Metal detector discoveries from Monmouthshire: Two spectacular treasure finds 16 April 2007 In 1998 two separate but significant discoveries were unearthed by metal detectorists in Monmouthshire - a unique hoard of roman coins from Rogiet and a gold ring from Raglan. Both finds were significant and fine examples of treasure that are now in the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru. The Treasure Act of 1997 The Rogiet hoard, as found. 'Carausius and his brothers' (Rogiet hoard) The Treasure Act of 1997 covers certain classes of coins and precious metal objects found in England and Wales and has extended legal protection to single objects of gold and silver and to virtually all coin hoards. The new regulations have provided improved protection for certain categories of newly-found antiquities, and better opportunities for preserving these for the public benefit. Since the act came into force, staff from Amgueddfa Cymru have handled numerous finds, including the spectacular discoveries of an unique hoard of Roman coins from Rogiet and a massive gold signet ring from Raglan. One of the finest hoards of roman coins ever found in Wales In September 1998, thousands of Roman coins from the third century AD were discovered by Colin Roberts at Rogiet, Monmouthshire. This was one of the finest hoards ever recorded from Wales and were declared treasure in December 1998. The 3,750 coins had been buried, possibly in a wooden box, around AD 295-6 (we believe this to be the date since there were no coins later than this in the box) and span a forty-year period, with twenty-two emperors represented, a sign of the political instability of the times. Political trouble Their deposit, and the owner's failure to recover them, probably relate to this military and political instability. At the same time, however, the currency of the Roman empire was going through major change. In AD 294-5, new gold, silver and copper alloy coins were introduced to uniform designs and standards empire-wide. The hoard is made up of an unusual composition for a British find as the coins found in it were not circulated in great numbers here. The hoard is significant as it contains a number of faulty issues of the 260s, and also because it contains over 750 coins of the two individuals who declared themselves Emperor in Britain, Carausius (287-93) and Allectus (293-96). These are not often found in hoards and contain rare denominations representing a variety of warships. Also included in the hoard is a particularly fine specimen, perhaps the best in existence, of a classic rarity of the Romano-British coinage series. In around 292, Carausius seems to have wanted official appreciation from the emperors Diocletian and Maximian, issuing coinage in their names as well as his own. He even depicted himself with the others on a single design, with the slogan 'Carausius and his brothers'. The feeling was not shared, and within a year Carausius was gone, murdered by his minister Allectus. An ornate gold ring from Raglan The Raglan Ring In the same year as the Roman coins were unearthed at Rogiet, a massive and ornate gold signet ring was found near Raglan, Monmouthshire, by Ron Treadgold, and was also declared treasure. The ring has a circular bezel engraved with a design of a lion on a bed of flowers, within a single cable border with the legend: to yow feythfoull or feythfoull to yow and initials W A either side of the lion. The finest example of late medieval gold jewellery to be found in Wales The shoulders of the ring are decorated with flowers and leaves and is significant for the study of late medieval rings as very close comparisons exist in the engraving on the gold episcopal ring of John Stanbury, Bishop of Hereford (1452-1474), a mid 15th century cross from Winteringham, Lincolnshire and a gold ring from Godstow Priory, Oxfordshire. The Raglan ring is likely to date from the middle or third quarter of the 15th century, and is perhaps the finest example of late medieval gold jewellery ever to be found in Wales. The ring's owner The original owner of the seal has yet to be identified, though the finding of the ring near Raglan and initials W A make William Herbert, first Earl of Pembroke (executed after the battle of Banbury during the Wars of the Roses, in 1469) a possibility. He married Anne Devereux, and the initials might stand for William and Anne. The size of the ring suggests that it was worn by a man, and the inscription may be regarded as a sign of faithfulness to his wife. Herbert was one of two men referred to as the 'chosen and faithful' to the new king, Edward IV, and on Edward's coronation he was ennobled. However, the identification of the ring as that of William Herbert is not proven and other names are possible. At present, all that we can safely say is that the ring was a mark of rank, and probably belonged to an important officer or visitor to Raglan during the second half of the 15th century.
Medieval boat discovered in south Wales estuary 12 April 2007 The remains of the boat in the mud Raising the boat from the mud 4.00am August 27th 1995 A reconstructed model of the Boat In 1994, the remains of a boat were discovered in the thick mud on the Gwent Levels, south Wales. Tests on the timber revealed that the boat dated from around 1194. Further excavation revealed that an intact portion of the vessel, 7.2m long and 3.9m wide, survived, making it the most important boat find of the Middle Ages in Britain for 25 years. Lifting the Wreck Recovery of the wreck was essential, but it could either be dismantled on site, or recovered intact. Dismantling could only be done in controlled conditions. However, the wreck was only accessible at low tide for a few hours at a time. The only reasonable course of action therefore was to retrieve the vessel intact. Outside assistance in lifting the wreck was provided from the company building the nearby Second Severn Crossing, and over a period of seven tidal windows, day and night, a team of people worked tirelessly to dig tunnels underneath the vessel to build a cradle of aluminium beams. Extreme care had to be taken as the poor condition of the wreck made it vulnerable to disintegration. The cradle was then attached to a lifting crane, the cables tightened, and the remaining sediment dug out. The vessel was successfully lifted at 4.00 in the morning before being transported to Cardiff, where it was placed in water to prevent the wood rotting further. The remains were recorded and dismantled with each timber being drawn individually. The vessel was carrying iron ore at the time of sinking so had to be thoroughly cleaned using water and soft brushes to remove the iron salts from the ancient remains. Since it was hoped that the boat could be displayed in its original form at the Museum, the timbers had to be conserved either in a way that would allow reshaping after conservation, or be moulded to shape before conservation. Both these methods have advantages and disadvantages: Conserving the ancient wood Waterlogged wood is conserved using a water-soluble wax, this means either immersing the timbers for five to ten years in a concentrated solution before being slowly dried in air; or immersed in a more dilute solution followed by freeze-drying to remove the water, producing a 'dry' product within one to two years. The first method results in an object that is more wax than timber, with a non-wood like appearance, but the large amount of wax allows reshaping of the timbers. Freeze drying, on the other hand, produces a material which still has the appearance of wood as the amount of wax is much lower. However, the timbers are much more brittle than those treated by the first method and it is not possible to reshape the timbers. Creating a Model of the boat It was decided to reshape the timbers into their original form before conserving the wood and so a full-size model of the surviving structure had to be built to work out what the final shape of the timbers should be. The model had to accurately replicate in three dimensions the lay-out and shapes of all the surviving timbers. The model could then provide a set of moulds to be constructed to shape and hold the planking during conservation. After the remains were successfully reshaped, the timbers were conserved using the wax and freeze-drying treatment. The dried and stabilised timbers are now safely in the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru and research on the vessel continues, helping to place this important find within its historical context.
The Llandaf Beaker Man - An Early Bronze Age grave at Llandaf 12 April 2007 The Llandaff Beaker. In 1992, renovations at a house in the Llandaf area of Cardiff uncovered an unusual stone slab buried by river sands and silts. Beneath the slab was a long bone and clay pot. The pot turned out to be a beaker - a decorated clay vessel, fashionable in western Europe some 4,000 years ago, during what is known as 'the Beaker Period'. The beaker may originally have contained mead, beer or some other special brew. The stone slab marked the position of a grave. With the cooperation and encouragement of the owners, the Department of Archaeology and Numismatics conducted an excavation in the driveway to their house, to re-expose the grave and fully excavate its contents. The enclosing cist, constructed of slabs of the local Radyr Stone, was unusual in that it was the form of a lean-to, its capstone resting at an angle of 30° contrasting with more conventional box-like, beaker cists. Little of the skeleton remained. The expectation had been to find a crouched skeleton typical of the Beaker period, but only fragments of the cranium (the top of the skull) and limb bones survived. Additional grave-goods were unearthed, a bronze awl (a pointed tool for making holes, as in wood or leather) and a flint flake - objects that would have been buried alongside the person to be used in the 'next world'. Awls are usually associated with female burials. Analysis of the sediment filling the grave may explain the unusual form of the cist and why only part of the skeleton was preserved. The presence of graded water-lain sediments within the grave suggests disturbance and erosion of the burial by flood water. Today the river Taff flows close by and property where the grave was discovered is built on the former floodplain of the river.
The Undy Roman coffin 5 April 2007 The Undy Coffin during excavation in 1996. The coffin was donated to Amgueddfa Cymru by David Mclean Homes Ltd. The Undy Coffin being raised for transportation. Inside surface of the coffin showing the tool marks of a pick and mason's point. Image © G. Lock. The Undy Coffin. In the 3rd or 4th century AD a young woman was buried in a stone coffin at Undy, Monmouthshire. 1600 years later her grave was rediscovered. In 1996 workmen unearthed a coffin while digging foundations for new houses at Undy, Monmouthshire. Following their discovery the site was investigated by archaeologists, but it remains uncertain whether this was a lone burial of part of a small cemetery. The coffin contained the skeleton of a young, right handed, adult, probably female, aged between 25 and 34 years old. The cause of her death is unknown, but radiocarbon dating revealed she was buried in the late 3rd or 4th century AD - when the Romans occupied Wales. Although no grave goods were found, her burial suggests that she was a relatively wealthy woman, someone who could afford a stone coffin and a proper burial. Burial rather than cremation Burial in this manner had not always been the norm in Roman society. Until the late 2nd century AD most people were cremated; their ashes often being buried in a glass or pottery vessel. However from this time burial traditions began to change. New ideas about the afterlife required that the body be buried 'intact'. These ideas were due to influences from the eastern part of the Empire, including the rise of Christianity, with belief in bodily resurrection. The coffin was an optional feature. The poor might be buried in a grave without a coffin. Coffins were produced in a range of materials including wood, lead and stone. The Undy Coffin is made of Bath Stone, a light creamy coloured limestone which is soft and easily worked when first quarried, but hardens on exposure to the air. This stone is found in the region around the spa town of Bath, England (known to the Romans as Aquae Sulis, which translates as "The Waters of Sulis"). This area is some 20 miles (35km) south-east of Undy. The Roman stonemasons who made it used a very similar range of tools to their modern counterparts. The surface of the Undy coffin preserves these toolmarks, including those made by adze-hammers, chisels, picks and masons points. The direction of the toolmarks indicates that the mason was left-handed. Background Reading "Tools and Techniques of the Roman Stonemason in Britain" by T. F. C. Blagg. In Brittania, vol. 7, p152-72 (1976). "Stone Coffins of Gloucestershire" by R. N. Willmore. In Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucester Archaeological Society, vol. 61, p135-77 (1939).
Celtic Art - Origins and Myths 2 April 2007 The Celts The Late Iron Age harness piece from Alltwen Study of 'Celtic' art styles on metalwork helps us to understand the peoples of the Iron Age in Europe. La Tène art, as it is more properly known, was used across Europe, from the late 5th century BC onwards. This was a form of art uniquely different from that of the classical Mediterranean world, employing natural forms in a free-flowing style. Early La Tène styles were thought to have been made by the Celts, a people who shared common languages, societies and similar pagan religious beliefs. Recently, this view has been challenged; experts today believe that similar metalwork styles show that this art form was passed on across cultures and not necessarily retained within one common ethnic identity. Wales has many fine metalwork discoveries decorated in La Tène art styles, examples of which are housed at National Museum Cardiff. Glass enamels Analysing the samples using an Scanning Electron Microscope A technique mastered by British metalworkers from the 3rd century BC onwards was the application of red 'enamel' to decorated metalwork. It is in fact a type of glass applied by cutting pieces to shape; the pieces were then carefully heat softened and finally pressed into the metalwork. A specimen decorated with La Tène art, with red enamelling, has been discovered at Alltwen near Pontardawe (Neath Port Talbot) and purchased for Amgueddfa Cymru. The discovery raises questions about Welsh enamelled and decorated artefacts from the Iron Age. How similar (or different) were the metal and glassworking traditions in north and south Wales? Did the Severn Estuary act as a barrier, or as a cultural focus for metalworkers between south Wales and south-west England during the later Iron Age? How do these 'enamels' (glasses) decay? Removing samples for analysis Crystals of cuprite within the glass matrix The items chosen for the study include a piece of horse-harness from Cardiff, the Snowdon Bowl (Gwynedd) with its cat-like motif, and selected horse equipment from the Seven Sisters Hoard (Neath Port Talbot), in addition to the Alltwen find. Tiny samples of enamel were taken from the artefacts; these were mounted and polished on microscope slides. Analyses of samples were conducted using a Scanning Electron Microscope and X-ray analysis. Additionally, the structure of the enamels was studied, through transmitted and incidental light, using a polarising light microscope. Results from the analysis show 'soda-lime' glass, containing large amounts of lead and copper. These are responsible for the brilliant red colour and the opacity of these glasses. Their manufacture is technically advanced and can only be produced by careful control of both the ingredients of the glass and the furnace conditions. Results show that enamelled artefacts from south Wales match reasonably well with those from south-west England; however the enamel on the Snowdon bowl from north Wales is markedly different from the others. This suggests differences in the manufacture of these glasses across different regions of Wales.
