Seventeen coins from the Elizabethan era discovered in a Staffordshire farmer's field have been formally declared treasure by a coroner. Five groats of Mary I of England and two groats, two sixpences, four threepences and four half groats of Elizabeth I of England were found by metal detectorist Sam Egerton and his friends. "It's a really great feeling," said Mr Egerton from Uttoxeter, who made the discovery in January 2023, after taking up the hobby the year before. The coins will be now valued, with the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery interested in acquiring them for its collection.Why? What are they "evidence" of? What does this find tell us about Elizabethan society, what does the precise findspot tell us about the organization of the Tudor landscape there (or its re-organization)? What other finds did these "friends" make that were not declared and what relationship were they in qwith the other features of teh site's archaeology (pottery scatters, tile scatters, shifting property boundaries)? Was this in fact a commercial artefact huynting artefact grabfest? Will there be a full and detailed Treasure Report illuminating the archaeology of the field it was found in? Or are the British arkies still going off on the object-centred tanget of pseudo-archaeology, ignoring context and archaeology of trashed and exploited SITES (and their place in landscapes)? Why is this non-news treated as "news"?
Tuesday 24 September 2024
Elizabethan coins found in Staffordshire farmer's field declared treasure
BBC: "Elizabethan coins found in farmer's field declared treasure" Sep 23
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