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somerset Roman coin hoard above Somerset archaeologist Alan Graham excavates the hoard. right Dave Crisp (centre with arms folded), Katie Hinds (FLO for Wiltshire; far left), archaeologists, and friends of Dave and the landowner help with excavation. Dave and his son Aaron camped out on site at night, right next to the pit, to maintain security. Excavation and recovery The find site was just over the border in Somerset, and therefore Katie Hinds, who had previously worked with Dave on other finds and had been his first point of contact, rang Anna Booth, the FLO for Somerset. In conjunction with the Somerset County Council and Bob Croft, Somerset County Archaeologist, local archaeologist Alan Graham was engaged to lead the excavation of the hoard; recovery took three days, with the assistance of the FLOs, Dave, his grandson Aaron, the landowner’s family and others. The first day of excavation started with the realisation that what everyone thought was the top of the pot was in fact the remains of a small dish, which had been used as a lid. After the upper part of the pot had been uncovered, it soon became clear that the vessel was a very large storage jar, 45cm (18 inches) in diameter, of a type normally used for storing food. As Alan uncovered more of the pot, pieces of organic material were found on its outer surface, possibly straw or withies used as packing when the hoard was buried. The first major challenge faced by the team was whether the hoard should be removed in a block, or excavated in parts. Due to the sheer size and weight of the hoard, it was decided that it would be impossible to remove the pot in one piece with the available resources; furthermore, it was already broken into several pieces, so it would 14 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk eptember 2010 |
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not have been possible to maintain the hoard in its original shape. The decision was then taken to excavate the pot on site. Starting from the top, the pot was dismantled and the coins removed by numbered layers, each of which was labelled as a separate context. SamMoorhead (National Finds Adviser for Iron Age and Roman Coins, Portable Antiquities Scheme) had been in telephone contact with the team and was keen to see whether there was any differentiation between the date of the coins at the top and those at the bottom. In other words, were there clues in the timing of the deposition of each layer of coins that might indicate whether this pot represented a sort of bank over the years? As the excavators worked their way further into the pot, they noticed that the colour and condition of the coins was changing. Water began to fill the trench, which was leaking out from the hoard – the base of which had become permanently waterlogged. There was less mud in these lower levels, but the coins were more corroded and had turned an unusual orange colour, presumably the product of staining from the surrounding iron-rich clay. Excitementwasbuilding as the teamneared the bottom of the vessel. The size of the hoard naturally depended on that of the pot, and there was no way of knowing its full extent until all the coins had been removed. Suddenly, the sides began to narrow rapidly, soon after which the bottom of the pot was reached. The small diameter of the vessel’s base was surprising, which added another piece to the puzzle: it was unlikely that it would have stood up unsupported when fully filled,  above and right The pot during excavation, and nearing the end of excavation; the way the coins were removed in layers is visible in the final image. | Issue 246 left Enthusiastic numismatist Sam Moorhead can barely contain his delight at seeing the coins for the first time. Section drawing to show how the different contexts were identified and excavated. www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 15

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somerset Roman coin hoard above Somerset archaeologist Alan Graham excavates the hoard. right Dave Crisp (centre with arms folded), Katie Hinds (FLO for Wiltshire; far left), archaeologists, and friends of Dave and the landowner help with excavation. Dave and his son Aaron camped out on site at night, right next to the pit, to maintain security.

Excavation and recovery

The find site was just over the border in Somerset, and therefore Katie Hinds, who had previously worked with Dave on other finds and had been his first point of contact, rang Anna Booth, the FLO for Somerset. In conjunction with the Somerset County Council and Bob Croft, Somerset County Archaeologist, local archaeologist Alan Graham was engaged to lead the excavation of the hoard; recovery took three days, with the assistance of the FLOs, Dave, his grandson Aaron, the landowner’s family and others.

The first day of excavation started with the realisation that what everyone thought was the top of the pot was in fact the remains of a small dish, which had been used as a lid. After the upper part of the pot had been uncovered, it soon became clear that the vessel was a very large storage jar, 45cm (18 inches) in diameter, of a type normally used for storing food. As Alan uncovered more of the pot, pieces of organic material were found on its outer surface, possibly straw or withies used as packing when the hoard was buried.

The first major challenge faced by the team was whether the hoard should be removed in a block, or excavated in parts. Due to the sheer size and weight of the hoard, it was decided that it would be impossible to remove the pot in one piece with the available resources; furthermore, it was already broken into several pieces, so it would

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current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk eptember 2010 |

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