PAS COVER (REM) 25/10/05 1:12 pm Page 1 Portable Antiquities Scheme The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is the national development agency working for and on behalf of museums, libraries and archives in England, advising the government on policy and priorities for the sector. Annual Report 2004/05 Current news, developments and information are available Portable Antiquities Scheme to view or download from: www.mla.gov.uk Annual Report 2004/05 Copies of this publication can be provided in alternative formats. Please contact MLA publications on 020 7273 1458. Museums, Libraries and Archives Council 16 Queen Anne’s Gate London SW1H 9AA Tel: 020 7273 1444 Fax: 020 7273 1404 Email: [email protected] Portable Antiquities Scheme British Museum London WC1B 3DG Tel: 020 7323 8611/8618 Email: info@finds.org.uk www.finds.org.uk © MLA 2005 Registered Charity No: 1079666 ISBN 1-903743-89-3 All photos courtesy Portable Antiquities Scheme unless otherwise stated. Designed by Satpaul Bhamra Printed by Remous Portable Antiquities MLA Scheme www.finds.org.uk PAS COVER (REM) 25/10/05 1:12 pm Page 2 Contents Foreword 3 Preface 5 Key Points 7 Introduction 8 1 Learning and Outreach 10 2 Understanding the Past 20 3 Recording Finds 84 Appendices 1 Contacts 88 2 Organisations 91 3 Tables/Charts 92 Cover An Early Medieval skillet from the Isle of Wight (see page 56). i. Children exploring ‘finds handling kits’ at a Finds Day in Northamptonshire. Foreword I am very pleased to introduce the seventh Portable Antiquities Annual 3 Report, which covers the work of the Scheme between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2005. As part of the Government’s recent Spending Review, it was with great pleasure that my Department was recently able to announce full funding for the Portable Antiquities Scheme from March 2006, when the current period of Heritage Lottery Funding ends, for the foreseeable future. My Department will now be able to ensure that the Scheme continues to make its vital contribution to the Government’s aim of enhancing access and increasing participation and enjoyment of the historic environment. I would also like to thank the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council for the excellent job it has done in sponsoring the Scheme and working with the British Museum and the Scheme’s 62 other national and local partners to take the project forward. Since my appointment as Minister for Culture in May this year, I have been extremely impressed by the educational work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. In the last year alone the Finds Liaison Officers and other members of the Scheme gave talks to 13,873 people, and a further 17,219 attended events organised by the Finds Liaison Officers such as finds handling sessions, archaeological fieldwork and Finds Days. It is a priority of my department to enhance access to culture for children and give them an opportunity to develop their talents and enjoy the benefits of participation. It is, therefore, particularly encouraging to see that this year the Scheme offered 3,623 children a different and exciting – but extremely valuable – learning experience. The PAS has also helped to break down social barriers and to reach out to people who have often felt excluded from formal education and the historic environment. Socio-economic analysis of postcode data shows that almost 47 per cent of people recording finds with the Scheme are from groups C2, D&E, which is more representative of the UK population than many other cultural activities, such as those who visit museums (where only 29 per cent are from groups C2, D&E). The Scheme has also encouraged new audiences to visit museums. The Fabulous Finds Days, held as part of Museums and Galleries Month were run in conjunction with the Scheme, and over 46 per cent of those who participated had not visited the museum before. It is a mark of the success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme that a further 67,213 archaeological objects have been recorded by the Finds Liaison Officers in 2004/05. Of these, 75 per cent have been recorded to the nearest 100 metres square or better. In no small part, this is due to the sense of public responsibility and diligence of the 2,276 finders who have come forward with archaeological objects for recording this year, whom I would particularly like to thank. I would also like to thank the National Council for Metal Detecting which has an important and continuing role in encouraging its membership to record all archaeological finds to the greatest precision possible. Now that the terms and conditions by which the Scheme’s data is transferred to Historic Environment Records have been agreed, we will be in a better position to interpret the historic landscape for future generations to learn about and enjoy. 4 The work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme also ensures that the data collected is not only used to promote academic study and the work of professional archaeologists, but also enables people, no matter what their background or level of interest, to learn more about archaeological finds found in their area. This helps new audiences to develop a sense of place and interest in their local area and to foster curiosity about the people who lived there and how they lived in the past. The Government is keen to increase and broaden the impact of culture to enrich individual lives, strengthen communities and improve the places where people live now and for future generations, and the Scheme is clearly making an important contribution to these aims. The Government also recognises the essential role played by the Finds Liaison Officers in ensuring the efficient and smooth running of the Treasure Act, encouraging finders to report potential Treasure. Again the Scheme has demonstrated its impact, with a four-fold increase in the reporting of Treasure finds in those areas where a Finds Liaison Officer was appointed for the first time in 2003. Furthermore, the Scheme and the Treasure Section of the British Museum continue to monitor the sale of unreported Treasure finds online and elsewhere. It is clear, therefore, that the Portable Antiquities Scheme offers an impressive range of benefits. I look forward to the Scheme continuing from strength to strength and building upon its excellent work to date. David Lammy, Minister for Culture November 2005 Preface The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has been a key 5 supporter of the Portable Antiquities Scheme since it was established in 1997. We co-ordinated the Scheme’s successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid, for which funding ends in March 2006, and sponsored the project through the recent Government Spending Review. We will also sponsor the Scheme in the next Spending Review. Everyone involved in the Scheme is delighted with the support the Government has given the Scheme to date and we thank the Minister for his kind words in the foreword to this report. I chair the Portable Antiquities Project Board & Advisory Group, the consortium of national bodies that co-ordinates the project. A recent notable and important achievement of the Group was agreement upon the terms and conditions by which Portable Antiquities Scheme data is transferred to Historic Environment Records. For this I am particularly grateful to the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers, the Council for British Archaeology and the National Council for Metal Detecting. This agreement will ensure that finders can have maximum confidence in recording finds with full and precise location information and ensure that the data collated can realise its full archaeological potential. It is also encouraging that agreement has recently been reached on the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ guidelines for metal-detecting on land under Countryside Stewardship Schemes, another area where the Group played an important part in helping to broker an agreement. We now hope that it will be possible to move forward to a Code of Practice on responsible metal-detecting that will be endorsed by all the organisations represented on the Advisory Group. It is, of course, the Finds Liaison Officers who, with the support of their managers and the local partners in the Scheme, deliver the project’s aims and objectives on the ground. I know they work diligently to ensure the project is a success. It is always warming to hear of and see the enthusiasm, passion and support all involved in the Scheme have for its work – collectively it is a fantastic example of what can be achieved by people working together. Indeed, it is a tribute to the success of such partnerships that the Portable Antiquities Scheme continues to break down barriers, educate people and advance archaeological knowledge for the benefit of all. The Portable Antiquities Scheme is an important and valuable part of MLA’s vision of connecting people to knowledge and information, creativity and inspiration. In particular the Scheme works closely with, and adds value to, other strategic MLA programmes, such as Renaissance, the Knowledge Web and Inspiring Learning for All. Likewise the Scheme’s proactive approach with finders, children and com- munity groups is an excellent example of how we would like our sector to empower people and inspire learning. It is therefore essential that we all continue to work hard together to ensure the Scheme’s success continues for many years to come. Chris Batt, Chief Executive, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council November 2005 ii. Inside one of the houses of the virtual Anglo-Saxon village of West Mucking. Key points The main achievements of the Portable Antiquities a metal-detector, and the rest have been found by other 7 Scheme (PAS) in the period 1 April 2004 until 31 March means.