Hoards: the hidden history of ancient Britain

Interesting exhibition at the British Museum looking at hoards of coins.

It looked in particular at a British Museum and Leicester University study into why so many hoards date from the period AD 260 to AD 296. This was a period of change in the Roman Empire. Many of the burials were in significant places such as near burial mounds but they are unsure if this ritualistic or just a way of remembering where it has been left. Some hoards had been added to over time with coins of different dates.

The Bear Street hoard in Bath was fascinating as it had been sorted into eight bags of different dominations. Just like me when I save change and take it to the bank! It was also interesting to see hoarding is not just an ancient habit as one had been found in 2007 in Hackney of coins taken from a bank during the Second World War and buried in a garden but the house had been destroyed by a bomb.

I loved one hoard which had been found in Muswell Hill complete with a money box like a piggy bank with a slit in the top.

Closes on 22 May 2016.

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