December saw a welcome return visit to RAS by JD Hill. On this occasion his theme was the exhibition at the British Museum which he was very involved in setting up and which was potentially very controversial as it examined “treasure”, that bugbear of “proper” archaeologists.

JD pointed out that more archaeologists work on “treasure” as defined under the 1996 Treasure Act than any other form of archaeology, so it is not something to be sniffy about. He explained how treasure is defined (basically objects more than 300 years old, containing at least 10% gold or silver and found in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.) and how it must be reported by law by the finder, and how the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which is backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, had put in place a network of archaeologists over the country to examine and record other archaeological material found by the public, and to encourage its proper recording so that the story behind the objects could be told – the all-important “context”.

He explained the legal background covering chance finds in different locations, such as farmland and the seashore, and how the recent changes had removed some of the inconsistencies of medieval Treasure Trove law and encouraged metal detectorists and others to report finds. While a decade ago 40 cases were reported, last year it was 400!

While this in itself was encouraging, the lecture was not short on illustrative material. JD showed us some of the vast array of material featured in the exhibition, ranging from every non- archaeologist’s idea of treasure as exemplified in the 1992 find of the Hoxne hoard of late Roman coins, domestic silverware, and jewellery which must have been some rich woman’s prized possession, to more humble livery and pilgrim’s badges and tiny pewter toys recovered from the Thames foreshore which speak of the domestic arrangements of Tudor London.

While the lecture in itself was fascinating, we were fortunate to be able to visit the exhibition in February as a Society through JD’s good offices. The Hoxne treasure, in a reproduction of the chest in which it was found, was in pride of place along with the hammer which the finder was searching for when he happened on the hoard. The actual area of the exhibition was relatively small, but the contents were extraordinarily varied in their nature and date, with some truly beautiful examples of craftsmanship on display, and some insightful captions. RAS members commented that the combination of lecture and display had each complemented the other, and provided a memorable event.

Anna Cronin