A Theodosian Silver Hoard from Rams Hill

Extract

A small but interesting find of Roman coins was made recently by Mr. Stuart Piggott during his examination of the site at Rams Hill, near Uffington, described in the preceding paper; and I may here recapitulate his description of the discovery. Two adult skeletons were found, buried one above the other, in a ditch which appeared to belong to an enclosure of the Ditchley–Wootton–Fawler–Kiddington type, and of which three sides were defined, suggesting a square 260 ft. across. There had evidently been occupation within this (although a trench encountered no foundations)—probably a wooden building on analogy with Ditchley; and the pottery in the ditch was first-century, with abundant Belgic types. Into the filling of this ditch, or rather in a cleared-out portion of it (since no grave dug through the filling could be detected in the section), the two burials had been deposited, the upper on his back with no grave-goods, the lower on his left side with the coins. Two coins, one silver and one bronze, were enclosed between two thin silver-foil discs folded over each other in the mouth; the other coins (seven) were all together in a compact mass high up against the ribs, a fact which suggests the previous existence of a bag or purse slung round the neck. Thus there is no doubt of the strict contemporaneity of the whole group. There was nothing else to suggest late Roman occupation of the site.