The Portable Antiquities Scheme

15/04/2021

The database record for the Deepdale Hoard can be found here: https://finds.org.uk/database/hoards/record/id/1184

Throwback Thursday: The Deepdale Hoard was discovered in 1979. It consisted of 193 silver Roman siliquae found in and around a small pottery jar. More coins were recovered from the same area in 1980 and 1981, taking the total number in the hoard to around 250. The coins ranged in date from the reign of Constantius II (323-361) to Honorius (393-423), meaning that the hoard must have been buried during the last few years of the Roman occupation.
#ThrowbackThursday #Throwback #Museum The Portable Antiquities Scheme #Finds

02/04/2021

We'd like to wish all of our followers a Happy Easter! Enjoy the long weekend and stay safe! #Easter #GoodFriday #EasterSunday

We'd like to wish all of our followers a Happy Easter! Enjoy the long weekend and stay safe! #Easter #GoodFriday #EasterSunday

23/03/2021

Iron Age Coins in Britain

A brand new digital resource for Iron Age coins in Britain - it includes 36,000 coins from The British Museum and the Portable Antiquities Scheme database.

Ancient British Coins (ABC) is the most comprehensive reference book for the typology of the Iron Age coins of Britain. ABC catalogues 999 types of coins found in Britain from around the early to mid-2nd century BC through the 1st century AD. The earliest issues were imported to Britain from the Con...

12/03/2021

Our #FindsFriday object this week is from the The Portable Antiquities Scheme and a new addition to their website:

P-shaped brooch found in Barnsley in 2018. The Armbrustfibel style pin mechanism & the quirky catchplate suggesting continental manufacture.

Lots more information here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1014754

04/03/2021

An introduction to the PAS Finds Recording Guides

We've put together a short video to introduce you to our series of Finds Recording Guides. These are technical guides aimed at helping people to identify and record objects onto the PAS database. We currently have 92 guides covering a range of objects and you can access them all here: https://finds.org.uk/counties/findsrecordingguides/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0gzwvZPzyo&ab_channel=PortableAntiquitiesScheme

This short video is an overview of the Finds Recording Guides on the PAS website. The Finds Recording Guides are technical guides that provide detailed guida...

26/02/2021

Our new Finds Liaison Officer, Sophie Hawke, updates us on her first couple of months in the role:
www.salisburymuseum.wordpress.com

(Photo courtesy of Rick Buettner)

16/02/2021

Thank you to everyone who tuned in for our talk last night on behalf of the Thames Discovery Programme's Tideway Talks. And thank you to @thamesdiscovery for inviting us to talk. We enjoyed sharing the work of the PAS in London, as well as all those fabulous finds - hope you had fun spotting yours! Sorry we couldn't give a shout out to everyone but there were just so many finds! But a massive thank you to everyone who has recorded their finds with us, and in particular to those finders whose lovely Instagram images are featured in the image here: @carolinenunneley @south_london_lark @marksowden3 @kevin.c.thamesmudlark @mudika.thames @megasteg @river_thames_mudlarking_finds @thames_collector @whitby_solo @little_jo_cook and @jasonmudlark

If you recognised any of your finds in the presentation say hello in the comments below 👇👇

#ThamesForeshore #PASInLondon #ThamesDiscoveryProgramme #TidewayTalks #Mudlarks #MudlarkingFinds #RiverThames

Thank you to everyone who tuned in for our talk last night on behalf of the Thames Discovery Programme's Tideway Talks. And thank you to @thamesdiscovery for inviting us to talk. We enjoyed sharing the work of the PAS in London, as well as all those fabulous finds - hope you had fun spotting yours! Sorry we couldn't give a shout out to everyone but there were just so many finds! But a massive thank you to everyone who has recorded their finds with us, and in particular to those finders whose lovely Instagram images are featured in the image here: @carolinenunneley @south_london_lark @marksowden3 @kevin.c.thamesmudlark @mudika.thames @megasteg @river_thames_mudlarking_finds @thames_collector @whitby_solo @little_jo_cook and @jasonmudlark

If you recognised any of your finds in the presentation say hello in the comments below 👇👇

#ThamesForeshore #PASInLondon #ThamesDiscoveryProgramme #TidewayTalks #Mudlarks #MudlarkingFinds #RiverThames

11/02/2021

Durham FLO Ben Westwood on Twitter

A fascinating thread from Twitter by our Finds Liaison Officer for Durham, Ben Westwood. It discusses a small, Early Medieval gold cross pendant found near Berwick-upon-Tweed. The cross has a Runic inscription on it with the name ead͡ruf. Read Ben's full thread on Twitter for the full story, and the database record for the cross can be found here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/986027#

“Really excited to finally be able to tell the world about ead͡ruf! The Ord Cross: A gold early medieval Latin cross pendant with Runic inscription, found near Berwick upon Tweed (c.AD700-900). @findsorguk @TRegistrars Thread👇”

03/02/2021

The Portable Antiquities Scheme updated their website address.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme updated their website address.

03/02/2021

Have you listened to our podcast yet? All episodes of series one now available. You can listen online via SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-317950822 or find us on all major podcast platforms and Spotify.

Have you listened to our podcast yet? All episodes of series one now available. You can listen online via SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-317950822 or find us on all major podcast platforms and Spotify.

02/02/2021

Past, Present & Future of a Bronze Age hoard

An excellent talk about a large Bronze Age hoard, discovered by metal detectorists and now undergoing extensive research and conservation ahead of a planned exhibition! Exciting!

Enjoy an illustrated talk by Sophia Adams about the massive Late Bronze Age hoard from Boughton Malherbe; an international story in a local setting.Sophia de...

02/02/2021

Timeline Photos

Join us for our Tideway Talk: Finding London’s PASt – The Portable Antiquities Scheme in London with Lauren Speed

Online – using GoToWebinar
15 February 2021, 7pm
Free

Every year, thousands of archaeological objects are discovered by members of the public. The information about these finds is recorded onto the The Portable Antiquities Scheme database where it is available for public research and it is helping to shape our understanding of Britain’s past. This talk will give an overview of the PAS nationally, before looking at the work of the Scheme in London, and some of the wonderful discoveries from the Thames Foreshore and greater London area.

Register online using the link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4612556144847841296?source=Facebook

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

We’re pleased to be able to offer this lecture free of charge thanks to support from Tideway

01/02/2021

A guide to searching the PAS database

We have over 1.5 million objects recorded on the PAS database, ranging in date from Palaeolithic handaxes all the way up to modern military medals, and a whole lot in between. It's a massive dataset with enormous research potential but it can be difficult to navigate. So we've put together a short introductory video guide to searching the database! It is complemented by our online guide to searching which you can find here: https://finds.org.uk/counties/findsrecordingguides/searching-the-database/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6x9HYGZLcg&ab_channel=PortableAntiquitiesScheme

This short video is an introduction to searching for information on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. The database is home to over 1.5 million digita...

22/01/2021

Fancy a little something for the weekend? We have just the thing! The final episode of our podcast series is now available. In this episode, Ben and Lucy chat to some of our fabulous volunteers about their amazing contribution to the Scheme. You can listen online here: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/pastcast-podcast-from-the-portable-cKp1bgd2Mkl/ or download it from all major podcast platforms and Spotify.

Fancy a little something for the weekend? We have just the thing! The final episode of our podcast series is now available. In this episode, Ben and Lucy chat to some of our fabulous volunteers about their amazing contribution to the Scheme. You can listen online here: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/pastcast-podcast-from-the-portable-cKp1bgd2Mkl/ or download it from all major podcast platforms and Spotify.

18/01/2021

Introduction to the County Pages

Have you visited the County Pages section of our website yet? The County Pages are a local hub for archaeology and finds in your area. This short video will show you where to find the County Pages and what information you can expect to find there. From blog posts to local museums and societies, the County Pages are the perfect place to start exploring the archaeology of your local area (once we are all allowed back out again, that is...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGRCZMO86sM&ab_channel=PortableAntiquitiesScheme

This short video is an introduction to the County Pages section of the Portable Antiquities Scheme website. The County Pages were created as part of the PASt...

16/01/2021

On this day in 27 BC, Octavian was granted the titles of Augustus and Princeps by the Senate in Rome. Which makes today the perfect day to share our latest blog post by Dr. Andrew Brown on the coinage of Augustus. Read it here: https://finds.org.uk/counties/blog/coin-relief-issue-thirty-two/

The coin pictured is an aureus of Augustus dating to 2 BC-AD 4. The record for this coin can be viewed here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/920187

On this day in 27 BC, Octavian was granted the titles of Augustus and Princeps by the Senate in Rome. Which makes today the perfect day to share our latest blog post by Dr. Andrew Brown on the coinage of Augustus. Read it here: https://finds.org.uk/counties/blog/coin-relief-issue-thirty-two/

The coin pictured is an aureus of Augustus dating to 2 BC-AD 4. The record for this coin can be viewed here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/920187

15/01/2021

It's Finds Friday and we thought we'd highlight some of the finds that have already been recorded on the database this year. Our Finds Liaison Officers, volunteers and self-recorders have been busy, with almost 400 finds recorded since the start of the year! (Finds recorded via email due to current national lockdown).

The top 5 object types are (as usual): Coins, Brooches, Buckles, Jettons and Mounts.

The objects featured here are (record ID in brackets):
- A Bronze Age spearhead dating to 1500-110 BC (NMGW-F3B5D5)
- A Roman trumpet brooch dating to AD 75-175 (WMID-862542)
- A Medieval horse harness pendant dating to AD 1200-1400 (WMID-C3EF4D)
- A Medieval ampulla dating to AD 1350-1550 (LVPL-5BD58E)
- A Roman nummus of the House of Constantine dating to AD 330-340 (PUBLIC-04AE04)
- A Byzantine half Follis (20 nummi) of Constans II dating to AD 643-647)
- An early medieval silver sceat dating to AD 710-800 (HAMP-EBDD96)
- A Post-medieval farthing trade token issued by John Burgis of Newport Pagnell in AD 1668 (SUR-ED0168)

#FindsFriday #ArchaeologyIsCool #Numismatics #MetalDetectingFinds #ResponsibleDetecting #SharingHistory

It's Finds Friday and we thought we'd highlight some of the finds that have already been recorded on the database this year. Our Finds Liaison Officers, volunteers and self-recorders have been busy, with almost 400 finds recorded since the start of the year! (Finds recorded via email due to current national lockdown).

The top 5 object types are (as usual): Coins, Brooches, Buckles, Jettons and Mounts.

The objects featured here are (record ID in brackets):
- A Bronze Age spearhead dating to 1500-110 BC (NMGW-F3B5D5)
- A Roman trumpet brooch dating to AD 75-175 (WMID-862542)
- A Medieval horse harness pendant dating to AD 1200-1400 (WMID-C3EF4D)
- A Medieval ampulla dating to AD 1350-1550 (LVPL-5BD58E)
- A Roman nummus of the House of Constantine dating to AD 330-340 (PUBLIC-04AE04)
- A Byzantine half Follis (20 nummi) of Constans II dating to AD 643-647)
- An early medieval silver sceat dating to AD 710-800 (HAMP-EBDD96)
- A Post-medieval farthing trade token issued by John Burgis of Newport Pagnell in AD 1668 (SUR-ED0168)

#FindsFriday #ArchaeologyIsCool #Numismatics #MetalDetectingFinds #ResponsibleDetecting #SharingHistory

11/01/2021

The Cheshire Hoards

The Cheshire Hoards

The Malpas Hoard and Knutsford Hoard are both amazing Roman hoards that have been discovered in Cheshire by metal-detectorists, and reported to archaeologists through the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This is part of the Regional Archaeology collection.

07/01/2021

The latest edition of the PAS podcast is now available! This week Ben and Lucy tackle the topic of Treasure (with a capital 'T') with special guest Amy, who is a Treasure Registrar at the British Museum. Find the podcast on all good platforms including iTunes, Google Podcasts and Spotify, or follow the SoundCloud link below: https://soundcloud.com/user-317950822/pastcast-4-treasure

06/01/2021

Mid-morning on BBC Radio Berkshire - With Bill Buckley (02/01/2021) - BBC Sounds

Berkshire FLO was interviewed on BBC Radio Berkshire. Catch up through the link below.

Stories to make you smile and Make A Difference.

25/12/2020

We'd like to wish all of our followers a Merry Christmas! Thank you for all of your support during this difficult year. We've worked hard to adapt to changing circumstances and we really appreciate everyone's understanding and patience during this process. We'd also like to thank all of our Finds Liaison Officers, Finds Advisers, volunteers and self-recorders, as well as the Treasure Team at the British Museum and all of our local partners for all their hard work keeping everything going this year. We hope everyone manages to have a good break over Christmas. Stay safe and healthy, and here's to a better 2021!
Best wishes from the Portable Antiquities Scheme Team 🎄

23/12/2020

We have a special bonus edition of the PAStCast podcast this week. Hosts Lucy and Ben are joined by Head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme and Treasure, Professor Michael Lewis. To listen, find us on Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts or use the TuneIn link below: https://tunein.com/podcasts/History-Podcasts/PAStCast-p1387384/

Merry Christmas!

17/12/2020

Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society

Check out this video from Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society. Phil is a metal detectorist and one of our brilliant self-recorders. In this video he talks about his experiences detecting in Leicestershire and recording his finds with The Portable Antiquities Scheme. Well worth a listen!

'Metal Detecting in Leicestershire: questions from the past'. A Society lecture by metal detectorist and Portable Antiquities Scheme self-recorder Phil Harding.

15/12/2020

PAStCast episode 3 is available today! This week, Ben and Lucy are joined by Ellie, FLO for Northamptonshire. Find us on Spotify, TuneIn, Soundcloud, iTunes and Google Podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe!

https://soundcloud.com/user-317950822

15/12/2020

Did you know that we have produced a range of guides to help you identify and record your finds? There are over 90 to choose from and they include helpful "How To" guides, as well as object-specific guides. Check them out at: www.finds.org.uk/counties/findsrecordingguides and start exploring!

08/12/2020

Did you know that the Portable Antiquities Scheme has a new podcast series? You can find us on Spotify, SoundCloud, Tunein, Google Podcasts and iTunes, or you can use the link below. Episode 2 available today!
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/pastcast-podcast-from-the-portable-cKp1bgd2Mkl/

03/12/2020

Introduction to the PAS database

Are you new to the Portable Antiquities Scheme? Not sure what the database is and what information you can find on it? Then check out our short video. With over 1.5 million objects recorded on the database, there is plenty to discover!

This short video is an introduction to the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. The database is home to over 1.5 million digital records of archaeological o...

03/12/2020

The Portable Antiquities Scheme's cover photo

03/12/2020

🚨We're hiring!🚨 We are seeking a Finds Liaison Officer to deliver the Portable Antiquities Scheme on the Isle of Wight. The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a voluntary scheme to record artefacts found by the public, including metal detector users, to advance our understanding of the past and increase opportunities for active public involvement in archaeology.

This is a part time (27 hours per week) fixed term appointment funded by the British Museum, and continuation will be subject to the renewal of funding from April 2021. Salary range: £17,746-£19,732.

The successful candidate will have specialist knowledge of finds recording, and ICT skills including use of databases and digital photography. They will have the ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of people and groups to explain the aims of the scheme and the Treasure Act.

The post holder will be based with the Isle of Wight Council’s Archaeology & Historic Environment Service in Ryde but will spend part of the week at the Guildhall Museum in Newport.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Rebecca Loader on 01983 823810. For the full application pack and to apply for the job, please visit: https://www.iow.gov.uk/jobvacancies/job_details.aspx?jobId=3072