Crisis or continuity? The deposition of metalwork in the Roman world: what do coin hoards tell us about Roman Britain in the 3rd century AD?

危机还是延续？

基本信息

批准号：
AH/K000438/1
负责人：
Roger Bland
金额：
$ 82.26万
依托单位：
British Museum
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2013
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2013 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FK000438%2F1
关键词：
Crisis continuity deposition metalwork Roman

项目摘要

Hoards of valued materials, particularly coins, are a common, and rapidly growing, class of discovery across the Roman Empire. While these are most commonly seen as having been deposited for safe keeping, other explanations for this activity are also possible. There has been little explicit discussion or research on why Roman coin hoards were buried, why hoards were not recovered in antiquity, or what they tell us when studied as a group. Six hundred hoards are known from Britain containing coins of the period AD 253-96, an unprecedented concentration, and they provide a key and under-used dataset that can shed light on a poorly known period of British archaeology and history. The British pattern of later 3rd-century hoards differs markedly from the rest of the western Roman empire, despite the political problems that affected Britain at this time being felt equally or more severely in many other European provinces. This anomaly merits detailed investigation and the results will have implications not only for interpretation of this specific hoarding phenomenon, but will contribute significantly to more general debates about hoarding behaviour in antiquity.Traditionally these hoards have been interpreted as having been buried with the intention of recovery but recent discoveries such as the Frome hoard have suggested the possibility that these hoards may have been ritual (or `votive') deposits. Ritual deposition is a common explanation for prehistoric metalwork, and many, if not all, Iron Age coin hoards. Can we show whether any of the 3rd century hoards were likely to have been ritual deposits and, if so, how many? If so, what are the implications for the use of their contents in studying monetary history or political history?We propose to ask the following research questions: 1. Why were coin hoards deposited in Roman Britain - and was this for similar reasons as other Iron Age and Roman coin hoards? 2. Why were so many coin hoards deposited (and not recovered) in 3rd-century Britain and is their date of burial the same as the date of their latest coins?3. What do coin hoards tell us about the economic and political history of 3rd-century Britain?4. How different or similar are 3rd-century British coin hoards to those from other periods of Roman Britain or other parts of northwestern provinces of the Roman Empire? 5. What wider lessons can be learnt about using coin hoards to understand the economic, political and religious history of the Roman Empire?The project brings together the expertise of the British Museum in the study of Roman coins and hoards and the academic strengths of the University of Leicester in Roman archaeology and their experience of investigating coin hoards in a landscape setting. The PI, Dr Roger Bland, is Keeper of Portable Antiquities & Treasure at the British Museum and has very extensive experience studying hoards; the CIs are Professors Colin Haselgrove and David Mattingly, leading experts respectively on Iron Age archaeology and coinage and on the archaeology and economy of the Roman Empire. Under their collective guidance and with input from expert colleagues, 3 RAs will study (1) the hoards from Britain and the wider Empire, (2) a landscape study of the hoard findspots and archaeological evidence for Roman Britain in the 3rd century AD; and (3) reasons for the deposition of metalwork in the Iron Age and Roman periods.The key outputs will include a monograph, at least 5 peer-reviewed articles, 2 conferences (the papers of which will be published), two exhibitions, articles for popular magazines and a web-based hoards database.The project will build on discoveries made by members of the public and reported through the Portable Antiquities Scheme to provide a comprehensive study of coin hoarding in Britain in the 3rd century AD, set in a wider context, and will also address key wider questions relevant for understanding coin hoards in other periods.

大量有价值的材料，尤其是硬币，是整个罗马帝国常见且增长迅速的一类发现。虽然这些通常被认为是为了安全保管而存放的，但也可能对此活动有其他解释。关于为什么罗马钱币宝藏被埋葬、为什么古代宝藏没有被发现，或者作为一个群体进行研究时它们告诉我们什么，几乎没有明确的讨论或研究。英国已知有 600 件宝藏，其中包含公元 253-96 年时期的硬币，这是前所未有的集中，它们提供了一个关键且未得到充分利用的数据集，可以揭示英国考古学和历史的一个鲜为人知的时期。尽管当时影响英国的政治问题在许多其他欧洲省份也同样受到影响，甚至更为严重，但三世纪后期英国的囤积模式与西罗马帝国的其他地区明显不同。这种异常现象值得进行详细调查，其结果不仅对解释这种特定的囤积现象产生影响，而且将极大地促进有关古代囤积行为的更普遍的辩论。传统上，这些囤积物被解释为是为了恢复而被掩埋的但最近的发现，例如弗罗姆宝藏，表明这些宝藏可能是仪式（或“奉献”）沉积物。仪式沉积是史前金属制品和许多（如果不是全部）铁器时代钱币囤积的常见解释。我们能否证明 3 世纪的宝藏是否有可能是仪式沉积物？如果是，有多少？如果是这样，那么使用它们的内容对研究货币史或政治史有什么影响？我们建议提出以下研究问题： 1. 为什么在罗马时期的不列颠存放钱币囤积物 - 其原因是否与其他铁矿类似？年龄和罗马钱币囤积？ 2. 为什么在 3 世纪的英国有如此多的钱币储藏库被存放（并且没有被回收）？它们的埋藏日期是否与最新硬币的日期相同？ 3.关于 3 世纪英国的经济和政治历史，钱币囤积告诉我们什么？4。 3 世纪英国的钱币宝藏与罗马不列颠其他时期或罗马帝国西北部省份其他地区的钱币宝藏有何不同或相似？ 5. 利用钱币宝藏了解罗马帝国的经济、政治和宗教历史可以学到哪些更广泛的经验教训？该项目汇集了大英博物馆在罗马钱币和宝藏研究方面的专业知识以及罗马帝国的学术优势。莱斯特大学罗马考古学及其在景观环境中调查钱币储藏室的经验。首席研究员罗杰·布兰德 (Roger Bland) 博士是大英博物馆便携式古物和宝藏的管理员，在研究宝藏方面拥有非常丰富的经验；孔子学院的两位教授是科林·哈塞尔格罗夫（Colin Haselgrove）教授和大卫·马丁利（David Mattingly）教授，他们分别是铁器时代考古学和铸币以及罗马帝国考古学和经济领域的顶尖专家。在他们的集体指导和专家同事的投入下，3 个 RA 将研究（1）来自不列颠和更广泛的帝国的宝藏，（2）对公元 3 世纪罗马不列颠的宝藏发现点和考古证据的景观研究；（3）铁器时代和罗马时期金属制品沉积的原因。主要成果将包括一本专着、至少 5 篇同行评审文章、2 个会议（论文将发表）、两个展览、文章流行杂志和基于网络的囤积数据库。该项目将以公众的发现为基础，并通过便携式古物计划报告，对公元 3 世纪英国的钱币囤积情况进行全面研究，时间为更广泛的背景，还将解决与理解其他时期的硬币囤积相关的关键更广泛的问题。