The Thame Hoard

The Thame Hoard is made up of five medieval gold rings and ten silver groats (c.1351 – c.1457). It was found on the edge of the River Thame in 1940, by a couple walking their dog by the river bank, which was piled high with debris caused by dredging. As the man bent down to pick up a stone to throw for his dog his eye caught shiny objects amongst the gravel. The Coroner declared the hoard treasure trove and the hoard came to the Ashmolean Museum.

The Abbey of the Thame

 
In medieval England clothing and jewellery became an important means of expressing wealth and status. The degree of ornamentation, and quality of materials used, set the upper classes apart from the poorer citizens. Gold rings in particular were considered prestigious items of decoration and by the middle of the fourteenth century a decree had been introduced making it legal only for the upper classes to wear such symbols of status.

We do not know for sure why the rings and coins in this hoard came to be deposited. One suggestion is that the reliquary ring may have belonged to Robert King, elected abbot of Thame in 1529. In November 1539 the abbey was surrendered to the King, and the objects may have been lost in flight or hidden until negotiations were completed, but were never collected.

The reliquary ring is set with an amethyst in the shape of a double armed cross and may have once contained a holy relic. It is engraved on the back with the crucifixion and is inscribed (in Latin) ‘Remember me, O Lord’.

Reliquary ring from the Thame Hoard

Back of Thame Hoard Reliquary ring which is engraved with the crucifixion and is inscribed (in Latin) ‘Remember me, O Lord’

The five rings contained within the Thame Hoard are all made of gold. Three of them include stones believed to have magical properties. Ring b is set with a peridot, ring c with a toadstone and ring d with turquoise. Peridots were believed to offer protection to their wearers; toadstone (in fact fossilised fish teeth and nothing to do with toads) was supposed to bring a man victory over his enemies; while turquoise was believed to change colour if placed near poison.

Rings a (left) and b (right) from the Thame  Hoard

Rings c (left) and d (right) from the Thame Hoard

Ten silver groats dating from c. 1357 – 1457 were recovered alongside the rings. The earliest coins in the hoard were minted in London and display the portraits of the monarchs Edward III, Richard II and Henry V. The remaining seven coins display the portrait of Henry VI and were minted in Calais.

The lack of wear on many of these coins shows they had not long been in circulation when they were lost. The coins are particularly important as they help us to date the hoard to after 1457 (on the basis of the date of the latest coin).

Reposted from Ashmolean Museum

Viking treasure dating over 1,000 years discovered in Scotland

Amongst the objects is a solid silver cross thought to date from the 9th or 10th century, a silver pot of west European origin, which is likely to have already been 100 years old when it was buried and several gold objects.

A large Carolingian Lidded Vessel is part of a hoard of Viking gold and silver artefacts dating back over 1,000 years.

A hoard of Viking gold and silver artifacts dating back over 1,000 years has been discovered by a treasure hunter with a metal detector in Scotland, in a find hailed by experts as one of the country's most significant.

Derek McLennan, a retired businessman, uncovered the 100 items in a field in Dumfriesshire, southwest Scotland, in September.

Amongst the objects is a solid silver cross thought to date from the 9th or 10th century, a silver pot of west European origin, which is likely to have already been 100 years old when it was buried and several gold objects.

An early Christian cross is seen in this photograph received in London on October 14, 2014.

"Experts have begun to examine the finds, but it is already clear that this is one of the most significant Viking hoards ever discovered in Scotland," Scotland's Treasure Trove unit said in a statement.

The Viking hoard is McLennan's second significant contribution to Scotland's understanding of its past. Last year, he and a friend unearthed around 300 medieval coins in the same area of Scotland.

"The Vikings were well known for having raided these shores in the past, but today we can appreciate what they have left behind," said Scotland's secretary for cultural and external affairs, Fiona Hyslop.

The Vikings, of Scandinavian origin, made successive raids on Britain from the 8th to the 11th centuries, burying their valuables for safe-keeping, which have gradually been discovered by generations of treasure seekers.
A golden pin is one of the Viking gold and silver artifacts discovered by a treasure hunter with a metal detector in Scotland. STRINGER/Reuters A golden pin is one of the Viking gold and silver artifacts discovered by a treasure hunter with a metal detector in Scotland.

A 10th-century Viking hoard was found in 2007 in northern England, while in 1840 over 8,600 items were found in northwest England.

The latest find, also containing a rare silver cup engraved with animals which dates from the Holy Roman Empire, and a gold bird pin, is the largest to be found in Scotland since 1891 and could be worth a six-figure sum, the BBC said.

A golden pin is one of the Viking gold and silver artifacts discovered by a treasure hunter with a metal detector in Scotland.

 

 

Celtic Mirrors: Birdlip Grave Group

1st century BC — mid 1st century AD

Discovered in 1879, found in Female burial, Birdlip Gloucestershire.

“Buried with a group of iron-age treasures around AD 50 along with the owner. In 1879 workmen discovered three skeletons in a quarry between Crickley and Birdlip overlooking the Vale of Gloucester. With the bones were some amazing Iron Age artifacts. The most important object is a handheld mirror of bronze.” 

“The Birdlip mirror design on the back of the bronze mirror is etched in to the metal. The pattern is composed of interlocking triskeles which end in groups of two or three flourishes. The handle of the mirror consists of a series of interlocking loops, the final loop, encloses another smaller circle of metal. Red enamel dots can be found on this circle, as well as on the top of the handle, where the handle meets the body of the mirror. This area could be defined as a pelta, or a small mushroom shape, similar in form to the Egyptian lotus bud.”

The front of this was originally highly polished for reflections, but the rear is decorated with flowing patterns worked into the metal. It is one of the finest items of Celtic art to survive in Britain and perhaps the finest example housed outside a national museum. The smaller items are also remarkable. There are fine bronze bowls and bracelets. The stylised face of a bird or animal can be seen in a silver gilt brooch and a bronze knife handle is shaped as the head of a bull or ox. There is also a bead necklace of amber and an exotic stone possible collected from as far away as China.