PAS Finds: week ended 24 June 2022

July 1, 2022 Peter

PAS Finds: week ended 24 June 2022

My selection of the detecting finds recorded at the PAS during the week ended 24 June 2022.

Featured Find

Dirham of Al-Mu’tadid

Photo: North Lincolnshire Museum

Period: Anglo-Saxon

Date found: 01/05/2022

Location: Selby, North Yorkshire

Detectorist Paul Cannon found this coin a couple of weeks ago near Selby. The PAS record credits him with identifying it as a dirham of Al-Mu’tadid of the Abbasid Caliphate. The coin dates to AD 900/901 and Paul suggests the find “must indicate Viking trade links to have been discovered in Yorkshire“. It has been designated a Find of Note of Regional Importance.

Helpfully the coin is dated 288 AH. The AH refers to the Muslim (or Hijri ) calendar and corresponds to AD 900/901. The Abbasid Caliphate was centred on modern day Iraq from 750 – 1258. Al-Mu’tatid was caliph from 892 until his death in 902.

Abbasid Caliphate 891-2. Image by Ro4444 CC By SA4.0

The map shows the extend of the Abbasid caliphate when Al-Mu’tatid came to power; the darker green were core territory controlled by central government while the lighter green had autonomous governors.

Selection of other finds

Photo: National Museums Liverpool CC By SA2.0

Roman satyr figurine

This is thought to probably be a figurine of a satyr; a woodland creature who was a follower/attendant of Bacchus. They were portrayed as either youthful or old and pot bellied for humorous effect.

Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By SA2.0

Early medieval Irish buckle

The dating of the object is reasonably certain and its style is similar to other Irish buckles on the PAS database. However, it is a bit of a mystery as it appears to have intact edges, with nowhere for the attachment of the pin and frame. It is a Find of Note of Regional Importance.

Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By SA2.0

Halfpenny of Robert I

As the PAS record says, halfpennies of Robert the Bruce and especially rare detecting finds with only six being recorded on the PAS. It has been designated a Find of Note of Regional Importance.