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BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Thaxted gold pendant find sheds light on county's history
The discovery of an early medieval gold coin pendant "literally sheds a light" on a period of a county's history about which little is known. The piece of jewellery is a 6th Century replica of a Byzantine coin and was found by a metal detectorist near Thaxted, was minted in Europe and then brought over to England. A coroner has declared the find treasure and Saffron Walden Museum hopes to acquire it. Historian Lori Rogerson said it was one of a number of recent finds which were "flipping what we thought we knew about Essex at this time on its head". "Because in this period we have no written record for the county, it really is in the dark for people working in archaeology and heritage - so this find literally shines a light on that time," the county finds liaison officer added. The coin is an imitation of one struck in the name of the Byzantine emperor Justin II, who ruled from AD565 to Rogerson said the replicas were minted in several of the post-Roman Empire kingdoms by various European tribes to "give the impression they had the same level of authority as the empire".Similar objects from the 6th and 7th Century are rare finds in Essex, unlike in Kent, Suffolk or Norfolk, she said. "The gold is really high quality and it is an elite object, but we don't get these high status objects found through commercial archaeology, so if this hadn't been found, we'd have had no idea there were these elite groups of people in this area at this time," she explained."We know there are high status individuals at Prittlewell, but we are now getting glimpses of where else they were in Essex." Miss Rogerson was referring to a complete burial chamber of a man dubbed the Prittlewell Prince, which were found near Southend-on-Sea in 2003. Archaeologists unearthed a burial chamber dated AD580 to 605 - full of amazing objects. "Without the discovery of other high status burials in Essex, it's these chance finds that fill in the gaps for us which are missing in the archaeology," she said."The Thaxted pendant means we've got evidence of elite early medieval people from all four corners of the county now - including lots from Colchester, a finger ring from Epping Forest, the Prittlewell burial, and a couple from Chelmsford." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- BBC News
Largest Iron Age gold coin hoard acquired by Chelmsford museum
A "one-of-a-kind" cache of 933 Iron Age gold coins whose finder was convicted of attempted theft is to go on permanent display close to where it was discovered. The Great Baddow Hoard, which was found in 2020, is a "nationally significant" find because it is Britain's largest recorded Iron Age coin hoard, according to was declared treasure by a coroner and has been acquired by the Museum of Chelmsford, Essex, after receiving a £250,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant. Curator Claire Willetts said it "could have been intended as a tribute payment to Roman general Julius Caesar". The hoard come from a time when Iron Age tribes first began minting their own coins using regional dies (metal stamps) and it was found with fragments of a possible container or is the first archaeological evidence of aggression between two neighbouring Iron Age tribes, Trinovantes and Catuvellauni, said the museum's curator, Claire Willetts. "The hoard's discovery in what is traditionally considered Trinovantian territory at Great Baddow may indicate movement or influence from western tribal groups into the east, potentially aligning with accounts of upheaval during Caesar's second invasion of Britain in 54 BC," she said. Previously, the only evidence of this was in Roman finds liaison officer Lori Rogerson described it as "a nationally significant discovery"."In the coming years, visitors seeing the hoard at the Museum of Chelmsford will be in awe at its size and gold content and they'll be led to ask questions such as, 'Who owned such a large stash of precious coins?' and, 'Why was it put in the ground, never to be returned to?'", she said. Having remained in the earth for more than 2,000 years, a metal detectorist found the collection on private land, but he had not sought permission to detect there. Shane Wood admitted the theft of 22 Staters and one quarter Stater, and failing to notify the coroner of the find under the Treasure Act 1996 at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court in April 2021. As well as fines, he had his metal detector destroyed. Having initially failed to declare the find under the Treasure Act, his actions meant the potential to understand its archaeological context was limited. The British Museum's independent Treasure Valuation Committee recommended Wood should not receive a reward, so only the landowner was rewarded for the find. The law and metal detecting No search can begin until permission has been given by the landownerAll finds belong to the landownerAny find in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that is more than 300 years old, made of gold or silver, or found with gold or silver artefacts, could be treasure under the 1996 Treasure ActThese must be reported to the appropriate county finds liaison officerSource: Portable Antiquities Scheme Jennie Lardge, Chelmsford City Council's cabinet deputy for cultural services, said: "I hope many of our residents, especially those in Great Baddow, will feel as I do, an immense pride in this outstanding piece of Britain's history uncovered here in Chelmsford."The city council, Friends of Chelmsford Museums, Essex Society for Archaeology and History, Essex Heritage Trust, Council for British Archaeology East, and Essex Numismatics Society were among those who also contributed funds so the museum could acquire the find. Liz Bates, director of England, Midlands & East at the The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which provided the bulk of the funds, said it was pleased to support the acquisition of "this one-of-a-kind Iron Age hoard". It will go on display at the museum in summer 2026. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
