Follow Up for the Frome Hoard

£320,250 needed to save Frome Hoard for Somerset

Today, the value of the Frome Hoard has been announced at £320,250. Somerset County Council Heritage Service now has until 1 February 2011 to raise the funds in order to keep this important treasure on public display in the county in which it was discovered. The rare find, made up of 52,503 Roman coins dating from the 3rd century AD, was unearthed tightly packed in a pot and is the largest coin hoard to have been found in a single container.

There has already been considerable local enthusiasm for the hoard. On 22 July, the County Council organised a special event showcasing a selection of coins from the find at the Library. Over 2,000 people and two school groups attended, many having to queue for up to an hour. A second event is planned for 23 October 2010. This will be a major opportunity for the public to find out more about the find and what they can do to help save it. Details here - http://tinyurl.com/25qrv5p

The Frome Hoard book has been printed with the generous support of local Frome-based printers, Butler, Tanner & Dennis and costs just £4.99, written by Sam Moorhead, Roger Bland and Anna Booth, available from http://tinyurl.com/2b979kv

The Frome Hoard will be prominently displayed in the Museum of Somerset, Taunton, when it re-opens in the Summer of 2010. The museum is presently undergoing a £6.9 million refurbishment largely funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Roger Bland, Head of Portable Antiquities & Treasure, British Museum said: “Dave Crisp, the finder, behaved in an exemplary way. When he found the hoard he didn’t try and dig it out himself, but reported it to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, so that an archaeological excavation could be organised to recover the find systematically. As a result there is enormous potential to properly understand why and how this coin hoard was buried, and perhaps change pre-existing views on the hoarding and burial of such assemblages”.

Dave Crisp discovered the hoard on 11 April 2010 while metal-detecting near Frome, Somerset. The ‘Frome Hoard’ was declared Treasure under the Treasure Act 1996 on 22 July. The coins range from c. AD 253 to c. 293 and except for five silver coins are all base-silver or bronze ‘radiate’ coins. Weighing 160 kilograms, it is said to be one of the largest and most important hoards of coins of this period in Britain. There are still mysteries surrounding why it was buried, and Dr Bland says that its discovery could make experts “rethink the nature of such hoards.”

In addition to the target £320,250 needed to acquire the hoard for Somerset, an additional £35,000 will be needed for its long-term conservation.

How to donate

To donate towards the appeal to save the hoard for Somerset, please register your interest via savefromehoard@artfund.org and the Art Fund will be in touch with details about how to donate. Every public donation will be match-funded by the Art Fund, up to a total of £10,000.