The Cridling Stubbs hoard (also known as the Womersley Hoard or Womersley I)is a
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
hoard of more than 3,300 coins in a large, ceramic jar.
Discovery
Parts of the hoard was discovered by Mr W Frost, a farmworker at Lodge Farm,
Cridling Stubbs
Cridling Stubbs is a village and a civil parish in the Selby district, in the English county of North Yorkshire. It is near the town of Knottingley. Its population in 2011 was 152.
The village was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshi ...
, on 8 October 1967. The site was subsequently excavated by RM Butler and
Jeffrey Radley
Jeffrey Radley (13 October 1935 – 22 July 1970) was a British archaeologist and poet.
Career
Radley was an archaeologist, particularly interested in Prehistoric archaeology. He was also a poet, having a collection of poems published posthu ...
of the
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...
on 16 October 1967, where further discoveries of coins were made.
The jar was positioned upright in the ground and covered by part of a
grey ware
Grey ware is pottery with a body that fires to grey. This type of pottery can be found in different archaeological sites around the world.
History Prehistory
In Italy, grey ware was excavated in Antigori and Broglio di Trebisacce. The practice of ...
jar and a stone.
The hoard did not count as treasure under the
Treasure Trove
A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the hei ...
law at the time, so ownership returned to the landowner, who sold the container and 447 coins to
Leeds Museums & Galleries
Leeds Museums and Galleries is a museum service run by the Leeds City Council in West Yorkshire. It manages nine sites and is the largest museum service in England and Wales run by a local authority.
Visitor attractions
* Abbey House Museum
*Ki ...
for £300.
The purchase was supported by a grant from the
Art Fund.
Contents
The hoard comprises a ceramic jar of a calcite-gritted fabric dating to the 4th-century AD and over 3,300 bronze coins.
The coins include denominations of Roman Emperors from
Tetricus I
Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was the emperor of the Gallic Empire from 271 to 274 AD. He was originally the (governor) of Gallia Aquitania and became emperor after the murder of Emperor Victorinus in 271, with the support of Victorinus's mother, ...
to
Constantius II
Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...
. Fourteen of the coins were minted before AD 324, with the earliest dating to AD 270–275.
the majority of the coins were struck between AD 330 and 346.
Public display
The hoard was on display in
Leeds City Museum
Leeds City Museum, originally established in 1819, reopened in 2008 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in the former Mechanics' Institute built by Cuthbert Brodrick, in Cookridge Street (now Millennium Square). It is one of nine ...
from February to July 2018.
Notes
:1. Cridling Stubbs is in the parish of Womersley and it is given this name in the report by Pirie.
Note that a second hoard of 4th-century coinage from this parish, found by metal detectorists in 2011, is named as Womersley II.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cridling Stubbs hoard
1967 in England
1967 archaeological discoveries
Archaeological sites in North Yorkshire
Hoards from Roman Britain
Coin hoards