The definition of what is considered ‘Treasure’ is to be revised by the Government, to broaden its parameters and provide increased protection for archaeological finds made in England and Wales. It will be the first change made to the Treasure Act since it came into effect nearly 25 years ago.

Like its predecessors, this new book in the ‘50 Finds’ series presents a range of carefully selected artefacts in a well-illustrated, brief volume, which highlights the way in which the material record vividly reflects life in the past. With the Roman period represented by more finds than any other in the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) database, the authors have chosen a wide variety of both exceptional and everyday objects that reflect the interactions between Roman and Iron Age cultures in Britain.

The latest publication in the 50 Finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme series uses a wide range of artefacts, carefully selected from the 10,000 objects recorded through the PAS in Berkshire, to tell the story of life in this landscape. The book’s chronological structure and effective use of illustrations brings to life the history of the area from the Lower Palaeolithic to the late 1700s.

This new book, Finds Identified, is a chunky volume celebrating the rich material culture of England and Wales. Brimming with information on archaeological objects dating from the prehistoric to the modern period, it is richly illustrated with images from the online database of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS).

Three of our features this month focus on finds recently declared ‘Treasure’ according to the 1996 Treasure Act – legislation that has helped museums acquire many important artefacts for public display. The Heritage Minister has now proposed a number of revisions to the Act, and has launched a public consultation on them. See p.16 of […]

A record number of Treasure finds have been recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) for the second year running. At the launch of the 2016 Treasure Act Annual Report and the 2017 Portable Antiquities Scheme Annual Report, held at the British Museum last December, it was announced that 1,267 Treasure items had been recorded across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 2017.

I hope you had a wonderful festive period – but even as we look forward to what 2019 might bring, the past still has plenty to reveal. This month’s cover feature takes us deep into the Neolithic, where we consider evidence for whether sites that were monumentalised during this period were also considered ‘special’ during […]

The series looking at the stories behind the objects from the Portable Antiquities Scheme continues with Worcestershire. Victoria Allnatt, the Finds Liaison Officer for West Staffordshire and the South West Midlands, has selected objects from across the chronological range that are representative of the material routinely recorded (weapons and tools that characterise the Bronze Age records give way to coins and brooches in the Iron Age) or are in some other way special.

The popular (and beautifully illustrated) series exploring Portable Antiquities Scheme finds in different areas continues with a slim volume focused not on a region, but on all of medieval England.

This is another in the popular series of books that showcases finds largely recovered by metal-detectorists and recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The objects presented are mouth-watering. There is among them a quartzite bifacial hand axe of Lower or Middle Palaeolithic date, a Bronze Age bracelet of sheet gold, three torcs that represent the earliest Iron Age gold known in Britain, an enamelled souvenir pan from Hadrian’s Wall, the Anglo- Saxon Staffordshire Hoard, a medieval heraldic harness mount, and a post-medieval pocket sundial.