Winter 2003/59
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KE N TA RC H A E O LO G I C A LS O C I E T Y newnewIssue number 59ss ll ee tt tt ee Winterrr 2003/4 TH U R N H A M Inside 2-3 Axes at Crundale PO T I NH O A R D Valley Park School Internet Publishing n Wednesday 5th Higham Priory November 2003, Peter and Christine Johnson obtained Allen Grove Fund permission from a farmer 4-5 to do some metal detect- Library Notes & ing on arable land at Rectors of Aldington Thurnham. Walking onto New Books the field that the farmer had indi- 6-7 cated, they began to find a num- Lectures, Courses, ber of coins spread across an area Conferences & Events of about 10 square metres. 8-9 Initially Peter and Christine were Notice Board not sure of the date of the coins. They informed the farmer of their 10-11 find, and then returned home to ‘Ideas & Ideals’ see if they could discover more. Wesley & Whitefield Research on the Internet soon and the Evangelical identified the coins as Iron Age Revival Potins; cast coins of high tin 12-13 bronze. Many of the coins still Lenham Big Dig retained traces of the sprue from Bayford Castle which they had been snapped. 14-15 Returning on subsequent days Letters to the Editor the Johnsons recovered more coins from the same area. Further Above: Complete and fragmented potins. YAC Report coins were also recovered by John Summer Excursion Darvill and Nigel Betts of the Mid- obvious parallel (pictured over- 16 Kent Search and Recovery Club, leaf). The hoard was also exam- John Williams who also had permission to detect ined by David Holman, Kent’s lead- on the land. In total 145 more or ing Iron Age coins expert, who had less complete coins, and a further also not seen such a coin before. 80 fragments were recovered by Given the rarity of Potin hoards 21st November. In the meantime, (only about 14 have been recorded, the finders notified the coroner of of which very few have been the find, since the coins clearly archaeologically investigated) it represented a dispersed hoard, was decided to carry out an and were therefore potential excavation at the find spot, with a Treasure. They also contacted the view to recovering as many further Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) for coins as possible, and also to try to Kent, Andrew Richardson. locate the point of deposition of the All the Potins were of Flat hoard, and see if any of it remained Linear I type, depicting a highly in situ. This excavation took place stylised human bust on the on a sunny but cold Sunday obverse, and butting bull on the in early December. The team reverse. One of the coins however was of an unusual style, with no continued on page 2 Winter 2003/4 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk 1 TO PMARKS FORSC H O O L’ S AR C H A E O L O G YC E N T R E ARCHAEOLOGY upils at Valley Pa r k CENTRE AT Community School in Maidstone have a new VALLEY PARK a m e n i t y, a purpose-built SCHOOL archaeology centre and museum in the school ARCHAEOLOGY grounds. The KAS Education CENTRE AT Committee has provided a laptop computer for use within the VALLEY PARK centre. Pam Johnson, Head of SCHOOL History at the school, instigated and co-ordinated the design, con- ARCHAEOLOGY struction and furnishing of the CENTRE AT centre and is delighted that pupils VALLEY PARK will be able to further explore their interest in their after-school club. SCHOOL The centre was officially ARCHAEOLOGY opened by the Mayor of Maidstone, Morel de Souza, and CENTRE AT Phil Harding of ‘Time Team’, as VALLEY PARK part of a day of activities designed around the Vinters Estate and the SCHOOL Whatman family. In the morning ARCHAEOLOGY pupils investigated the landscape the afternoon included Victorian Valley Park pupils listen intently to an and remains within Vinters Park, washday, paper making and also explanation of knapping techniques CENTRE AT led by Ian Coulson; workshops in flint knapping by Phil Harding. VALLEY PARK SCHOOL ARCHAEOLOGY continued from page 1 logical features were observed, deposited in a shallow pit. Flat CENTRE AT and no archaeological materials, Linear I Potins date to between consisted of the Johnsons along other than Potins, were discov- circa 100-50 BC. We are likely to VALLEY PARK with Keith Stafford, Nigel Betts ered. Of the latter, a further 59 be able to learn much from further SCHOOL and John Darvill of the Mid-Kent more or less complete coins, and study of this hoard, but unfortu- Search and Recovery Club, Caspar 78 fragments were recovered. An nately the reason why someone ARCHAEOLOGY Johnson of Kent County Council’s area of approximately 1 square buried these coins sometime CENTRE AT Heritage Conservation Te a m , metre with a concentration of during the 1st century BC and David Holman, and three mem- largely complete coins was identi- never returned for them is VALLEY PARK bers of the Kent Archaeological fied, and this probably represent- probably lost forever. SCHOOL Society. The Portable Antiquities ed the original point of deposition. Andrew Richardson ARCHAEOLOGY Scheme was represented by Ploughing had dispersed coins Kent Finds Liaison Officer Andrew Richardson (Kent FLO) across a roughly oval area about CENTRE AT and Liz Wilson (Sussex FLO). 20m by 10m, with the area of con- Obverse of the unusual potin. VALLEY PARK The excavation was an excellent centrated finds lying example of co-operation, at both roughly at the centre of this SCHOOL an individual and organisational area. The number of dam- level, between professional and aged and fragmentary amateur archaeologists, and metal coins appeared to increase detectorists. the further they were from A hand-dug trench removed the central zone. the ploughsoil across the central The apparent lack of area where the coins had been any pit cut into the clay found, revealing stiff orange clay- subsoil, or of any finds with-flints at a depth of about other than Potins, suggests 25cm. The trench and spoil were that this find represents an thoroughly metal detected during isolated hoard, probably excavation, as was the immediate contained within an area around the dig. No archaeo- organic pouch or bag and As we go to print, another huge hoard has come to light, this time at ST O P Crundale and dating to the Bronze Age, consisting of axeheads, spearheads, sword blades and cast copper cake fragments (these last alone PR E S S weighing 9kg!). Further details in the April edition. Winter 2003/4 2 download our on-line publications. Internet and electronic publishing THE ALLEN TH ES O C I E T Y can accommodate items of any length, profusely illustrated and in colour GROVE LOCAL without additional cost. If the files are AN DT H E very large they are more suitable for HISTORY FUND publication on a CD. 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