Epilogue
THE YORKSHIRE GUARDIAN
Saturday
ANCIENT TREASURE DISCOVERED BY GIRL ON HOLIDAY
A silver ‘treasure chest’ dating to the third century ad has been discovered at Strandby Cliffs by a Birmingham girl on holiday in the area with her family.
Zaibun Ali (9) said: “I was just climbing on the rocks by the beach and I noticed something that looked like an old tin can, so I tried to get it out because we’ve been learning about keeping beaches clean in school. Then I saw that it was a box, and I showed it to my mum who said it was probably very old.”
Researchers at the University of the North said that the engravings of Hercules and Dionysus on the sides suggest that the box was made in Leptis Magna, in present-day Libya. It would have belonged to a wealthy owner. They believe it dates to the reign of Septimius Severus, the first North African emperor of Rome, who ruled from York (then called Eboracum) from 209 to his death in 211 ad.
Dr Steve Smith, of the Department of Archaeology, said: “It’s a bit of a puzzle, because the box is clearly meant for use as a medicine chest. It has the symbol of Asclepius, god of medicine and doctors, engraved on the lid – two snakes coiled around a staff. However, the contents are very varied.”
The box contained a gold ring with an early Christian symbol on it, a bracelet made of jet from Whitby, and a small enamelled gold pot, which was probably intended for cosmetics. There was also some organic matter which has not yet been identified. It is thought it may have some connection with the ruins of a late second-century farm and villa some miles away, where skeletons of men, women and children from across the Roman world have been found buried.
Dr Smith commented: “Roman-era Britain was a multicultural place. The Romans traded goods from as far away as China, so it is not a surprise that objects from Leptis Magna reached Britain. We just don’t know the story behind this particular box.”
The box may have been buried for safe-keeping during the so-called Crisis of the Third Century. In 235 AD, the last emperor of the Severan dynasty, Severus Alexander, was murdered and a chaotic time followed, in which the Roman Empire split into three parts, each controlled by a different general.
Zaibun said: “I want to be a doctor, so I was really excited to find out that the box was a medicine chest. But now I think I might want to be an archaeologist instead! I would love to know who buried the box and why.”
The items will go on display at the county museum from September.