Coin Hoard Research Enters ‘Golden Phase of Discoveries’
The Jersey Heritage team working on the conservation of the Le Catillon II hoard have begun work on a new section of the hoard which the team anticipate will uncover a wave of significant artefact discoveries.
For the last three months, the team has been concentrating on the part of the hoard that contains traces of organic and extremely vulnerable material dating back to the time of the hoard’s burial. Just last week, a perfectly preserved tip of a fern was uncovered from several centimetres within the hoard; the team has taken time to carefully collect samples for analysis as it continues its work removing and cleaning over three thousand coins, to date.
The project now turns its attention to an area of the hoard in which a solid gold torque and jewellery are visible. Having already uncovered smaller golden items from the area, including their first gold stater coin (dating from around 70BC and originating from the Baiocasses Tribe), the Jersey Heritage team anticipate a number of colourful discoveries over the coming weeks.
The first part of this new work will culminate when the team removes the gold torque which they began to uncover last week. Once the team have a clearer idea of when they expect to uncover the torque in its entirety, the public will be invited to witness it first-hand. In the meantime, people can visit Jersey Museum & Art Gallery to see the team in action.
The Jersey Heritage is pioneering in the use of this technology throughout the research project, and as each item is removed it is carefully scanned, measured to an accuracy of 50 microns and added to a virtual 3D model of the hoard.
For more information about the hoard and the latest discoveries, visit the Jersey Heritage website or follow Jersey Heritage on Facebook. -