Coin - Antoninianus Jove Conservatore

Field boundaries and bonfire pits continue into the Iron Age and Roman period with pottery being used as dating evidence. These bonfire or 'charcoal' pits are a distinguishing feature on the site and are distributed randomly. So far 821 such pits have been excavated. Notable finds have included a hoard of 1562 silver coins dating to AD 272, buried in a black-burnished ware cooking jar. (A Treasure Trove Inquest identified the site excavator driver as finder and the coins were subsequently sold.) A small hoard of 34 coins dating to AD 274, was located nearby, by one of the project metal detectorists. Recently a late 3rd, early 4th century Roman cremation was found in a silted up field boundary. The remains were contained within a locally-made, black-burnished ware cooking jar with associated lid. Jackie McKinley of Wessex Archaeology undertook the work on the cremation assemblage. Cremation, rather than inhumation, at this late date is extremely rare, particularly in Dorset.more...