Treasure: Unlocking the Secrets Beneath our Feet
Britain has a very rich heritage, much of which lies buried beneath our feet. Since the 1970s, people using metal detectors have been uncovering thousands of coins, jewellery, and other antiquities from the ground. This talk tells the story of how the Treasure Act was passed by Parliament in 1996, after years of campaigning by archaeologists, and examines the impact of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which was established at the same time. This is a network of around 50 locally based Finds Liaison Officers who record these discoveries on an online database. It now contains records of nearly two million finds, including 19,000 from Dorset.
About the Speaker
Dr Roger Bland worked at the British Museum until his retirement in 2015, serving as Keeper of the Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory. In 1994, he was seconded to government to work on the new Treasure legislation, and in 1997 he founded the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which he ran until his retirement. He now chairs the government committee that values Treasure finds which museums wish to acquire, and was awarded a CBE in 2025. An expert on Roman coins, he has served as President of the British Numismatic Society and the Royal Numismatic Society, and has written several books on Roman coins and coin hoards. His Roman Imperial Coinage IV.3, Gordian III–Aemilian (238–253), was published in the spring.
