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Description: | This report concerns three items found near Carnforth in Lancashire in 2010. The items were found close to the find-spot of a Viking hoard discovered in 1997 (TAR 1998-1999, no. 84), and it was considered possible that the new finds might be stray finds from that hoard. Two of the finds are undiagnostic. Both appear to be a fairly base silver or lead alloy. One is a slender ingot with a section in the shape of an isosceles triangle with rounded angles, 72 x 8 x 8 mm, weight 39.38g, broken at one end. The form is known in the Viking Age, but it is undiagnostic, as the form is also known from other periods, and the ingot has none of the test marks characteristic of the late ninth and early tenth centuries. The other piece is even less diagnostic, as it is a rough oval, cut from an uneven flat plate of metal, max dimensions 90 x 51 x 6.5 mm, weight 194.18g, scratched on one surface, and pierced. Neither has been analysed for metal content, as there were insufficient grounds for supposing them to be Treasure, given the lack of clear dating. The final item is a flat silver disc, diameter 24mm, weight 3.08g, buckled and scratched. On close examination, although the design has been almost entirely erased, this appears to be an 18th-century shilling, heavily worn. Silver coins were sometimes used in the 18th century to the point that their designs were completely erased in this fashion. A slightly smaller disc in similar condition was found together with the earlier Viking hoard, and it was questioned whether this was genuinely associated with the hoard. It now seems likely in the context of the more recent find that this was an 18th-century sixpence, and unconnected with the hoard. The coin itself is clearly not Treasure under the terms of the Treasure Act (1996). While the possibility that the other two items may have been associated with the earlier hoard cannot be excluded, their undiagnostic character, and the fact that the coin is certainly later, casts real doubt on whether these should be considered Treasure even if their metal content meets the 10% threshold required by the Act. In the absence of any clear evidence of association with the earlier hoard, it is therefore my recommendation that these finds should be declared not to be Treasure and should be returned to the finder. Gareth Williams
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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