Connecting with the past or stealing the future

If you have any interest in History you have seen for sale at places like ebay Roman coins and other ancient treasures in many other varieties.  If you haven’t just type Roman Coins in the search and you will see hundreds on sale in various conditions.

In some cases these are fakes seeking to dupe the unsuspecting.  A few years ago I bought a signed Bobby Thompson baseball which I am still not convinced is real, though the novelty of having a possible signed ball by the player who hit the “Shot heard round the world” makes it fun to have.

So if you bought a fake, sorry, it is ebay after all so you take your chances.  Much like our purchase of Sailor Moon Dvds for our daughter which obvious came from Chinese knockoffs.  The first big clue was on the packaging it was called Sail Or Moon… yeah that is sooo official.

While you might be miffed I am somewhat gladdened if you got a fake.  It means you are not supporting those who are selling history online for a few dollars.   While Roman coins are plentiful in many areas of Europe they can still be significant and important if they are in the ground.  In archaeology this is called stratification.  This means that the layers of soil can tell a story  of the area.  Much like tree rings soil can be found layered and each layer can represent a specific period in time.

When items like coins, broaches, clips, arrow heads or anything like it is moved it destroys the story associated with that object.

Bigger than Sutton Hoo

Today there has been an announcement of the biggest Saxon find since Sutton Hoo in 1900.

The Sutton Hoo discovery was considered something of a massive contribution to the archeaology of the Saxon period in England.  Saxon finds are so difficult to come across that much of what they were and who they were has been obscured in history.

Unlike the Romans before them and the medieval period after there is not a lot of stone or pottery to be found, these are some of the key ingredients for discoveries as the Saxons generally did not use a lot of pottery, and what they did use was apparently not that nice.  As well most of their houses were built of wood  so other than a few post holes you do not find much other than a rubbish pit to really know what is going on.

So discoveries like these are rare and important finds of historic proportion.

The BBC article shows a gold strip that was engraved in Latin quoting Psalms 67: “Rise up O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee be driven from thy face.”