Helmingham Hall Hoard

Last updated
Helmingham Hall Hoard
Helmingham Hall Hoard Unique ID SF-8C645E.jpg
Assorted coins from the hoard
Type coin hoard
Material Grey ware, Celtic Gold Staters, Silver Denarii, One aureus of Claudius
Created47 AD
Period/culture Roman invasion of Britain
Discovered9 September 2019 - 2021
Helmingham Hall
Discovered byGeorge Ridgway
Present location British Museum, Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service, private collections
Registration Portable Antiquities Scheme Treasure 2019T794, 2020T915, 2021T655
Culture British Iron Age, Roman Britain
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/970233

The Helmingham Hall hoard is a Roman British coin hoard found near the grounds of Helmingham Hall around Helmingham and Stowmarket, Suffolk, dating at latest to the reign of Claudius, during the Roman conquest of Britain in the year 47 AD. [1] [2]

Contents

Discovered in 8 September 2019, with subsequent finds in 2020-2021, the hoard consist of 748 gold and silver denarii, a blend of Iron Age, Roman Republic, Triumvirate, and Roman Imperial currency, the largest of its time, ranging from the reign of Cunobeline to Claudius. [3] [2]

The hoard is documented in the Portable Antiquities Scheme as designated Treasure under the Case Numbers 2019T794 and 2020T915. [4]

Helmingham Hall Helmingham Hall - geograph.org.uk - 3394712.jpg
Helmingham Hall

Discovery

Helmingham Hall, is situated 27 miles north of Camulodunum, or Roman Colchester, and as such, became the foothold of what would be Britannia province, with Legio XX Valeria Victrix establishing their base. [3] [5]

With the latest coin in the hoard dating to 47 AD, the deposit was made contemporary to an Iceni revolt the same year, documented in Tacitus' Histories (12.31), which occurred 65 miles north of the estate at Stonea Camp. [3] [2] [6]

In 9 September 2019, metal detectorist George Ridgway detected the grounds with permission granted by the owners of Helmingham Hall. In a space that was once a pond in the 19th century, but in present day a barley field, the ground was scattered with fibulae from the 1st century. Thirty meters down, the first find was a denarius of Julius Caesar, followed by 206 coins in a 1.5 meter square space. [3] [2] [7]

Excavations with the local archaeological authority over the next three months yielded 205 coins, with 314 additional coins found within a 60 yard radius of the initial find. Ridgway returned to the site in 2020 and 2021, and found 9 and 14 pieces from the hoard respectively. [3]

63 coins were given to the British Museum and the Colchester and Ipswich Museums. [1] [3] [2]

The rest of the hoard is set to be sold by auction house Noonans Mayfair on 18 September 2024, with an estimate of 75000 GBP, the proceeds to be split between Ridgway and Helmingham Hall's owners. [1] [3] [2] [7]

On 18 September 2024, the Noonans Auction lots sold for a collective £132,865. [8]

Description

The hoard comprises 748 Iron Age and Roman coins, 734 documented and catalogued by the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the oldest coin dating to the Roman Republic in 206 BC to the latest coin a denarius issued by Claudius in 46-47 AD. [4]

Reign and AdministrationQuantity (all denarii unless stated) [4]
Cunobeline 19 (15 gold stater, 4 gold quarter stater)
Roman Republic 483
Mark Antony 57
Juba I of Numidia 1
Augustus 81 (1 irregular coin)
Tiberius 83
Gaius Caesar 2
Claudius 4 (1 aureus issued 41-42 AD)
Unknown2

In addition, 35 shards of clay pottery, weighing 70.65 grams were recovered from the hoard. Made of grey ware, the fragments are all believed to be from one vessel, which was used to store the coins. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corieltauvi</span> British tribe of the Iron Age and Roman era

The Corieltauvi were a Celtic tribe living in Britain prior to the Roman conquest, and thereafter a civitas of Roman Britain. Their territory was in what is now the English East Midlands. They were bordered by the Brigantes to the north, the Cornovii to the west, the Dobunni and Catuvellauni to the south, and the Iceni to the east. Their capital was called Ratae Corieltauvorum, known today as Leicester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portable Antiquities Scheme</span>

The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary programme run by the United Kingdom government to record the increasing numbers of small finds of archaeological interest found by members of the public. The scheme began in 1997 and now covers most of England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmingham Hall</span> House in Helmingham, Suffolk, UK

Helmingham Hall is a moated manor house in Helmingham, Suffolk, England. It was begun by John Tollemache in 1480 and has been owned by the Tollemache family ever since. The house is built around a courtyard in typical late medieval/Tudor style. The house is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England, and its park and formal gardens are also Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Somerset</span> Museum in Taunton, Somerset

The Museum of Somerset is located in the 12th-century great hall of Taunton Castle, in Taunton in the county of Somerset, England. The museum is run by South West Heritage Trust, an independent charity, and includes objects initially collected by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society who own the castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frome Hoard</span> Hoard of Roman coins found in Somerset, UK

The Frome Hoard is a hoard of 52,503 Roman coins found in April 2010, by metal detectorist Dave Crisp near Frome in Somerset, England. The coins were contained in a ceramic pot 45 cm (18 in) in diameter, and date from AD 253 to 305. Most of the coins are made from debased silver or bronze. The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and is also important as it contains the largest group ever found of coins issued during the reign of Carausius. The Museum of Somerset in Taunton, using a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), acquired the hoard in 2011 for a value of £320,250.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrewsbury Hoard</span> Hoard of Roman coins found in England

The Shrewsbury Hoard is a hoard of 9,315 bronze Roman coins discovered by a metal detectorist in a field near Shrewsbury, Shropshire in August 2009. The coins were found in a large pottery storage jar that was buried in about AD 335.

The Furness Hoard is a hoard of Viking silver coins and other artefacts dating to the 9th and 10th Century that was discovered in Furness, Cumbria, England in May 2011 by an unnamed metal detectorist. The exact location of the find, as well as the names of the finder and the landowner, have not been made public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bredon Hill Hoard</span>

The Bredon Hill Hoard is a hoard of 3,784 debased silver Roman coins discovered in June 2011 by two metal detectorists on Bredon Hill in Worcestershire, approximately 400 metres north of Kemerton Camp, an Iron Age hill fort. The coins were found in a clay pot that had been buried around the middle of the 4th century in a Roman villa, identified by the subsequent archaeological excavation. The coins include the reigns of sixteen different emperors during the mid to late 3rd century, and are the largest hoard of Roman coins to have been discovered in Worcestershire to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverdale Hoard</span> Silver hoard discovered in Lancashire, England

The Silverdale Hoard is a collection of over 200 pieces of silver jewellery and coins discovered near Silverdale, Lancashire, England, in September 2011. The items were deposited together in and under a lead container buried about 16 inches (41 cm) underground which was found in a field by a metal detectorist. It is believed to date to around AD 900, a time of intense conflict between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danish settlers of northern England. The hoard is one of the largest Viking hoards ever discovered in the UK. It has been purchased by Lancashire Museums Service and has been displayed at Lancaster City Museum and the Museum of Lancashire in Preston. It is particularly significant for its inclusion of a coin stamped with the name of a previously unknown Viking ruler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaton Down Hoard</span> Roman hoard from Devon

The Seaton Down Hoard is a hoard of 22,888 Roman coins found in November 2013 by metal detectorist Laurence Egerton near Seaton Down in Devon, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overton Hoard</span> Roman coin hoard from North Yorkshire, England

The Overton Hoard is a Roman coin hoard dating from the early 3rd century AD. It contains 37 coins and fragments of a pottery container. It was acquired by the Yorkshire Museum in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryedale Roman Bronzes</span> Assemblage of Roman metalwork

The Ryedale Roman Bronzes is an assemblage of Roman metalwork.

The Cridling Stubbs hoard is a Romano-British hoard of more than 3,300 coins in a large, ceramic jar.

A number of Roman hoards have been discovered near Pewsey and Wilcot in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noonans Mayfair</span> British auction house

Noonans Mayfair, formerly Dix Noonan Webb, is an auction house based in London. It specialises in coins, medals, jewellery and paper money. Since being established, the firm has sold over 400,000 lots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malmesbury Hoard</span>

The Malmesbury Hoard is Romano-British coin hoard found near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muddy hoard</span> Largest coin hoard of Cambridgeshire, discovered in 2018, dating to 274 AD in the Gallic Empire

The Muddy Hoard is a Roman British coin hoard found in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, dating to approximately the year 274, during the joint reign of Tetricus I, and his son, Tetricus II of the Gallic Empire, a breakaway state of the Roman Empire during the reign of Aurelian.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Suffolk man inspired by Indiana Jones finds 748 historic coins". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Coins discovered by metal detectorist inspired by Indiana Jones to go to auction". The Independent. 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Noonans Auction: Ancient British Hoards (18 Sep 24) by Noonans Mayfair - Issuu". issuu.com. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Record ID: SF-8C645E - ROMAN hoard". The Portable Antiquities Scheme. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  5. Rivet, A. L. F.; Todd, Malcolm (1982). "Roman Britain 55 BC-AD 400". Britannia. 13: 445. doi:10.2307/526532. ISSN   0068-113X.
  6. "Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals, BOOK XII, chapter 31". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  7. 1 2 "Huge Roman coin hoard found at Suffolk estate expected to sell for £75k". East Anglian Daily Times. 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  8. "Haul of historic coins found in Suffolk fetches £132k at auction". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-12-02.