hoards precisely. This project applies close observation and recording of the objects, scientific analysis of their metal composition and multivariate analysis to evaluate patterns in the hoard data. Looking at hoards as complete assemblages will establish new dating and help us understand this transition period between Roman state collapse and the development of early medieval kingdoms.
The research shifts the emphasis of earlier work on Roman coin hoards, giving deeper consideration of the individual and collective uses of artefacts in society. Who was wealthy enough to collect these treasures, and what were their purposes? What do they tell us about people's daily lives, the survival of craft practices and cultural connections between Britain and the world into the fifth century?
Aims
The aims of this project are to:
- Study Britain's last Roman hoards as complete assemblages including coins, other objects and hoard containers, bringing together material culture specialists from different subdisciplines of archaeology.
- Investigate the social function of hoard assemblages prior to deposition.
- Establish more precise deposition date ranges for the hoards to better understand the breakdown of the Roman monetary system.
- Contribute to wider understanding of the transition from the late Roman to the early medieval period and the experience of everyday life, economy, cultural change and connections between Britain and continental Europe.
- Communicate and disseminate the research findings of the project to university and museum-based scholars and wider audiences including museum visitors, schools and the general public, changing public perceptions through creative outreach activities.
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