In 2007 the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) marked its tenth anniversary by holding a conference at which speakers, both from within the Scheme and outside gave a series of papers that demonstrated the research potential of recording finds of archaeological objects made by members of the public. This volume contains papers given at that conference together with a number of other contributions. PAS started as six pilot schemes in 1997 and became a national network across England and Wales in 2003. The core aim of PAS has always been to minimise the loss to our heritage caused by the failure...

-Written to honor the newly discovered National Treasure that the Ashmolean hopes to acquire in the not too distant future In October 2015, metal detectorist James Mather discovered an important Viking hoard near Watlington in South Oxfordshire. The hoard dates from the end of the 870s, a key moment in the struggle between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings for control of southern England. The Watlington hoard is a significant new source of information on that struggle, throwing new light not only on the conflict between Anglo-Saxon and Viking, but also on the changing relationship between the two...

This book represents the proceedings of the Portable Antiquities Scheme conference on the subject of hoarding and the deposition of metalwork.

Rainbows have been a source of fascination since time immemorial. They have been the subject of myth and superstition, an inspiration to poets, a challenge to painters, the object of intense scientific interest and a touchstone for ideas about the nature of light and colour. Above all, the rainbow has been the embodiment of wonder from the earliest times to the present day.Beginning with the circumstances in which you are likely to see a rainbow and descriptions of its salient features, this book recounts and explains the myths and superstitions about rainbows, and describes how poets,...