Essex Portable Antiquities Scheme

Essex Portable Antiquities Scheme Sharing the work we do for the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme in Essex

We are looking for a highly organised person who has good attention to detail to take on the role of Finds Liaison Assis...
27/08/2026

We are looking for a highly organised person who has good attention to detail to take on the role of Finds Liaison Assistant for Essex. This would be suitable for someone with experience, or a keen interest, in British archaeology and good administrative skills.

As Finds Liaison Assistant you will be supporting the Heritage team of Colchester and Ipswich Museums in processing and recording archaeological finds found by members of the public, including metal detector users. This work relates particularly to items of Treasure, as defined in the Treasure Act 1996, and forms part of the wider Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) coordinated and funded by the British Museum. Information on Treasure finds is provided to the Essex Coroner and published on www.finds.org.uk.

This post is based in Colchester.

For an informal discussion please contact Lori Rogerson, Finds Liaison Officer, on (01206) 282390.

To apply for this vacancy using our quick and easy on-line application method, visit https://www.new.colchester.gov.uk/jobs/vacancies (link in bio). Alternatively call our 24-hour recruitment line on (01206) 507343.

⚖️ Finds FridayThis week's find is not the most impressive-looking object. Worn, damaged and made largely of lead, it wo...
21/08/2026

⚖️ Finds Friday

This week's find is not the most impressive-looking object. Worn, damaged and made largely of lead, it would be easy to pass it by. Yet this small find may have an important story to tell about Essex's connections to the Viking world during the ninth and tenth centuries.

The object is a lead weight which incorporates a copper-alloy Borre-style strap union, decorated with three animal heads. Inset lead weights are closely associated with the Viking bullion economy, where silver was exchanged by weight rather than simply by coin. Similar weights are particularly well known from Viking camps such as Torksey and Aldwark, linking them to trade, craftworking and the movement of people and goods across the Viking world.

What makes this example especially interesting is the choice of inset. Most decorated Viking weights use fragments of Anglo-Saxon or Irish metalwork, re-purposed and set into lead. In this case, however, the inset appears to be a Scandinavian-style object itself. The Borre style originated in Scandinavia and spread widely through Viking-age networks, making this a more direct expression of Scandinavian material culture than is often seen on these weights.

Appearing to be only one of three known examples from Essex, this find hints that the county was more than simply a place affected by Viking raids. Instead, it suggests participation in the economic and cultural networks that connected England with Scandinavia across the North Sea. Small and unassuming though it is, this weight provides rare evidence for the trade, exchange and cultural connections that helped shape Essex during one of the most transformative periods of its history.

Recorded here: https://finds.org.uk/pas/recorded-find/ESS-E23E-0F9E/?return=/my-institution-finds/?page=2%26sort_by=updated_at_desc

We are all set up and ready to greet members of the public at the Essex Festival of Archaeology and History .temple. Pop...
23/07/2026

We are all set up and ready to greet members of the public at the Essex Festival of Archaeology and History .temple. Pop down and see some typical metal detected finds and talk to the finders about their hobby.

🪙 Finds FridayThis week we are revisiting the Great Baddow hoard in honour of it finally going on display in a dedicated...
17/07/2026

🪙 Finds Friday

This week we are revisiting the Great Baddow hoard in honour of it finally going on display in a dedicated exhibition after being acquired by the Museum of Chelmsford.

The Great Baddow Hoard is the largest recorded hoard of Iron Age gold coins ever found in Britain, consisting of 933 gold staters dating to around 60–20 BC and discovered near Great Baddow, Essex, in 2020. The hoard is of national importance because it provides rare evidence for the movement, power and possible conflict between the Iron Age Trinovantes and Catuvellauni tribes, helping to confirm events described in Roman sources. Archaeologists have even suggested the coins may have been gathered as a tribute payment connected to Julius Caesar’s campaigns in Britain. More than 2,000 years after it was buried, the hoard is transforming our understanding of Iron Age Essex and the wider history of pre-Roman Britain.

The coins and associated artefacts are recorded here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1012644

The exhibition, Timeless Treasures: Unlocking the Great Baddow Coin Hoard, encourages visitors to engage with the mystery of the hoard to explore the reasons for its burial while also considering the wider meaning of 'Treasure', beyond the legal definition.

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, visitors have the chance see the coins for free as part of an Iron Age day at the museum, this Saturday the 18th of July. More info on this here: https://citylife.chelmsford.gov.uk/posts/free-iron-age-day-at-the-museum-of-chelmsford

🌹Finds FridayHello! My name is Molly and I am here doing my year 12 work experience! I will be taking over this week's F...
26/06/2026

🌹Finds Friday

Hello! My name is Molly and I am here doing my year 12 work experience! I will be taking over this week's Finds Friday with this Iron Age Rosette brooch I identified and recorded today.

This largely complete Rosette brooch was imported from Gaul during the Roman conquest, when the empire was expanding all across the Mediterranean and Europe.

These are well made cast brooches, with elaborate decoration typical of the time period. Throughout the late pre-roman Iron Age, social, cultural and gender identity were increasingly fluid, which meant that what somebody wore was important in terms of differentiating between identities, especially after the Roman conquest. It was typical of this time for people to want to adorn themselves with such things as jewellery and clothing decoration, which meant that in Iron Age Britain, brooches changed style frequently. Over the first centuries BC/AD, it is evident that the brooch became more and more visible and elaborate. For example, the more complex brooch designs such as the Rosette, Colchester, Langton Down etc, demonstrate the diversity of brooch types in pre/post conquest southern Britain.

Brooches are the most common form of jewellery found from this time period, with a wide distribution throughout Europe. They have been found in burials associated with both males and females of all ages which tells us it was common for people to be buried with brooches, perhaps due to personal connections to them.

This is the 23rd Rosette brooch found in Essex which is recorded with the scheme.

The full record can be viewed here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1274720

🦁 Finds FridayThis coin, issued by ruler of the Catuvellauni and Trinovante territories, Cunobelinus, shows just how str...
12/06/2026

🦁 Finds Friday

This coin, issued by ruler of the Catuvellauni and Trinovante territories, Cunobelinus, shows just how strongly Roman influence had taken hold in late Iron Age Britain.

Rather than traditional abstract designs, it adopts classical imagery and style, with the god Jupiter Ammon and a naturalistic portrait that closely echoes Roman coinage. The lion motif draws on wider Mediterranean symbolism, signalling power in a way that would have been recognisable across the Roman world.

Together, this is a clear example of a British ruler deliberately using Roman visual language to express authority before the Roman conquest in AD 43.

Recorded here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1274070

🫶Volunteers WeekThe work of the PAS team in Essex would not be possible without the dedicated volunteers that have spare...
05/06/2026

🫶Volunteers Week

The work of the PAS team in Essex would not be possible without the dedicated volunteers that have spared their time to help record the the county's heritage over the years.

And as a perk of volunteering with the Essex team, occasional field trips are organised as a thank you.

If you would like to find out about joining the team as a volunteer, please get in touch.

Building on the success of last year’s festival, Cressing Temple Barns will once again host the Festival of Essex Archae...
29/05/2026

Building on the success of last year’s festival, Cressing Temple Barns will once again host the Festival of Essex Archaeology and Heritage.

As a significant contributor to the county’s archaeological record, the Portable Antiquities Scheme continues to grow, and the Essex PAS team will be there to talk about its success and some of the exciting developments and events in the pipeline.

This year, the spotlight will also be on the finders themselves, who will be joining us with some of their finds to talk about their favourites and the reasons they choose to record them with the Scheme.

In addition, we will be discussing a selection of Essex Treasure finds that have drawn media attention and made headlines in recent years.

Finally, if you are interested in volunteering opportunities with the PAS in Essex, you will have the chance to find out more about these and how to apply.

🪙 Finds FridayThis week we are diving into the high-stakes world of medieval trade and currency manipulation with this c...
29/05/2026

🪙 Finds Friday

This week we are diving into the high-stakes world of medieval trade and currency manipulation with this continental imitation of an Edwardian penny, minted in Belgium under Robert of Bethune, Count of Flanders.

In the fourteenth century, Flanders relied heavily on English wool imports to feed its massive textile industry. Because the English silver penny was the most trusted currency in Europe, Flemish rulers regularly minted imitation coins that closely mimicked its design. This allowed continental merchants to trade seamlessly across the Channel, while brilliantly exploiting widespread illiteracy to pass the foreign currency off as domestic coin.

However, this practice carried a lucrative hidden benefit for the issuing authorities. These continental imitations were often minted with a slightly lower weight or silver purity than genuine English pennies. By paying for premium English goods with cheaper silver, continental rulers pocketed a handsome profit on every transaction, forcing the English Crown to wage a constant battle against these deceptive imports.

Recorded here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1272917

🍃Finds FridayThis week’s find, a late Anglo-Saxon strap end characterised by its leaf-shaped tongue, is the first of its...
22/05/2026

🍃Finds Friday

This week’s find, a late Anglo-Saxon strap end characterised by its leaf-shaped tongue, is the first of its type to be recorded on the database from Essex!

When this class was first defined, Gabor Thomas suggested it belonged to a northern tradition, possibly made in the kingdom of Lindsey (Lincolnshire). However, new discoveries recorded through the PAS are steadily expanding its distribution.

Finds like this are helping to challenge earlier ideas about a strictly northern origin, instead pointing to a wider circulation or broader production of this distinctive type.

Full record here: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1272290

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