This coin, found by a metal-detectorist near Basingstoke in Hampshire, was minted in North Africa during Julius Caesar’s Civil War (49-45 BC), and is a fascinating example of Roman Republican propaganda. At the time the coin was issued, Caesar’s army…
Campbell Price describes a statuette in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and considers what it meant to its owner.
This recent addition to the Portable Antiquities Scheme’s database, originally found by metal-detectorists in Winchester in the mid-1990s and since donated to the Hampshire Cultural Trust, is a particularly eye-catching example of an early medieval zoomorphic mount. It dates to…
At first glance, it looks like an ornate coffee spoon… What is it? This curious object, which looks at first glance like a large, ornate, cruciform coffee spoon, is in fact rather an elegant counterpoised coin balance. Suspended on a…
This distinctive object, found by a metal-detectorist near Wragby in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, has been identified as a Roman tumbler-lock slide key. Its handle consists of a sizable, solid, copper-alloy rectangular block with banded collars at the top and bottom…
Dr Campbell Price describes an item of clothing that belonged to a New Kingdom pharaoh.
This object was found by a metal-detectorist in Roxby cum Risby, North Lincolnshire, and was subsequently identified by the local Finds Liaison Officer as a nail cleaner, or possibly a surgical instrument, dating to the late Roman period (c.AD 250-410).…
The vessel was… packed with precious objects and placed upside down. What is it? This lidded, silver-gilt vessel is c.150mm tall, and 92.4mm in diameter at the rim. It was discovered as part of the Viking Age Galloway Hoard, filled…
This medieval ear scoop was found by a metal-detectorist near King’s Lynn in Norfolk, and has recently been submitted under consideration for Treasure status according to the 1996 Treasure Act. One end of the 43mm-long object has been flattened and…
Dr Campbell Price describes an unusual statue bust from the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
This figurine was found by a metal-detectorist near Holton-le-Clay in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire. Although it is lacking its head, enough stylistic features have survived to identify it as representing Vulcan, Roman god of fire and the forge, who lends his…
What is it? This broken knife blade is almost 2,000 years old. Currently preserved at a length of c.8cm, its original length is unknown, but was probably just slightly longer than this. On one side, the iron blade is incised…
This little bird, found by a metal-detectorist in Corhampton/Meonstoke, Hampshire, was once a brooch. Dating to the 6th century, it measures just 20mm long and 10mm wide, weighing 4.06g. The brooch was cast from copper alloy, after which its surface…
Dr Campbell Price describes a small cleansing basin and ewer set from the Musée du Louvre.
This Roman chatelaine was found in Walkeringham, Nottinghamshire, and dates to AD 100-200. Cast from copper alloy, and weighing just 7g, it is beautifully decorated with a pattern of 15 rectangular cells, some still set with the sky-blue enamel that…
What is it? This ornate bronze hanging oil lamp, 60cm in diameter and weighing 57.72kg, comes from the Etruscan civilisation. It is decorated with a unique combination of iconography that has been the subject of discussion since its discovery. In…
This intricately decorated early medieval harness pendant dates to AD 475-570, and was found in Quarley, Hampshire, on 13 July. It is made of copper-alloy, which has been cast and then gilded to achieve a gold finish. Pendants such as…
Dr Campbell Price describes a stunning Eleventh Dynasty relief in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Found in 2019, but only recently uploaded to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) website, this beautiful piece of Roman glass once formed part of a colourful bracelet. It dates to c.AD 50-200 and was discovered in East Riding, Yorkshire, as…
What is it? This perforated baton made of mammoth ivory is believed to be a Palaeolithic tool used to make rope. The baton is 20.4cm long, 3.6cm wide, and 1.5cm thick. Four holes of slightly different sizes have been drilled…
This unusual-looking doll was found by a mudlarker in a brook in Leicestershire earlier this year. A remarkable find, the lead- alloy female figure is the only complete example of such a doll currently recorded on the PAS database. The…
Dr Campbell Price describes the unique statuette of one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs.
This glass bead was a surface find by a metal-detectorist in Wanston. It is an example of an ‘eye’ bead, possibly dating to the Early Iron Age (c.800-c.350 BC), and was found on an area of farmland known to have…
What is it? This small, intricately decorated cylindrical vial, measuring 6.7cm long and 1.9cm in diameter, is made of a greenish chlorite-schist and contains a deep red cosmetic mixture believed to be lip paint. The container, which comes from Iran,…
This is a medieval or early post-medieval silver pendant, set with jet, which was found last August by a metal-detectorist near Bletchingley in Surrey. It is probably a pilgrim souvenir dating to c.AD 1400-1550. The pendant comprises a silver, scallop-shaped…
Dr Campbell Price describes an unusual lamp stand from the collection of the Petrie Museum in London.
This is a bridle boss made of copper-alloy and dating to c.1620-1680. It was recently found by a metal-detectorist near Ringmer in Lewes, East Sussex. While heavily corroded, it is unusual in two respects. First, it is still attached to…
What is it? This almond-shaped lead object is a type of Roman projectile known as a glans inscripta (‘inscribed bullet’). Measuring 4.5cm by 2cm by 1.7cm and weighing 71g, it has a dent at one end, probably the result of…
This copper-alloy fibula brooch was found by a metal detectorist in 2019, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, and recently appeared as a star find in the Portable Antiquities Scheme Annual Report (see here). The brooch features a human face design or…
Dr Campbell Price describes an architectural portal between the realms of the living and the dead.
This is a Roman brooch made of copper alloy and dating to c.AD 60-100. It was recently found by a metal-detectorist on cultivated land near Sleaford in Lincolnshire, and has been designated as a find of county or local importance.…
What are they? Each of these two modified tiger shark teeth was once part of a handled knife. They were found in contexts dated to 7,000-5,000 years ago, associated with the Toalean culture, hunter-gatherers who lived in south-western Sulawesi, Indonesia,…
This is a medieval ampulla, probably dating to c.1350-1500, that was recently found near Titchmarch in Northamptonshire. It is made of lead and has a bulbous body that tapers into an inverted trapezoidal upper portion with an integrated handle on…
What was the purpose of this small disc of cartonnage, now in the British Museum? Dr Campbell Price explains.
This is a Roman tortoise or turtle figurine that was recently found by a metal-detectorist near Wickham Skeith in Suffolk. Cast in copper-alloy, it has a flat base with no evidence of having once had a fixing, suggesting that it…
What is it? This impressive necklace from a Neolithic child burial is composed of over 2,500 beads, made from three varieties of stones, four types of mollusc shells, and – in the case of two beads – a rare example…