This stunning Anglo-Saxon cast saucer brooch is our star find so far from a site in the West Midlands! It would originally have had garnet inlays and dates to the 6th century.
Although research is still in its early stages, no parallels have been found for this combination of animal decoration and triskele motif, suggesting the brooch could be a significant discovery.
22 July – 30 August
Help our team of archaeologists discover hidden Winchester at Friarsgate, part of our Central Winchester Regeneration site.
Would you like to get involved? Book your place here:
What a find! Last week Tamsin, one of our archaeologists, found this bronze age socketed axe during an evaluation in Hertfordshire.
Socketed axes were developed during the Late Bronze Age, an evolution on the earlier “palstave” type axes which characterised the Middle Bronze Age in Britain and Ireland.
This example has a side loop that probably helped secure the head to its haft, and dates to about 1100 – 800 BC.
For #WorldHeritageDay we’d like to share our recent work at the Tower of London.
PCA has been commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces to undertake built heritage work during several stages of restoration at the Tower of London. In 2018, during the replacement of the protective staircase in the Flamsteed Turret, the timber covers and the underlying stone stair vice built from 1075/79 to 1100 were recorded. In 2021, building recording was carried out when the walkways leading to and from the Wakefield Tower were replaced, while in 2023 a petrological survey of the Cradle Tower was undertaken prior to repair.
Building recording at Wakefield Tower.
Our petrological survey of Cradle Tower
identified poor quality stone in need of
repair.
A medieval stone culvert in Wakefield Tower.
Petrological analysis in the Flamsteed Turret identified the same 1080 to 1090/93 building break as that seen elsewhere in the fabric of the White Tower, around 23m OD.
We’re accustomed to unearthing fascinating artefacts, but every so often, something extraordinary is discovered which sends ripples through the archaeological community.
During recent excavations in Suffolk, our team found two very unusual Roman coins. Dr Peter Guest, who has undertaken extensive research on the coins has just posted his findings on LinkedIn.
The coins in question belong to the reign of Carausius, a usurper who ruled Britain and northern Gaul from 286 to 293 AD. Carausius’s coinage served as a canvas for sophisticated propaganda, which portrayed Carausius as an equal to the official emperors of the time, Diocletian and Maximian, and as the upholder of traditional Roman values. He was clearly particularly fond of the poet Virgil, especially his Aeneid (which was 300 years old at the time).
I struggled with the 2 new coins for a while because the combination of obverses and reverses didn’t make sense. Their obverses bear the emperor’s helmeted radiate bust facing left with spear and shield and the legend IMP CARAVSI-VS AVG (‘The Emperor Carausius Augustus’). The helmeted obverse bust was modelled on a type issued during the reign of Probus (276-282) and, although it is known for Carausius, it was not common.
Dr Peter Guest
The coins’ reverses are equally intriguing, also derived from coins of Probus but of a type unknown on Proban radiates and only known from gold aurei struck ing Rome and Siscia. on Carausian radiates. The reverses depict the helmeted emperor facing left, holding a spear and shield. He addresses two supplicants on either side, with the legend “PACAT ORBIS” (Peace-bringer to the world). The mint marks on these coins – //oXXVL – are previously undocumented for Carausius.
This type of Carausian radiate is not recorded in the relevant volume of Roman Imperial Coinage (published in 1933) and there is no mention of it in the Online Coins of the Roman Empire corpus (https://lnkd.in/eKSY9ppm), or anywhere else for that matter.
With the invaluable assistance of colleagues from The British Museum, including Andrew Burnett and Dr. Sam Moorhead, Dr Guest discovered that two other coins of the same type and mint mark had been recorded since 1933, providing crucial context and validation for our find. The inclusion of these coins in the upcoming edition of Roman Imperial Coinage Vol. V.5 further cements their significance in numismatic history.
Yet, questions remain. What were these rare coins doing at a settlement in West Suffolk, amidst a cache of 596 other Roman coins?
For #FindsFriday we’re thrilled to share a 3D model of an amazing find from the Middle Iron Age — a pole ladder, one of the earliest examples of its kind found in the UK.
The ladder was discovered largely intact, leaning against the side of a well. With two siderails and five rungs carved from oak, and measuring 2.3m x 0.7m, it was extremely robust compared to other Later Iron Age and Romano-British ladders. It would have weighed 70kg when first built, but has gradually dried out over the centuries, weighing 50kg when excavated. The rarity of waterlogged wood from the Iron Age makes this discovery even more exciting!
This 3D model by Valerio and Isaac, our Geospatial Data Team, is part of a collection we’re planning to add to our forthcoming Virtual Museum.
For #FindsFriday, a repaired dolium from Newgate Street in the City of London. Dolia are large, neckless jars usually associated with viticulture; they could also have been used as storage or preserving jars. They’re relatively rare in Roman Britain. The complex lead brackets used to repair this example are exceptional and very few parallels are known to have been used on pottery vessels. While there are a few known repaired large storage vessels in Roman Britain, excitingly this may be the first repaired dolium-type vessel to be found here!
Kathy Davidson will be giving a talk on our work at Newgate Street at the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society conference tomorrow. Read more about the site, with a link to book tickets, here: https://www.pre-construct.com/news/lamas-60th-annual-conference/
Katie Mountain will be giving a talk on Saturday 9th March at the Hadrian’s Wall Archaeology Forum in Hexham. Book your ticket here.
Katie will present our work at Turret 3a, one of the largest turrets uncovered and the only known confirmed turret east of Newcastle. Our discovery demonstrated that the potential for significant archaeological remains relating to Hadrian’s Wall can survive even in built-up areas of urban Tyneside.
