Wednesday, December 3, 2014

ABERDEENSHIRE, SCOTLAND—More than 100 pieces of silver, including coins and jewelry, have been unearthed in northeastern Scotland. “It is a hugely important discovery being Europe’s most northerly Late Roman hacksilver hoard, and also containing otherwise unique Pictish silver,” Martin Goldberg of the National Museums Scotland told The Herald Scotland. Silver objects that had been chopped up into bullion, called hacksilver, were used as payment, bribes, tribute, and rewards, according to Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen. “The new finds include late Roman coins, pieces of late Roman silver vessels, bracelet and brooch fragments, and other objects that would have been highly prized objects in their day,” he explained. The research team is investigating the interaction between the Picts and the Late Roman world. To read about a similar recent discovery, see "The Dovedale Hoard."