A small side room in the British Museum is currently hosting a rare collection of buried treasure — a display of buried hoards.
People have been burying precious objects in the ground since the bronze age, either for ritual reasons, or to protect them from who knows what. Occasionally, some of them are dug up again, and a few of these buried hoards are now on display.
While the exceptionally rare discoveries of gold metalwork attract the most attention, most hoards are small clay jars filled with coins.
In addition, the 2010 discovery of a huge Roman coin hoard in Frome in Somerset raised many questions about this traditional interpretation, suggesting that ritual practices also played a part in the burial of Roman hoards.
This display showcases some recent discoveries of hoards reported through the Treasure Act and studied at the British Museum. It begins with the large metalwork deposits of the Bronze and Iron Ages such as the Salisbury hoard and weapons found in the River Thames at Broadness.
The display finishes with objects from the hoards found at Oxborough and Hoxne, buried in the years following the end of Roman Britain (in AD 410). These treasures have varied stories and interpretations – they may have been accidentally lost or stolen, discarded as worthless, saved for recycling, hidden for safekeeping, or even offered up to the gods.
Together, they tell a fascinating story – a hidden history of ancient Britain.
The exhibition is inside the small room 69a on the upper floor, and is open until 22nd May 2016.
