The hoards that we have discussed in the blog so far have been found in southern England but there are also number of hoards found further north that are included in our project. The Deepdale (Barton-upon-Humber) hoard found in North Lincolnshire in the late 1970s by a metal-detectorist is one such example.
The hoard consists of 260 siliquae, one solidus and a container. The container, solidus and a portion of the siliquae were acquired for several museum collections and the remaining siliquae were subsequently sold on the open market to private collectors. Today, the portion of the hoard is split between North Lincolnshire Museum (40 coins and the container), Treasure House Museum (20 coins) and Hull & East Riding Museum of Archaeology (4 coins). The British Museum also acquired 7 coins from the hoard.
The hoard container is a small wheel-thrown vessel and survives incomplete. As you can see in the image above, only the base along with three fragments which have been glued and joined back together survive. Analysis of the container and its fabric is ongoing but it is likely that the the container was originally a small jar or flagon before its reuse as a container for the hoard. The container is currently on display at North Lincolnshire Museum along with 40 of the coins.
The earliest coins in the hoard are issues of Constantius II minted in Arles (359-361) and the latest coins are issues of Honorius from Milan (395-402). Almost all of the coins were lightly clipped suggesting that the coins were collected together and buried at an earlier point in the fifth century. A range of different mints from across the Roman Empire are represented amongst the coins including the mints of Trier, Arles and Lyons from the west and Constantinople from the east. Two of the coins are also from mints that are not commonly found in Britain, Sirmium and Nicomedia. Of the thousands of siliquae in the Hoxne hoard, less than 30 were identified as belonging to these two mints.
A few of the coins were also irregular and copies of official coins. In some cases, it is easier to spot an irregular coin due to more obvious mistakes or omissions. For example, one siliqua has a blundered reverse legend ‘T A OVIZ VLTIS X’ and the mintmark ‘IIVAG’ does not exist. As we mentioned in an earlier post, these coins can tell us about the availability and demand for coins as a source of value as well as questions of production.
Almost all of the coins were lightly clipped suggesting that the coins were collected together and buried at an earlier point in the fifth century.