Roger Bland

Gold for the Barbarians? Uniface Gold Medallions of the House of Constantine Found in Britain and Ireland

The paper discusses a hitherto neglected group of five uniface gold medallions in the names of Constantine I and II, issued between c. a.d. 318 and 337, found in Britain and Ireland. These have been found either beyond the frontier (three examples are from Ireland and one from Scotland) or close to it (one example is from Cumbria). It is suggested that they may have been produced as diplomatic gifts for peoples beyond the frontier or as payment for laeti .

The Hoxne Late Roman Treasure

A major late Roman hoard of coins, gold jewellery and silver table utensils was found in November 1992 at Hoxne, Suffolk. The finder, Eric Lawes, located the treasure on 16 November 1992, and together with the tenant farmer of the land, Peter Whatling, immediately reported the discovery to Suffolk County Council, the landowners. This prompt action enabled a team from the Suffolk Archaeological Unit, under the direction of Judith Plouviez, to carry out a controlled emergency excavation of the remainder of the deposit on 17 November. This was completed on the same day, and the finds were collected and taken to the British Museum on the following day. The deposit was lifted in small context blocks, and the recording and detailed excavation was therefore completed under laboratory conditions in the Museum. The hoard was declared Treasure Trove at a Coroners Inquest in Lowestoft on 3 September 1993.