Thurnham Potin Hoard

On Wednesday 5th November 2003, Peter and Christine Johnson obtained permission from a farmer to do some metal detecting on arable land at Thurnham. Walking onto the field that the farmer had indicated, they began to find a number of coins spread across an area of about 10 square meters. Initially Peter and Christine were not sure of the date of the coins. They informed the farmer of their find, and then returned home to see if they could discover more. Research on the Internet soon identified the coins as Iron Age Potins; cast coins of high tin bronze. Many of the coins still retained traces of the sprue from which they had been snapped.

Returning on subsequent days the Johnsons recovered more coins from the same area. Further coins were also recovered by John Darvill and Nigel Betts of the Mid-Kent Search and Recovery Club, who also had permission to detect on the land. In total 145 more or less complete coins, and a further 80 fragments were recovered by 21st November. In the meantime, the finders notified the coroner of the find, since the coins clearly represented a dispersed hoard, and were therefore potential Treasure. They also contacted the Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) for Kent, Andrew Richardson.

All the Potins were of Flat Linear I type, depicting a highly stylised human bust on the obverse, and butting bull on the reverse. One of the coins however was of an unusual style, with no obvious parallel (pictured overleaf). The hoard was also examined by David Holman, Kent’s leading Iron Age coins expert, who had also not seen such a coin before.

Given the rarity of Potin hoards (only about 14 have been recorded, of which very few have been archaeologically investigated) it was decided to carry out an excavation at the find spot, with a view to recovering as many further coins as possible, and also to try to locate the point of deposition of the hoard, and see if any of it remained in situ. This excavation took place on a sunny but cold Sunday in early December. The team

Inside

• 2-3 Axes at Crundale Valley Park School
• Internet Publishing
• Higham Priory
• Allen Grove Fund
• 4-5 Library Notes & Rectors of Aldington
• New Books
• 6-7 Lectures, Courses, Conferences & Events
• 8-9 Notice Board
• 10-11 Ideas & Ideals: Wesley & Whitefield and the Evangelical Revival
• 12-13 Lenham Big Dig
• Bayford Castle
• 14-15 Letters to the Editor
• YAC Report
• Summer Excursion
• 16 John Williams

The team consisted of the Johnsons along with Keith Stafford, Nigel Betts and John Darvill of the Mid-Kent Search and Recovery Club, Caspar Johnson of Kent County Council’s Heritage Conservation Team, David Holman, and three members of the Kent Archaeological Society. The Portable Antiquities Scheme was represented by Andrew Richardson (Kent FLO) and Liz Wilson (Sussex FLO). The excavation was an excellent example of co-operation, at both an individual and organisational level, between professional and amateur archaeologists, and metal detectorists.

A hand-dug trench removed the ploughsoil across the central area where the coins had been found, revealing stiff orange clay-with-flints at a depth of about 25cm. The trench and spoil were thoroughly metal detected during excavation, as was the immediate area around the dig. No archaeological features were observed, and no archaeological materials, other than Potins, were discovered. Of the latter, a further 59 more or less complete coins, and 78 fragments were recovered. An area of approximately 1 square metre with a concentration of largely complete coins was identified, and this probably represented the original point of deposition. Ploughing had dispersed coins across a roughly oval area about 20m by 10m, with the area of concentrated finds lying roughly at the centre of this area. The number of damaged and fragmentary coins appeared to increase the further they were from the central zone.

The apparent lack of any pit cut into the clay subsoil, or of any finds other than Potins, suggests that this find represents an isolated hoard, probably contained within an organic pouch or bag and deposited in a shallow pit. Flat Linear I Potins date to between circa 100-50 BC. We are likely to be able to learn much from further study of this hoard, but unfortunately the reason why someone buried these coins sometime during the 1st century BC and never returned for them is probably lost forever.

Andrew Richardson
Kent Finds Liaison Officer

Obverse of the unusual potin

STOP PRESS

As we go to print, another huge hoard has come to light, this time at Crundale and dating to the Bronze Age, consisting of axeheads, spearheads, sword blades and cast copper cake fragments (these last alone weighing 9kg!). Further details in the April edition.