This new series will detail my Top 10 finds recorded each month. Here are those from December. First up is this Republican Denarius of L Cassius Longinus minted in 78BC (BERK-1037DC). On one side is the head of a young Bacchus or Liber while on the other is the head of Libera (Proserpina) left. It …more
Category: Photography
5000 Up For West Berkshire!
Very recently I verified West Berkshire’s 5000 PAS find on the database. Recently I held a poll on Twitter for what should be the 5000th find. As expected, you ask the people who voted for Boaty McBoatface, you get a silly result. The winner was this unidentifiable lead seal/token. However, this makes a wider point …more
Berkshire 2020
With the release of the 2019 PAS Annual Report, here is a couple of special Berkshire ones from the report and a roundup of finds from Berkshire recorded in the past year. PAS 2019 Annual Report First from 2019 is a remarkable find from Bisham, Berkshire, this year was a silver Greek drachm of Alexander …more
Highlights from the West Berkshire Museum Collection – December 2020
This year, West Berkshire Museum had acquired three historic objects of personal adornment which were found by metal detectorists in Berkshire and were declared treasure. The first is a gold Roman finger ring (BERK-375356) which dates to the 1st – 3rd century AD. It is a plain circular band with an oval intaglio made of …more
Finds Through The Ages – The Post-Medieval Period
This period covers the time from around the beginning of the rule of Henry VIII to the turn of the 20th century. This is generally split into two periods Early = AD1500 – 1650 Late = AD1750/1800 – 1900 We don’t use ‘middle’ as there is debate over what constitutes the late Post Medieval. Of …more
Finds Through The Ages – The Medieval Period
This period covers the time from the Norman Invasion in AD1066 to the beginning of the 16th century. There is no agreed upon date for the end of the Medieval period. AD1500 is generally considered to be the end. Across Europe different events are used such as the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 …more
Finds Through The Ages – The Early Medieval Period.
This period covers the decline of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century to the Norman conquest of 1066 AD. For Berkshire, there are only 181 records covering this period which doesn’t seem that many! In contrast with the Roman period, the finds dominating in this period are brooches, followed by strap-ends, then coins. A …more
FINDS THROUGH THE AGES – The Roman Period
Great Britain was governed by the Roman Empire from the period AD 43 to 410 AD. There are currently 381, 275 records of Roman artefacts and coins on the PAS database, 3172 of which are from Berkshire! The most common finds are coins followed by brooches. An amazing 2, 580 coins, and 179 brooches …more
Why Not Have a Go at Photographing your Finds?
What You Will Need 1 – The object (of course!) 2 – A camera/ phone camera and tripod/clamp (if you have one) Set the camera to the ‘Macro’ setting if it has one. 3 – A sheet of plain white paper 4 – A scale or ruler with millimetres and centimetres (preferably a white or …more
Finds Through The Ages – The Iron Age in Berkshire (c 800 BC – AD 43).
Iron Age Britain marked an era of iron tools and weapons, and the existence of tribal based societies. The tribes in Southern Britain included: Atrebates Belgae Cantiaci Catuvellauni Dobunni Dumnonii, and sub-tribe Cornovii Durotriges Regnenses Trinovantes Iceni These tribes produced the coinage of this period which are organized by geographical region. Two examples are included below …more
