The Chew Valley Hoard is a

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

of 2,528 coins from the mid 11th century, very shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The hoard was found in the

Chew Valley The Chew Valley is an affluent area in North Somerset, England, named after the River Chew, which rises at Chewton Mendip, and joins the River Avon at Keynsham. Technically, the area of the valley is bounded by the water catchment area ...

, Somerset, England in 2019. It is one of the largest finds of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

coins in the UK.

Discovery

The hoard was discovered by

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

ists Lisa Grace and Adam Staples in January 2019.

Items discovered

The hoard consists of 2,528 silver coins, including 1,236 coins of

Harold II Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Normans, Norman invaders led by Willi ...

and 1,310 coins of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...

. The coins include some

mules A mule is the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. Mule, Mules, MULE or The Mule can also refer to: Animals * Mule (sheep), in British sheep farming, a cross between a meat ram and a hardy mountain ewe * Mule deer (''Odocoileus hemio ...

. Mules are coins which have the head of one king on one side and a different king on the other.

Purpose

The exact purpose of the hoard is unknown, but it has been speculated that some of the coins may represent an attempt at avoiding the taxes in place at the time by reusing designs from earlier coins. Some of the coins may come from previously unknown

mints A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach given their association with natural byproducts ...

. The likely date of burial of the hoard is 1067–1068, just a year or two after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

, and may reflect the instability in the country at the time. In 1067,

Eadric the Wild Eadric ''the Wild'' (or Eadric ''Silvaticus''), also known as Wild Edric, Eadric ''Cild'' (or ''Child'') and Edric ''the Forester'', was an Anglo-Saxon magnate of Shropshire and Herefordshire who led English resistance to the Norman Conquest, acti ...

had rebelled with the Welsh rulers of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...

and

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

, and attacked

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a populatio ...

; in 1068 William the Conqueror laid siege to Exeter; and later in 1068, the sons of the deposed King Harold, Godwine and

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

, returned from Ireland, and raided the coast around the mouth of the River Avon and parts of Somerset. This latter event may have been the immediate impetus for the burial of the hoard.

Inquest and valuation

, coroner's treasure inquest is still to be held to determine the status of the hoard. The inquest may declare that the coins are

treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...

, and therefore became property of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

. Under the terms of the 1996 Treasure Act, a museum may purchase the hoard at the price valued by the

Treasure Valuation Committee The Treasure Valuation Committee (TVC) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) based in London, which offers expert advice to the government on items of declared treasure in England, Wale ...

, with the purchase price being given jointly to the finder and landowner as a reward. It has been estimated that the hoard may be worth £5 million.

Display

The coins are being examined at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

, but may be acquired by

Bath and North East Somerset Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) is a unitary authority district in England. Bath and North East Somerset Council was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. It is part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. T ...

council for display at the

Roman Baths In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

in Bath.

References