British Archaeology Published bimonthly Next issue out April 4 2025
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From the editor
TV
VOLTAGE
This past year in world history has been volatile. Sometimes it is easier to glance from afar rather than to face the realities of conflicts and the impacts they can have on yourself, your families, friends, and colleagues.
Up until a few days ago, the intention of this British Archaeology issue (201) was to also include an article from archaeological colleagues based at the Getty Museum. As with other archaeological professionals in the past year,
whose lives have been threatened in Ukraine and Gaza, our colleagues in LA have also had to abandon their homes – not by the cruelties of war – but by the ravages of wildfires and the increasing human impact on our environment. We are hoping to publish their work in a future edition, but I extend my best wishes to them as I do to others who are suffering in various conflicts around the world.
By coincidence, this edition of British Archaeology shows us how people in the past and present respond and react to external forces, have the power to coerce, and can also collectively be a change for good. On the surface, the discovery of the Chew Valley Hoard is an impressive find of 2,584 silver pennies – the largest coin hoard to be found deposited in the ground from just after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
As with all hoard discoveries, I am always astonished at the amount of information that can be gleaned from seemingly isolated buried items; the diligent work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme and local museum partners – in this case, South West Heritage Trust paint a vivid picture of England and the borders of Wales during a tumultuous time of political upheaval and structural change during the initial years of William the Conquerors reign.
In the summer of 2024, Romani Community Archaeology embarked on their inaugural field season. In the calm idyll of the New Forest, archaeologists and volunteers uncovered the shocking story of the Thorney Hill Gypsy community. Targeted by authorities, they were systematically cleared from the land and forced to ‘assimilate’ in dire conditions. Excavating Thorney Hill Gypsy Rehabilitation Centre is a brutal story of our recent past, this excavation highlights how archaeology can be used as a means to understand the uncomfortable social history of Britain’s marginalised communities, with the opportunity to educate others and offer some form of closure to affected communities.
Our final feature, Archaeology: What is it good for? is a reminder how archaeology permeates our lives and how archaeological research influences growth in other industries and sectors. A reminder that archaeology is now not just about putting a spade in the ground but that as a practice enjoyed by professional or volunteers alike it has grown exponentially.
Archaeological discoveries now have wider implications for global humanities and science and how individually, in our own ways, we can contribute to a reimagined archaeological future. You can contact the magazine via email at editor@archaeologyuk.org.
Raksha Dave
On the cover: A pile of silver coins from the Chew Valley Hoard following conservation. The coins were issued by three English kings spanning the pre- and post-Norman conquest Credit: British Museum
B ritish Archaeology | March April 2025 | No 201
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British
Archaeology
THE VOICE OF ARCHAEOLOGY FOR 80 YEARS
March April 2025| £7.95
Chew Valley Hoard: Coins of conquest, rebellion & anarchy
ISSUE 201
C h e w Valley Hoard / Thorney Hill / Archaeological Achieve ment A wards 2024/ Colin Renfre w
Excavating Thorney Hill: A 'Gypsy rehabilitation centre' Archaeology: What is it good for? Archaeological Achievement Awards 2024
Radiocarbon dates Unless otherwise noted, 14c dates in British Archaeology are calibrated at 95% confidence (cal ad or cal bc, expressed as ad or bc), rounded out after Mook (1986). See Radio-carbon dating by m Christie et al, WikiJournal of Science (2018), doi: 10.15347/wjs/2018.006
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